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For the last 4 and a half years I have been writing stories on the widest variety of subjects imaginable for Adfero. DirectNews clients operate in lots of different markets, so I've written on anything from data clouds to dating and everything in between. It has been - and still is - something I love to do.

But in my current role with the company I don't get to write that much, so when I got the opportunity to write a few freelance articles for a website back home, I jumped at the chance. What made the prospect even more appealing was that this was an Afrikaans website, so I could do something I hadn't done for half a decade... write in my mother tongue.

I proposed writing something about how the recession and how regular South Africans could expect to be affected. It is a subject I know a fair bit about, with the UK having been in a recession officially for many months. However, South Africa only recently went into recession officially, so I thought writing about this would be a breeze. I was right. The subject matter was a doddle and coming up with a selection of top tips was a quick job. The surprise came when I had to put my thougts into words. Afrikaans words.

All of a sudden I realised that my Afrikaans vocabulary must have gradually shrunk over the last few years. When I first moved to the UK, I lived in London and had a few Afrikaans mates, including my flatmate Lindi, so speaking Afrikaans was an everyday thing. Then Lindi went back to Durbs, I met Chris and we moved to Manchester, and all of a sudden I was speaking Afrikaans a couple of times a week max, during regular phone calls back home. Sure, some days I still subject Chris to "Afrikaans days" when the poor guy is forced to learn Afrikaans due to the fact that I refuse to speak English for a few hours, but mainly, life is conducted in English.

Shocked when I had to consult a dictionary to find the correct translation and spelling for words I've known my whole life, I resolved to make more of an effort. I am now going to contribute to voelgoed.co.za on a regular basis and plan to make an effort to consciously inject more Afrikaans into my life. You can read my first venture back into Afrikaans writing here.

The result of thinking more about Afrikaans and reading in Afrikaans when I get the chance has been rewarding so far. All of a sudden I look at words and idioms and realise what a brilliant, rich language Afrikaans is. Some of my favourite sayings for your enjoyment:

'n hond uit 'n bos gesels - talk a dog out the bush (talk lots)
die draak steek - poke the dragon (poke fun at someone)
'n gat in die mop praat - talk them a whole in the head (convince someone to do something they don't want to do)
alle grappies op 'n stokkie - all jokes on a little stick (let's get serious)
jakkals trou met wolf se vrou - jackal marries wolf's wife (it's sunny but raining at the same time)
die kat uit die boom kyk - watch the cat out the tree (consider something carefully before deciding)
oor koeitjies en kalfies gesels - chat about little cows and calfs (chatting about everyday things)
ek skrik nie vir koue pampoen nie - cold pumpkin doesn't frighten me (to not scare easily)
meng jou met die semels, dan vreet die varke jou - mix with the barley then the pigs will eat you (if you hang out with bad company, you'll be seen as trouble yourself)
tande tel - counting teeth (what kids do when they are sitting in grown-up conversation)
uitgeknip soos haar ma - a cut-out of her mom (when someone looks exactly like someone else)
voor op die wa - on the front of the wagon (when someone, often a child, is cheeky)
laer as slangkak se skaduwee op die seebodem - lower than the shadow of a snake's shit on the bottom of the ocean (when someone has done something despicable)

I'm sure there are loads more that I can't think of right now - do you have a favourite?

This week I celebrated the fifth anniversary of arriving in the UK. I relived those excited first steps onto UK soil at Heathrow back in 2004 and looked back at how things have changed in my life ever since.

I didn't join Facebook until probably 2006. However, today more than a quarter of my Facebook friends are people I have met since I came to England. Around 130 people I am connected with on Facebook would not have been in my life if I had not come here. The most significant of these is obviously my husband Chris. I still tell him off for making me come all the way from South Africa to the UK so our paths would cross, but it was definitely worth it.

In addition to meeting Chris, I have been very fortunate career-wise since coming to the UK. After a brief stint working in the public sector, I started to work as a correspondent at Adfero, the UK's leading online news agency. Not only was I given the opportunity to write all day, honing my skills as a journalist and improving my English, but it's also where I met Chris. I still work for Adfero, having moved up in the ranks a bit, and thanks to them we've also made a move to Manchester, where we now live.

While I love London, and living there was fantastic, I am pleased that unlike many expats I have the opportunity to really experience life outside south-east England. Sure, it would be nice to hear Afrikaans on public transport more frequently and to have several SA shops on my doorstep to pick up goodies from home, but living in Manchester has certainly put a new perspective on my life in the UK.

I do miss South Africa every day. I miss hanging out with my wonderful family and friends more than anything. I miss hearing the Capie accent and all the other clichés - the sun, braais and wine tasting on the weekend. But the UK has been good to me, so after five years I'm grateful and looking forward to what the future has in store.

Unbelievably, we're at the end of August. Less than four months to go before Christmas. Just over a month until the big Three-Oh (which doesn't really bother me at all by the way). It bugs me though that getting caught up in life means that living sometimes slips in terms of priority, taking a back seat to work and stuff.

But today I read a great article that put things into perspective once again. Karen Wheeler is a former fashion editor who moved to France a few years ago and is living what sounds like my dream existence on the other side of the Channel. So I've dusted off the old teach-yourself-French kit and checked out the online shops for touches of France that I can incorporate in my Manchester home. One thing I have not been slacking on has been the French cooking. In the past I have blogged about a delicious fish dish from Danyel Couet's Paris cookbook, but my new favourite from this fantastic collection of recipes is a delicious Provencal salad with lamb loin, goat's cheese and vegetables.

Agneau Provencal

Serves 2 

Slice 300g of lamb (recipe says loin but I reckon any lamb will do) into portion-sized pieces, season with salt and pepper and brown in the pan with a little olive oil. Sprinkle a teaspoon each of fresh thyme, coarsely chopped parsley and rosemary over the meat and baste with the oil in the pan. Roast it in the oven for about 10 minutes on 120 degrees C.

For the veg, we mixed a handful of cherry tomatoes (dipped in boiling water, then in cold water and peeled, then halved), a handful of boiled brocolli florets, a boiled small fennel bulb cut into pieces, a thinly-sliced shallot and a handful of boiled and sliced haricot verts (I'd have added some asparagus too if they were in season). The cooked veggies should be cool when you mix them all together. Toss with about 50ml lemon juice and 50ml olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Serve lamb on a bed of veg with goat's cheese crumbled on top. We had some baby new potatoes along with it as well as a crisp South African white wine.

C'est magnifique!

I've written another guide that has been published on Simonseeks. Sticking to places I love in South Africa, this time I'm guiding visitors to Pringle Bay. This really is a hidden gem, and I hope my revelation of its beauty, peace and quiet doesn't shatter the idyll for locals!

We spent our first weekend as a married couple here and loved it. It was the perfect place to unwind after the hectic time leading up to the wedding day. It's a fantastic bonus that Pringle Bay is only about an hour's drive from Cape Town, and under half an hour from my parents'.

Read my guide here.