Life is like a roller-coaster ride - exciting, exhilarating, amazing, scary, tragic and so sad but also so very happy.
Life's been really good to me, well mostly, but there have been some really sad times.
Somehow all the sadness that took place a couple of years ago came to the fore again after watching the touching movie on the life of Freddie Mercury - Bohemian Rhapsody.
I grew up in a large loving family with four younger brothers. As the only girl and the first grandchild, I was doted on, especially by Mom Lily's youngest brother who was only nine years my senior.
Rulov said the day I was born it was as if my parents had given him a gift, I was his little sister he always said.
He used to dress me up for fancy dress competitions; later on made all my outfits as a teen so I was the envy of all my friends as he had impeccable taste and style. He knew how to turn any ugly duckling into a swan, the original makeover guru!
Later on in life when he moved away, he'd look me up and down when he visited and tell me if he thought I wore something unflattering, always in the most kind and gentle way though!
He was a man of many talents; moved to Cape Town after high school to join the Ballet School, often going to bed hungry as this was not Grandpa's idea of a job for his son, being a staunch Afrikaner!
He however persisted and when he landed his first role, Granny and Grandpa went to the opening night. Apparently Grandpa proudly stood up at the end of the performance to give him a standing ovation - many tears flowed that night I'm told!
Ballet took him all over the world but as he was not tall enough to be the leading man, he always landed character roles at which he excelled.
He certainly made use of every ounce of talent!
He made us so proud - watching him perform on stage was an absolute treat and then we'd get to go backstage afterwards and meet the performers which was amazing for a young starry eyed girl.
Tribute to Rulov
He later on ventured into the big musicals but when a knee injury halted his dancing career, he joined an international airline and worked as cabin crew, which also took him all over the world.
Then there was the period where he designed wedding gowns and made many a bride beautiful. That venture however was not always lucrative as many of the brides were friends or became friends so of course being a kind and generous person, the fee would be lowered.
He ended his career as wardrobe manager of a top theatre in Johannesburg; he had to ensure the costumes were immaculate and being a perfectionist, he did just that like no one else could. Costumes had to be ready for lightning scene changeovers, he really could work magic! He was known to have the knack to calm the most difficult performer at all times, a valuable asset for any theatre production :)
Rulov was a friend to many; he volunteered many hours teaching ballet to young dancers at the Johannesburg Youth Ballet, in fact he played a big part in guiding many young dancers' careers.
He would put together the most amazing outfits for me in a jiffy, sometimes would run out of time to sew on the zip so the dress would be sewn onto me as I had to look glam for the night out! Of course afterwards the seam would have to be unpicked, in the early hours of the morning at times :)
Growing up with this special uncle/older brother was amazing, he had the most wicked sense of humour and would make us laugh till our tummies hurt.
The laughter however came to an abrupt end and I will tell you all about that next time.
This is a continuation of my memories as initiated by 
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