South Africa: Legends of the Karoo — Gone but not forgotten

The Diva of Namaqualand

The first time we met the dynamic hip-hopping 83-year-old grande dame of the Daisy Country was at a gig in an old-age home during the 2010 Williston Winter Festival.

Her face was sweet and wrinkled, a little baked apple nestling in an enormous pink sunbonnet. With her guitar partner Pieter van der Westhuizen, she enchanted the elderly crowd gathered in a tiny Upper Karoo sitting room.

While she sang a rendition of her hit song Lekker OuJan (Rather Pleasant Old…