Bridge Friends

JP and Maritha visited us tonight and we had dinner together. I opened a bottle of Ambeloiu MCC for no particular celebration. Afterwards we played bridge and then talked. I really got annoyed with how we play bridge - I would like us to try and play better and I told them that. I am so glad that they accepted my opinion without showing too much irritation with me. I suppose that is what real friends are. That they love you despite of yourself.

National Braaidag

Today is national braaiday. This means that as much as possible people should get together around a fire and celebrate our national pasttime of roasting meat on an open fire. We did make a fire at home and Quintes and Rielle joined us late in the afternoon. Quintes had a bottle of Virgin Earth which was excellent. I then found a Carlonet 1996 in the cellar which we had with the Lamb-chops. We finished off with Milttart and Cheeses ably supported by a Pineau from Laborie, naturally sweet wine.

Helderberg Congregation

We attended the service in the Helderberg Reformed Church this morning. Now that we have moved the Lord has not yet shown us where to go on Sundays to worship, so we have been going to a number of churches in the vicinity. This has now been the third time in a row that we attended this church and we think that we will get more involved. The church is a very large congregation with many "dominees" (pastors). They present many different sermons on a Sunday, ranging from modern (music driven worship, to classic pensive and sacred occasions).

Celebration for Thana

A number of friends organised a surprise birthday party at the Bistro at Meerendal. Although it was some days after her birthday, it was the first time that she was in the Cape and we enjoyed spending time with her and the others that was also there. It was a beautiful day and the food, wine and being-together made this a memorable occasion. I had a pasta-based vegetarian dish with pesto and Annelie a home-made burger. As a group we started off with a Tradition from Villiera (still one of the best MCC's made) and had a Meerendal Sauvignon Blanc 2007 and a Merlot to accompany the lunch.

Smiles

We attended a black-tie dinner tonight in support of Operation Smile. Bob and Rosemarie invited us to the Hummer table. (Bob is the product manager for Hummer in South Africa). Operation Smile is an international initiative that works toward helping kids with cleft lips. It struck me how terrible a cleft lip can be for a little child and how it impacts their whole life in terms of self image and inter-personal relationships.... yet we have the means to fix it in 45 minutes.

Graham Back tasting

We had one of the most amazing tastings tonight. One of the visionaries of the South African wine industry presented his wines and cheeses to us at his home. Graham Back (owner of Fairview) Afterwards we sat down to a lovely dinner accompanied by some of his best wines (like for instance the Spice Route Malabar). It is so special to actually see (and experience) the people behind the wines. I specifically liked his humble confidence in what he is doing, the energy in doing whjat he does, but specifically his passion - or as he put it: "my soul is in my business".

Dinner before the Rugby

By now it is old news: we beat the English in the pool match today by 36 to 0. The lowest score that England ever had in a RWC match. Before the match, we braaied a few steaks and sat down for a good dinner. We started the evening with a Morgenhof Cap Classique 2003 to celebrate Izak's prize for the best presentation at the SA process Engineering conference, a big deal that we have closed at work and Catherine's birthday. We finished the steak with a Neetlingshof Laurentius 1997.

Fundamo at Gitex

Reg, Adriaan and Richard is in Dubai preparing for Gitex (one of the biggest IT shows in the world). Reg sent me the picture of how our stand will look. The exhibition starts tomorrow. This will be our biggest show to date and the new branding (clouds and ice-bergs) seems to be looking great. We are holding thumbs that this is a very successful show.

Fred en Elmarie

Fred and Elmarie came to visit today and we cooked breakfast together. We calculated for how long we have known each other and realised that it must be close to twenty years. We have some great memories during that time, but it also shows that one can make friends that last for a long time.

Marike's birthday

We had dinner tonight at the home of Dirk and Marike - to celebrate Marike's birthday. We had marinated chicken with Couscous, and an excellent bottle of Durbanville Hills Pinotage. Fanie and his wife was also present and we talk about Africa, getting old and our children. It was a most enjoyable night.