Final days in Gazania

I flew to Bloemfontein yesterday to help Annelie finalise everything regarding Oupa Izak's estate. We plan to travel back to Cape Town by road tomorrow. It is great to see my wife again. I suppose it is through seperation that one realise how much one needs someone
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Preparing to present to a client

One of our clients is having a workshop at the Chapmans Peak hotel in Houtbay and we are preparing to make a presentation to them shortly. I look at the surroundings and realise how beautiful the Cape is. It almost does not feel as if one is working.

Early morning at de Wijnlanden

I took a short mountain bike ride this morning. (I was not on the bike for some time because of the hectic travel schedule). The morning was not too hot with a light breeze and thin mist in the air. The vines was working hard at producing the grapes for the 2010 season and bright green leaves covered the trellises. As I cycled through the vineyards, I looked back at the house and felt so blessed to be able to live in this beautiful area.

Frustration at Schiphol

I arrived this morning early at Schiphol to get my boarding pass for the flight back to Cape Town. When I was given a boarding pass without a seat allocation, I knew: overbooked and I have not been loaded yet. After a number of telephone calls to my travel agent and the KLM representatives, I was given a seat - albeit at a window.

The business lounge was not great either and the restrooms was dirty. Not the best of impressions of an airport that I used to love.

What a hectic day of travelling...

I left the hotel at 04:00 this morning to catch a train to Schiphol, then book on the flight, business lounge, board, short hop to Heathrow, pass through Immigrations, Heathrow Express to Paddington, short walk to my meeting (arriving litteraly 5 minutes before the scheduled time).

Then after the meeting, walk to Paddington, Heathrow Express, pass security (belt, jacket, shoes, watch etc. etc. in the tray), business lounge, board the short flight, arrive in Schiphol, pass Immigration, on the train to Utrecht, walk to the hotel, arrive back at the hotel at 15:00. Exactly eleven hours since I left in the morning.

I should do something about my life.

Attending Mobey Forum in Utrecht

I spend two days in Utrecht attending the Mobey Forum. I presented a paper on mobile banking in Africa, but was surprised with the quality of the rest of the presentations. I enjoyed the city of Utrecht and the dinner that we had as part of the procedings of the Forum.

I made good friends and learned a lot about the industry that I am so involved with.

Ode to my late father in law

My father in law passed away on the 13th October 2009 after a long suffering (ten years). His hospital bed is now empty, but he is in a much better place now. I travelled to Bloemfontein with my wife to support the family and help with the arrangements.

It is at times like this, that one cannot help to re-evaluate ones relationship with your loved ones. I have learned so much from my father in law. Through my interaction with him, I was moulded into a better person. He was a meticulously accurate person with a sharp brain. We could sit for hours and talk about economics and finance, and this inadvertently influence me in how I arranged my life.

This time also made me think of life (and death). The relationships that I have with my wife and my children and how prepared I am if I have to die. In all of this I once again realised that an Almighty God is in charge. Even though we suffer, He has a good plan for all of us.

Beautiful rainbow over Stellenbosch

This is the rainbow that was visible from the balcony up-stairs at de Wijnlanden late this afternoon. With the vineyards green with new leaves and a light rain that made the air crisp and fresh, the rainbow affirmed how great it is to be alive. I know that the world has many beautiful places, but the Cape always seems to have something special up her sleeve.

Lunch with one of my awesome sons

We had lunch with Ernst (my oldest son) at de Wijnlanden today. The food was a simple salad with Springbok fillet pieces, accompanied by Zondernaam Sauvignon Blanc. I just enjoyed spending time with him and once again realised how blessed I am to have children like I do and that we get along well. How empty would my life have been if I did not have kids?

Just landed at Lanseria. What a nice airport.

Flying into Johannesburg one usually lands at O.R.Tambo. This is the biggest airport in Africa. As such it is also the busiest. To the north of the city is a small international airport called Lanseria. Few scheduled flights use this airport, but one (Kulula) operates a scheduled flight from Cape Town. I decided to check it out and landed here this morning. The airport is very quiet with good infrastructure. It is recommended to land here if you have a meeting in the northern suburbs, providing you can bear the traffic to and from the airport on roads that are under construction.

On my way to Bloem early morning

I am on my way to Bloemfontein by car early morning on Friday. My father-in-law is terminally ill and has been moved to a facility for frailty care this week. I am planning to assist my wife and family during this difficult time. It is situations like this that one re-assess the importance of family and one's relatioinship with God. As I approached Liansburg, the cloud covered the sky in the most beautiful patterns. It was special for me to experience creation and to realise that I worship a God that is so much bigger than any of the problems that we experience here on earth.