Visiting my parents

Spent most of the weekend with my aging parents. This is their 85th summer and they have now been married for 56 years. I tried organising their affairs and helped where I can. We shared a great dinner with my dad's favourite: Merlot. Afterwards I realised how precious these moments are, but also how merciless age just marches on.

Highveld Clouds

Some-one once said to me that Africa produces the most spectacular clouds. These clouds, with the sun fighting to get through, made me think that this might just be true.

Early morning cycle run

Got up at five this morning for an hour of cycling predominantly through the vineyards. There is something special about seeing the sun rise over the Helderberg, to hear the birds waking up with a song and to smell the cool morning air. These early morning exercises out in the open are so different to a crowded gym.

Wine and Food at Rust and Vrede

This is undoubtedly one of the best wine estates in Stellenbosch. We had a wine-tasting and lunch at Rust and Vrede. The owner, Jean Engelbrecht presented the best wines and gave us a short tour of the farm. In addition to the wines and food, we were also impressed by the beautiful gardens underneath the spectacular mountains.

Goodluck Nigeria

I saw this poster at the airport in Lagos: "Goodluck Nigeria: time for transformation". It was an election campaign for the existing president: Jonathan Goodluck and an interesting play on words I thought. However, I had a distinct feeling that this campaign would not have succeeded in many others places except in Nigeria.

Two A380's

I saw two A380's parked on the apron next to each other when going through OR Tambo (Lufthansa and Air France). I think that this must be rare occurrence and was particularly intrigued that this happened here in Africa.

Lowtide at the Strand

It was such a beautiful evening last night. With a light, cool breeze from the sea and long sunlight hours, it was the perfect time to go for a stroll on the Strand beach after work. Lots of people were out; walking dogs, jogging, playing games on the sand. A mad guy even launched a motorized paraglider from the beach. It was an opportunity to reflect on the day and breathe in the fresh air streaming in from False bay.

How to eat Kreef

Lobster and Crayfish are items to be found on the menus of fancy restaurants. Kreef is eaten freshly caught out of the sea. During a process involving good Sauvignon Blanc, lots of laughter and friends, a whole Kreef is reduced to a few scales and tentacles with all the meat sucked out.

Pringle bay

The pristine beach and the waves scattered by the wind as they break - everything bathed in the late afternoon sun. This is indescribably beautiful to me. Especially after returning from a gloomy northern hemisphere just a few hours ago.

Trendy London hotel

The Cumberland hotel, where I am staying, is one of a new style of hotels. Psychedelic lights, weird sculptures and mood-setting music creates a very different environment. It is very special, but I wonder if it is what business travelers really want.

Pop in to Sandton on the Gautrain

I am taking a quick detour on my way to London to have a meeting in Sandton. The Gautrain is a great way of getting there without much hassles. In reloading my card, listening to the announcement and the trip there, it struck me how quickly this modern piece of infrastructure could be "Africanized". The number of kiosks "out of order", the flexibility of the schedule and the ample, smiling, helpful people around made me feel very at home.

My AmEx was cloned in Sydney

Last week, my American Express card (or rather a copy of it) was used for multiple, fraudulent transactions in Melbourne. It became clear that my card was skimmed while I was in Sydney a few weeks before. I used my card only twice - both times in upmarket restaurants. The world has become more dicey.... even in Aus.

Slow Cricket

I watched the last day of the last five day match between the Proteas and India... with a lot of expectation for fireworks. Nothing happened in the first hour and this carried on for the rest of the day.

Meeting David Klatzow

One of the books that I really enjoyed reading recently was David Klatzow's autobiogaphy. What fun was it then, when I bumped into him at a Kreef-braai. We had a long chat about a lot of things.

Ernst and Catherine leaving for Hong Kong

We dropped Ernst and Catherine at CTIA en route to Hong Kong. Ernst will be studying at a Hong Kong university for five months. It was a sad moment to say goodbye, but I am sure they will return with much more wisdom.