Today, wherever you look, even at work, everybody is dressed in yellow. It is so amazing to experience soccer fever in South Africa. It is a privilege to be part of the excitement and it is so gratifying to feel proud of our young democracy.
I got the soccer-tickets for the World Cup just now. I had to drive in to the city, but now I am stuck in the afternoon rush to get home and it is raining. I suppose there is nothing I can do about it, but still, it is such time-wasting to sit in traffic and crawl forward.
We entertained some guests at the new Delaire Restaurant. We are blessed with some great restaurants in and around Stellenbosch. The quality of the architecture, the food, the wine and the service are of international standards. Sometimes I feel as if it is just a bit too over the top - trying to make too much of an impression and as a result some of the good old basic "feel-at-home" eateries are under pressure to compete for the limited number of guests.
As I finished a meeting with my shareholders this evening, I was confronted with this spectacular sunset. It was out of this world.
We were privileged to have Arden stay with us for two days. It was such a great experience to see how he evolved from a baby to a small boy. He is making intelligent noises (some that can be interpreted as words), he is so attentive and full of energy. In addition to an inquisitive mind, he also has a most charming smile. We cherished the time that we could spend with him and build a relationship.
We attended Reinhard's fifty year bash at La Masseria. It was a most enjoyable affair. He is now officially part of the "half-century-and-not-out" club.
We are working late today and as I walked towards the middle block, I could see the red LED's on the security pads in the late light of the day. It is not as clear on this photo, but it was interesting to look at the row of red lights along the corridor. I experience a lot of satisfaction to work on a project with good team members and to ultimately see the result and to realise that we have produced something of good quality.
The two dogs have now been living with us for almost six months. They have grown a lot (although they are not yet grown-up... as a matter of fact very far from it.) The two have made the house their home. Basie even hunts mice in the garden. We enjoy having them here.
Here I am at Paddington, ready to board the Heathrow Express and ultimately via SAA to Cape Town. I like London, I really do. And this time round the weather was so nice, with green parks and the first blooms of spring. But why is it that I cannot wait to be back in Cape Town, with the mountains and the rains. Even in winter, Cape Town is my personal favourite.
We stayed in the very modern The Hempel hotel in London. Minimalistic, lots of art and lighting. Even had a painted elephant at reception. I felt that they were trying too hard to be trendy and arty.
We met at Llewellyn and Chrisna's house tonight. We listened to a guy that recovered miraculously from a serious head injury after an accident. We listened to a witness of how faith and prayers work in creating miracles. It was an awesome experience and gratifying to share the conviction of other believers.
Izak, my youngest son was here for the weekend to see the Bulls game against the Stormers (local team). He also visited us and we had a great lunch on Sunday with the whole family at home. Ernst and Catherine (and Arden - my grandchild) was also here. This is Arden and Izak just before lunch.
I was greeting with a special morning this morning early. The sun broke through the clouds and a thin mist was hanging over the vineyards. No breeze was blowing and the birds were celebrating the new day. I could smell the dew in the fresh morning air. So great to be back home.
Early morning on Saturday as we are being bussed to our plane that will take us to Cape Town, I saw this magnificent plane being pushed back. Where is it flying to? New York? Can't wait for the first time to get into one of these huge birds.
We had lunch at Ernst on Sunday and played with Arden a lot. His teeth is coming along nicely, but this was the first time that I managed to take a photo to prove it.
This is the remains of the pavilion on the Macassar beach. It is hauntingly beautiful on one of the most spectacular places on the False bay coast. Yet very few people know about it and visit the place. I hid my second geo cache in these buildings.
Now that the road is open, one can see how easy it would be to travel on the R300 if it is finally complete. The contractors are still working on the shoulder of the road and putting finishing touches to some of the bridges, but I can already see how the road will look when everything is done. This will take away a lot of the frustration getting to work.
I rate this hotel as one of the best in the world. The people, the food and the architecture is in a special class of its own. Without trying and with no pretention the hotel achieves a quiet style.
Look carefully and you will see this huge owl sitting under a tree. After lunch at Spier, I took Annelie with me to do some Geo-Cache-hunting. It took me some time to find this multi-stage. As I approached the Cache, Annelie said that I should please be quiet because I will scare the owl off, and there right in front of us (two meters away), was this massive, beautiful creature. (I think it is a Cape Eagle-Owl). What a privilege to see and to enjoy. I retrieved the cache, and then left quietly, trying not to disturb the bird.
Me and Annelie flew to Pretoria for the weekend. I took off the Monday and because Tuesday was a public holiday, we could spend four days in Blue-Bulls country. We had an opportunity to visit my parents in their retirement village, spend time with my youngest son and also see my brother and his family. On the Sunday, we had lunch at the Voortrekker monument on a hill overlooking Pretoria. It was good to see all the family and to just touch sides.
This evening we enjoyed a special fillet cooked by Adri in his new enclosed "braai-room". In addition to the meat a salad and sweet-potato was served. We started the evening on a 2002 Mischa Shiraz and completed it with a Guardian Peak SMG. We really had a special evening.
The Kurktrekkers (one of the wineclubs that I belong to), had a tasting experience at one of the local wine-farms. The farm is called Mooiplaas and Tielman Roos (owner) presented their wines to us. We started off by driving to the highest point of the farm where we could see the sun set over Table Mountain. Tielman's knowledge of the environment, the birds, the flowers and even insects was amazing. He has been farming here for the past thirty years and one can see this in the intimate knowledge of the terroir. The wines was impressive too, but the 2002 Cabernet was in a class of its own.
This afternoon was just so beautiful with the last sun-rays touching the tops of the hills. The air was crisp and clear after the rain and the clouds brilliantly white. The vineyards started to turn slightly red/orange. It was such a special sight.
My first grandson had his first sleep-over with us last night. It went quite well and when I had to attend to the little man in the morning, I just realised how Arden found a special place in my heart.
Early morning flight to Johannesburg and the first time that I could test out the new Star Alliance lounge in the new terminal. The architecture and lay-out is stunning, but they must still work on the content and service. I will give them the benefit of having just opened. I also saw that the British Airways lounge was also open...
I saw Tony and Lisa sitting in the garden as I left the middle block today - deep in discussion and I just had to blog it. It meant so much for me: to see great people busy developing thoughts on how to make the product and the company better. And then to see the environment that we are priviledged to work in. This is without doubt one of the most exciting companies to work for in one of the most unique settings.
I spent some quality time with my wife at La Pineta tonight to celebrate my 53rd birthday. We decided to try and visit all the restaurants in a fifteen kilometer radius from our home and tonight ended up at La Pineta. We have not been here before, had no recommendation, just made a reservation and arrived. We were pleasantly surprised with the skills in the kitchen. I had the Venison with a glass of Anura Pinotage, while Annelie selected the Kabeljou with a glass of Chardonnay. Excellent, excellent, excellent!
I really enjoy Geocaching. I took out some time with Izak this morning to go and hunt some caches. We found two of the three that we set out to find. This was quite satisfying, but it was the opportunity to spend some time with my son and the beauty of the mountains and the vineyards that was really special.
We slept at the cottage at MeerenBosch for the night. In the morning, one could see seven of the wild horses in the distance grazing close to the water's edge. It is unfortunately very difficult to see the horses on this picture, but if you use some imagination, one can see a few darker blotches in the middle of the picture: that's the horses. Staying at the cottage is a real balm for the soul: hearing the sea in the distance and smelling the Milkwood trees' fruit.
This is my version of a feast: making a fire from wood carefully chopped into the right size inside my home. Then, to "braai" a piece of red meat and some condiments (vegetables and toasted bread in this case). To open a spectacular red wine (today it was a Veenwouden Classic 2002 - aged in my own cellar for five years). And finally to enjoy this with my wife on a perfect day in the Cape. I am truly blessed.
We had an early dinner at Ernst and Catherine tonight and had a chance to see our grandchild for a short while. He is such a wonderful little guy and we love him so much.
I found this envelope in the post today from Google. After careful investigation, I found it contained a piece of paper where a bank nominated by Google promised to pay me an amount for the Advertising on my blogs. After I gave it some thought, I remembered that we used to make use of this instrument (I think it was called a check) to pay other people... but that was very long ago. I wonder if my bank will still accept this ancient way of tender.
The two puppies found a toilet roll this morning and declared it enemy number one. I think they won the contest before anyone could rescue the toilet roll.
I connected from Kathmandu to Dubai at Karachi Airport. I also changed carriers from Pakistan International (PIA) to Emirates. I think it was triggered by the fact that PIA could not deliver my baggage to Emirates as they already loaded it on their flight to Dubai. I struggled for an hour to get a boarding pass, but were happy to board the plane in the end.
I was looking forward to finding a cache in Nepal because I had two travel bugs that I collected from South African caches that I wanted to leave in Nepal. With the help of my friends in Kathmandu, we tracked the cache down and I could drop the TB's and collect a TB to bring back to South Africa. This is such an interesting game.
Dwarika's (Read here) is one of the most interesting hotels in Katmandu. The owner utilised old artifacts found in the city and build a very interesting hotel reflecting the unique architectural and cultural history of Nepal. The use of old furniture, doors, window frames and old statuettes turns the hotel into a magic place. We had dinner in the local restaurant and sampled a six course meal of Nepal foods in a special environment. This was a very special experience.
I had a great dinner with colleagues and local partners at the Bar-B-Q Tonight Restuarant in Karachi. This is a famous local restaurant where food is cooked on open fires and meat is the mantra. The restaurant consists of four floors full of tables. Even though this was a Thursday guests had to wait to be seated. The meal and the company was amazing.
Izak left for Pretoria on a Mango flight today. I am sitting in the business lounge waiting for my flight to Dubai. I watched as he took off in a distance and reflected on how special it is to have my sons with me. I think that it is special because this is r.elatively rare (and will probably get less regular)
Both the boys were home tonight. Ernst and Catherine stopped by for Dinner and Izak is down from Pretoria to do his first Argus. All three of us are planning to participate in the Argus cycle race.
I was at the office early this morning. As I waited for the others to arrive, I considered how the company has grown from small beginnings to a company that is now recognised as the global leader in its field... from an idea to offices on three continents. I just hope that we never loose our spirit and our authenticity.
Me, Annelie, friends and family attended the final show of the play Draadwerk written by my cousin Delene (in photo here with Annelie and the producer of the show). We enjoyed the acting, but also the deeper meanings and thought-provoking themes.
Nina is one of our god-children. She is such a special little girl. She turns five on Sunday, but had her birthday party today. We attended and joined in the celebrations.
I had to fetch the post and buy some printer ink this morning. Little Arden was staying with us for a part of the day and I was allowed to take him with on my errants. Soon he was asleep in his car-seat and I could take this photo of him. He looked so at peace and happy with the world. I looked at him and felt a little of this tranquility passing over to me. A little bit of bonding?
I had a meeting upstairs at the office and saw Steven hard at work in the upper sitting room. This was so "Fundamo" to me that I had to take a photo of him. It is clear that he is working on some milestone that he will definitely meet. He wears a T-shirt in the immaculate sitting room and his travel bag is next to him, ready to roll. I just again realised what a special company I work for: we perform the impossible with (often) very little. This is only possible because of the special people that we work with. People that take responsibilities and take pride in what they deliver.
It was such a perfect day. The sun was shining and the sea had just enough rythm to demonstrate the enherent energy. After a brisk walk on the beach at Muizenberg, we sat down for a brilliant lunch at the Harbour house. My sushi-sanwich starter was out of this world. We enjoyed the good food, the wine and surroundings as well as each others company.
I had an early breakfast meeting with a business associate at Century City (a big shopping centre in the middle of Cape Town). When I wanted to leave, the parking meeting rejected my last two Rand coin (after receiving about six coins without a problem). It was almost as if the machine was designed to reject the last coin. Needless to say, it was not a good way to start my day.
The clouds on the way to work today was absolutely spectacular. (As always, photos can never do justice to the experience). As I was sitting in the car with this view in front of me, I felt so privileged and blessed to be confronted with such beauty.
After all the activities ended in Barcelona, and because of difficulties (and cost) to get suitable flights back home, I decided to travel by car to Madrid and then take a flight from there back home. Filip and Richard joined me and we had an opportunity to have long discussions in the car about our company and the industry. We also had some time for fun and managed to spend some time at the museum of wine and to have dinner at a great local restaurant in the region.
