Ian's farewell lunch

After three and a half years, Ian decided to leave Fundamo to pursue a new career opportunity. It was sad to say goodbye, but as Craig said: "rather turn sadness into a celebration". I know that Ian will be successful in his new job, but I also know that he will stay in touch and I am convinced that his exposure to Fundamo was positive and a growth experience for him. We "celebrated" at Whang Thai in Milnerton with good Oriental food and a few bottles of Durbanville Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2006.

A Late dinner

This is dinner tonight, after I attended a thoroughly disappointing corporate body meeting of our appartment in Kaapse Draai. I had a glass of Flagstone Dragon Tree 2004 to round it off.

Tienie Louw

We had an amazing wine tasting with Tienie Louw from Diemersdal. The Louws have been making wine at Diemersdal since 1885. We tasted some of his famous Sauvignon Blanc 2006 and then had a vertical Shiraz tasting (2001,2002,2003,2004 and the 2007). I just love people that are serious about what they do and then do it with passion. I suppose that is why I enjoy winemakers because all of them are passionate about what they do. Therein lies a lesson for all of us. Reminds me of the IS advert: "Do what you love - love what you do!"

Reformed Church Uitsig

Me and Annelie attended the morning service at the Dutch Reformed Church Uitsig Gemeente. It was the annual Easter service. I could see that a lot of preparation and planning went into the service. Even though the story is old, I once again realised how powerful the message of God's love is. I know that I am insignificant small, but that I matter. It was a solemn moment for me.

Sea-shell vendor

This little boy collects sea-shells and then sells it to tourists.

Paternoster Evening

This is Hendrik. He was our waiter at Voorstrand restaurant in Paternoster - a very special place. It serves unpretentious food - like fish, lobster, prawns and calamari. But the setting is just amazing... on the sea. You can smell and hear the waves. But then Paternoster is a village with a reputation. A small fishing village about 150km north of the Cape, it started to develop a good tourist infrastructure (hotel, B&B's and a few good restaurants), without changing the character of the village.

Thai monday

Wim was in town again and he stayed with us tonight. We had dinner at one of our favourite restuarants: Thaifoon - just down the street from Kaapse Draai. The food was great (as usual), and we finished the meal with a few Singha's - just for memory sake.

Kogelbay on the way to Rooi-Els

On Sunday, me and Annelie drove all the way to Meerenbosch via the coastal road. This picture was taken with the cellphone on the steering wheel. The sea was special blue and a stiff wind was whipping up small waves that dis-integrated before they struck the beach. We stopped at Rooi-Els for a stretch of legs and had lunch near the harbour in Kleinmond. (It was their Sunday buffet so we ordered a bottle of Solms Shiraz 2003). We chatted and just generally enjoyed the day. When we walked into the appartment at about 20h00, we knew how blessed we are.

Saturday Dinner

After good wins for the Cheetah's and the Sharks in the Super14, we had a late dinner. Sheep cutlets and other goodies were braai'ed outside. We opened a bottle of De Waal Pinotage and had a great meal together with our youngest son and his girlfriend. Simple things that mean so much. I suppose one feels safe and comfortable in the routine of Saturday-evenings, but notwithstanding each day is sufficiently different to also feel special. We are truly blessed.

Progress with the house

The roof is on and the ceilings are almost finish. We visited the site today to finalise stuff regarding the stairs, tiles etc. I must say it is realy exciting to see the house progress and me and Annelie like what we have built so far.

Doug in South Africa

Doug is extremely knowledgable about technology and he had managed to keep up to date on all the latest developments for many years. (I don't know how he does it). We have started this routine to have dinner each year this time (Doug is based in Washington, but spends a few weeks in Cape Town usually during March). This year, my good friend Willem joined and it was such a stimulating getogether.

Willem is 50

We attended Willem's 50 year celebration today. (This is him and his wife Gretel). We listened to some speeches and understood why we cherish our friendship with the Wust's so much. During the night, Tinus (a close friend of Willem) also came round. One should see this in context, as Tinus' father passed away a few hours ago. This just touched my heart - this was a demonstration and allowing me a glimpse of the importance of friendship and how it interacted with family-relationships. We all felt sympathy for Tinus, but also experienced the warmth of friends.

Izak and Sanet

Izak (Annelie's brother) and his wife stayed at our place for a few days. Izak is in Cape Town to participate in his sixth Argus cycle race. It is always special to have them here. We have so much to share about our lifes, our children and life in general. We watched rugby, eat and talk from Thursday till Sunday.

Johannes presenting

Johannes giving an overview of our product strategy in the boardroom. Johannes is in charge of product development at Fundamo.

Progress with de Wijnlanden

After lunch in the Paarl on Sunday, me and Annelie drove past the house in de Wijnlanden. The house building is realy progressing well. The roof is expected to be finished within a week. Then we can start working on the interior.

The Streets of Sao Paulo

This is what the street-restaurants look like at night.

Working Lunch

While working in Sao Paulo, I did not have much time to eat - it was just so hectic. Tuesday afternoon, I got this sandwich from the shop across the street. It was absolutely delicious.