Fundamo parkinglot

When I look out of the Fundamo offices, I realise how big the company has grown. All the cars represent an important element in the success of the company. in addition a lot of employees are not even based in Cape Town or are traveling, so the realisation of the responsibility of this big family just struck me again.

Notice-board at work

Some of the great achievements of Fundamo is pinned to this notice-board. Whenever I walk past this notice-board I get a warm feeling. Some of our achievements in Africa, new deployments in the Middle East, a picture of all the Fundamo cyclists, news articles etc. I am blessed to work at this great company.

Lusaka Airport

Its early morning and we have just arrived at the airport on my way back to Cape Town. It is a typical African morning. The birds are greeting the sun that is a round red ball in the east on the horizon. Although the temperature is quite acceptable this early in the morning, one can already feel the promise of a hot, African day. Meetings yesterday went well and it turned out to be a good visit. In my interaction with the client and at the hotel and restaurants left an impression of positiveness. The country is vibrant and one can see growth everywhere: little business initiatives and construction everywhere. I will definitely be back.

Winetasting at de Wijnlanden

We hosted a great winetasting at home for our small-group at church. We tasted a few of the cultivars and then a blend, but most of all we had a lot of fun. This was also an opportunity to get to know each other better.

Biblestudy at Weederom

We had such a great wine-tasting experience yesterday that ended with a brilliant dinner. This morning we started off with a group bible-study, ably led by Quintes. We discussed the meaning of Psalm 37 and then prayed together. This was so special to be able to gather in this beautiful valley filled with vineyards just starting to bloom, surrounded by mountains covered with snow. It was as if God was specially near and to share this with other Christians was especially holy.

Winetasting at Bon Courage

I am on a winetasting tour with one of the wineclubs that I belong to. We stayed at self catering cottages close to Robertson and visited a number of winefarms. The snow was still on the mountains and it was quite cold on Saterday when we arrived for breakfast on Bon Courage. Afterwards we had a great winetasting, savouring some of the famous Bon Courage wines (Inkara).

Kalkbay harbour

We had a great winetasting at Cape Point Vineyards in Noordhoek. They are famous for their white wine and we had a brilliant experience with the winemaker: Duncan Savage. Afterwards we decided to go for a quick bite and ended up at the Harbor restaurant in Kalkbay. The sky were just clearing and the moon was shining over False bay. We had good food with friends and experienced this gift from God with such joy, recognising His blessings.

Catherine's 25th

Catherine celebrated her twenty-fifth year at de Wijnlanden today. The theme was "Cocktails and Cup cakes" and it was a real celebration of life. This is Ernst and Catherine with some of the Cocktails in the Kitchen. It was so special to have them, family and friends at our home.

Dubai Refugee Camp

After a good night sleep (albeit short), I am now walking to my gate for the flight back to Cape Town. Dubai really became a hub for travelers from anywhere. The side effect of this is that weary travelers sometimes have hours to wait for their connecting flight. The result is that people are sleeping everywhere. It is a sore sight.

Sunrise at the Lahore Airport

My first trip to Pakistan. I had such a wonderful time. I worked particularly hard because we have such a lot of interest in Fundamo (all credit to our local partners who have done an excellent job). We also had to attend quite a few dinners as part of the Ramadan celebrations (which was nice). I am now getting ready to board a flight from Lahore to Islamabad (early in the morning) and I was just impressed with the early sunrise.

Table mountain from the vineyards

After climbing a relatively steep hill this morning with the bicycle (made more tough because it was just sand), I was confronted with this picture. Table mountain from the side in the distance from the Bottelary Hills. Two things struck me: the beauty of the farmlands and the vines starting to bud, but on the other hand, the pollution engulfing the stately old mountain in the distance.

Versindaba 2008

I attended Versindaba with Annelie tonight. This is a celebration of Afrikaans poetry where some of the best poets in South Africa gets the opportunity to present their work. Awards for poetry are also announced during these two days. Although I sometimes have dufficulty to understand all the nuances of the presentations, I did enjoy many of the artists, but it was also nice for me to be out with my wife and to see how she mingled with other poets and players in the industry.

The sun is breaking through

I am not sure if the bad weather that we experienced in the Cape had something to do with it, but I really felt down for a number of days. I am sure that rain and lack of sunshine does have a bearing on one's disposition. Nevertheless, as I walked into the garden this morning, onto the wet grass and felt the sun starting to shine early in the morning, this little sparrow flew brightly and sat on the fence in front of me, chirping happily. The sun is up again - if birds can be happy about that, so can I.

Live in Cameroon

After a lot of hard work and dedication from the team at Fundamo, Mobile Money is now live in Cameroon. This is just the start of a major roll-out of Fundamo technology through-out the Africa continent.

It was such a good feeling to receive this picture tonight from the team in Douala. Well done!

Business lounge at OR Tambo with my parents

I am on my way back from Johannesburg with my parents. After attending a conference in the city and meeting some of my clients and partners, I am on my way back to Cape Town. Because, my parents (both well into their 80's) cannot fly on their own, I am taking them back with me. We have just booked in and are now waiting for the call to board.

Wine tasting at Fred

Tonight was again a special wine-tasting. We got together with our Sippers friends and had a brilliant blind tasting. I found that even less expensive wines can be rated high if carefully selected. When we left, we were greeted by this candle next to the front door - amazing.

Sunday lunch with the kids

We were blessed to have all the kids at home today for a great lunch. Annelie cooked a leg of lamb with potatoes and pumpkin. I opened a Zonnebloem Pinotage 1988 and we celebrated family and the privilege to have one another and to feel the love and compassion. Izak taught (or tried to at least) his new skills as a balloon-artist. We enjoyed the food and then watched some Olympics on the television before the kids left.

Dan Carter breakfast

I attended a breakfast arranged by Accenture where the Kiwi flyhalf was present. He was interviewed by Ian Macintosh (ex-Springbok coach). Dan also answered questions from the floor. It was a very enjoyable morning. I was amazed by this young sportstar's professionalism. His parents must definitely be very proud of him.

Just before the Board Meeting

The table is prepared with cookies and water. The agenda is ready and the directors will be here within the next half an hour. This is an important board meeting, but I know that I am well prepared. I have also asked the Lord's blessing on this meeting and am confident that everything will go well - according to His will.

Lunch at Farmstall

On our way back, we had lunch at a farmstall close to Caledon. The food was great (real farm cooking) and we just loved the atmosphere of all kinds of goods stacked every-where.

Poets at Marriane's birthday

I joined Annelie at one of her poet friends, Marriane (in blue at the back) birthday party in George. We traveled to George on the Saturday, attended the party, stayed over in a hotel and then traveled back to Cape Town on the Sunday.

Rep Meeting

I had breakfast with a number of Rep Alumni. Rep is an amazing organisation of Christian businessmen that see the work as a ministry. Rep develops programs that can be applied in business. I have personally seen how God used Rep to speak to individuals and to change their live drastically.

Roof wetting

Good friends of ours, Adrie and Marie invited us to a celebration of their new home. They moved into the newly built dwelling two weeks ago and have now properly settled in. We shared wine, snacks and stories till late at night. We wish them many happy years in their new home.

Sunday Lunch at Eikendal

We celebrated the summer today by having lunch at one of the cellars close to de Wijnlanden: Eikendal. Annelie had the Fish with the local Chardonnay, while I settled for the Pork Schnitzel with the house red. We enjoyed the sun and each other's company.

Indira Ghandi International Airport

I am on my way back to Cape Town after a short visit (for one meeting in Delhi). I have just booked in and passed through passport control. I am waiting to be boarded. It struck me how different we are as humans. Even though we all look (sort of) the same, we are so different in our behaviour, our customs and interactions. It is impossible to describe this, if it was not experienced first hand. As I looked at the different people, Muslims, migrant workers, nationalities that I cannot place, with dress codes so different to what I am used to, I just again realise how much I long to be home with my people.

The world's biggest Plasma

I saw this in one of the Dubai shopping centre's. Typical, Dubai style, this is supposedly the world's biggest plasma screen (103 cm). Like everything in Dubai it is a HUGE screen, but (like everything in Dubai), a little bit... strange?

Bahrain Lounge

After a productive meeting in Bahrain and waiting for my flight to Dubai, I booked into this American Express business lounge. It turned out to be one of the best that I ever visited. Beautifully laid out, with service to back it up, it had everything I needed to help me with a hectic travel schedule.

Des and the little lady

Des and Elsa had supper at de Wijnlanden with us tonight. They brought the little lady with that they are foster parents to. We had a great evening, filled with a lot of fun, but also touching on the serious elements of life.

Malvern's hairdo

Malvern's wore his hair in an "interesting" style this morning. I thought it deserved a picture. Malvern claims it is because of all the travel that we are doing at the offices lately.

Late dinner

We had a late dinner tonight at a local Italian place after a stunning wine tasting presented by Jeff Grier from Villiera. He recently bought a winefarm in the Roussillon region of France and he introduced us and a few others to what is happening in this area of France. It was a great experience. Afterwards, me and Annelie had a to find a place to eat.

Dinner with Ernst and Catherine

Ernst and Catherine visited for dinner tonight. Annelie made a fish dish and we enjoyed it with a bottle Tortoise Hill Rosé. We chatted and watch a DVD together. We are so blessed to have our children close by and for them to spend time with us.

Bordeaux wine tasting

We attended a great wine-tasting event organised by Doreen and Nico (picture) tonight. We had to identify five different red wine cultivars that we tasted blind. Afterwards we tasted a blend produced from the individual wines. I was proud of myself that I could identify all the wines successfully.

Breakfast in Bloemfontein

Annelie launched her poetry book in Bloemfontein this week. I arranged my travel in such a way to join her there. It was a big celebration and she is thankful that it is now done.

We also spent some time with her parents and met Izak (Annelie's brother and my brother-in-law) and his family for breakfast on Sunday. As is usual, I started the day off in a healthy way: Muesli, fruit and a muffin.

Wimbledon Centre Court

I arranged for Annelie to join me in London for the weekend. She always wanted to see Wimbledon live. I was not sure that we would be able to find tickets for the Ladies Final on Saterday, but I prayed a lot. Then on Friday night, I found two tickets on the web for Centre Court in the front row! We sat right next to the entry point for the players. We could touch the players and officials as they walked onto court. For me this was (once again) a sign of how powerful my God is. I was just amazed at how He listen to prayers.

A great wine in a great hotel

My German business partner booked us into this great old hotel in the middle of Wiesbaden, the Schwarzer Bock Hotel (supposedly the oldest hotel in Germany, having been founded in 1486. Read more here). I really enjoyed the style, coupled with excellent service. Because it was so hot, we had a simple meal in the courtyard. I selected the Josephshofer Kabinett Riesling 2006 to accompany the meal. Turned out to be one of the best Rieslings that I ever had.

London on a clear day

We met some of our business associates at this restaurant overlooking the Thames on a beautiful day. We spoke about all of the issues and developed a good plan going forward while sipping a beer. London can be stunning too.

Sunday Lunch at de Wijnlanden

Before I left for London, me and Annelie had an amazing lunch on the veranda at de Wijnlanden. We had steak and vegetables with a good Neetlingshof 1995 Pinotage. As I looked at the mountains and a perfect weather with Annelie next to me, I knew again how blessed I am.

Dirk's old wines

We helped Dirk test some of his older wines. He was not sure if some of the older wines in his cellar was still Okay, so we and a couple of friends spend the evening trying some of them out. Turns out that some have been left to age for too long, but others (like for instance the Laborie Estate 1986) were still in excellent condition.

A Fundamo Development Team

This is a picture of one of the Fundamo Development Teams celebrating after the release of and important milestone on one of our projects. I thought that this is such a beautiful picture that I wanted to post it on my personal blog. But this is also special because I work with each of these individuals in some capacity or other. We are busy with such exciting things and it gives me a lot of pride to see them excell.

Our children

Just before Izak left for Pretoria again, I took this photo of the kids in the kitchen at de Wijnlanden. Ernst doing so well at his work with responsibilities way beyond what one could expect of someone of his age, Izak growing in a new career with complex engineering challenges, Mariet just having been nominated as one of the top architectural students in the country and Catherine stepping into a marketing job with grace that people with twice her experience would battle to do. In addition they radiate love for each other and most important for their Creator. We are indeed blessed.

Annelie's birthday dinner

We celebrated Annelie's birthday with close friends at one of our favorite restaurants; Pomegranate. We enjoyed the wonderful food and the company of close friends. After Quintes asked for grace on this special occasion, he asked every-one present to say something about Annelie and what she means to us. I realised how fortunate I am to be sharing my life with this special person. I thanked God for his grace and blessings that he bestow on us.

Izak in Cape Town

Izak is visiting from Pretoria. He flew in last weekend and will be returning on Sunday. In this picture, one can see how happy we are to have him at home for a short while.

Boekenhoutskloof tasting

We had the most amazing winetasting tonight at Boekenhoutskloof presented by South African winemaker of the year for 2007: Marc Kent. This was an exceptional winetasting for a number of reasons: We were able to taste all of the Semillon's made on the estate since the first vintage (1995), we were the first group in the world that tasted the new flagship wine (yet to be released) - the Journeyman 2005, we finished the evening with a dinner prepared by one of the chefs from Reuben's (voted the best restaurant in South Africa last year). But more important, this was just so special because we could experience this with longstanding friends. Even through all of this "Whao!"- experiences, what made tonight worthwhile was to experience the warmth of friendship.

First draft of Boksemdais

The first draft of the book that Annelie will be publishing some of her poems was received on Sunday. We hosted a number of her co-authors at deWijnlanden to talk and celebrate. This is Annelie, with Andre, Antionette and Marriaan, with the first drafts.

The mountains behind Hawston and Father's day

I cycled up the mountains behind Hawston today. It was a crisp and cold day and the road up the mountain was steep and sometimes difficult to navigate, but the view was so spectacular that it was worth it. Ernst and Catherine joined us at the house at Meerenbosch (right at the mouth of the river into the ocean in the middle of the picture) later in the day. We watched rugby together, cooked meat on an open fire and just talked. I was specially blessed when they gave me a wonderful card on father's-day. It was really special to hear that they value me as their father, notwithstanding all my shortcomings.

Product Worksession

It is going hectic at work. We had to double our headcount since the beginning of the year and we have more work than what we can effectively deliver. At the same time, we have to figure out how we organise ourselves to be more effective. This is some of the Fundamo staff in worksession to design a new version of our product.

Robertson Mountainbike Challenge

I finished a tough Mountain Bike race today. It rained and the whole track was one mud track. At the end of the race everything was covered in mud. I also suffered mild cramps because I was not well prepared for the race. However, I enjoyed the outing, particularly because Annelie joined me. We had a nice time driving to the venue and then back again. We will hopefully do this again.

World Economic Forum in Cape Town

An important WEF meeting was held in Cape Town (yesterday and today). Some of the global captains of industry and political leaders gathered in Cape Town to discuss matters of joint interest. I met a number of people at the Convention Center in the Foreshore. As I look at the beautiful mountain and the fresh air and saw the important people walking around, I realised that the world is not just what happens in London.

Guilford Hotel

I stayed at this Hotel in South Kensington this week. A typical hotel in London with good fittings and a bath (not really a shower). The stay was enjoyable and very successful, but I could not wait to get back to Cape Town.

Grace Community Church

I attended the morning service at the Grace Community Church in Sevenage. (It was a church that I found on the web and close to the hotel where I stayed after my visit to Duxbury). I found many blessings by attending this church and will be thinking of them in my prayers.