The Double Century (DC) is a tough race (200km)... well at least for old people like us. Our team of twelve are planning to participate and at least complete the race at the end of November. For this we have to spend a lot of time in the saddle. Today we did 120km all the way to Agter Paarl and back. It was hard, but a lot of fun.
What beautiful days we have in the Cape at the moment. Wonderfully clear days with no wind! Yet, no pollution! It is as if all the forces in nature is working together to show how beautiful creation can be. I had to stop and get off the bike to take this photo. The beauty was just overwhelming.
Today was just one of those perfect days. I left work a bit earlier to take out some time to go for a walk on the beach with my lovely wife, Annelie. The sea was calm and one could smell the freshness of False Bay in the air. We do live in one of the most beautiful places on earth.
It was early on Sunday morning. The morning was still cold in the valley and only the birds were celebrating the break of dawn. I got out of bed and walked briskly up the hill close to the resort to get the first rays of sunshine and see into the distance. We are spending the weekend with Ernst, Catherine and Arden at The Baths (close to Citrusdal). Even though I have a lot of work to do, the time away was special.
It is quite amazing :- nature. A few days ago, the vines were just dry twigs, looking like something without any life in it. Today it was full of bright green buds and leafs that have grown almost overnight. Spring is here for sure and it symbolizes renewal, youth, energy and hope. I suppose that is why I enjoy having a small vineyard at home.
We walked to find a cache on Keurboom's beach today and found this rock formation. It is only possible to get to this place at low tide after walking through a small stream flowing into the sea on a beach seldom seen by people. One could not see any development and only a few people were around. We loved it.
I cycled the red route through the forest today and what a special experience! Sure, the route was just above my skill levels and I fell off the bike a few times and had to walk other times, but nobody can prepare one for the scenery. The route goes through dense forest and then traverse through more open vegetation on top of a cliff looking out over the sea. In addition, the track is maintained well and in very good condition.
We visited the Robberg Reserve today and explored this beautiful place. The views and sites just confirmed again how spectacular our country is. It was also great for us to experience this together.
On our way to Plettenbergbay, we stopped over at one of Annelie's cousins: Maggie. She is married to Kallie and live in a stunning house overlooking the beach at Heraldsbay. We intended stopping for a few minutes, but ended up staying for two bottles of Chardonnay and lovely pasta. It was great hospitality and we invited them to visit us when they are in the Cape.
Ah, the memories. I spoke at an innovation conference at Sanlam today. It has been more than ten years since I left Sanlam. So it was with a bit melancholy that I walked into the auditorium. Luckily, I bumped into many old friends. Hennie and Frikkie, are two guys that I worked with at Sanlam and it was great to see them again.
Me and Annelie had the most fantastic dinner with Bryan and Zi at Deli Delish in Houtbay. The dinner was a cook-out competition between two chefs and we had absolute jewels of food. The lamb with rosemary and cherry tomatoes (supported by a Painted Wolf Madach 2008) or the cheesecake (with a great Nederberg Noble Late Harvest) were some of the highlights. Great conversation, lots of memories and ambiance contributed to make this a almost perfect evening.
I was at the church early this morning (as usual on a Tuesday). As I entered the office, I saw these beautiful flowers. (Maybe a bouquet that remained after a wedding or another event?) For me it symbolised the beauty of God's creation and how thankful we should be for what He gives us and how we are blessed. Tuesday mornings are prayer time for me with a handful of faithful others. We spend an hour to just think of others in prayer. It is a time to be confronted by the responsibility to care for people that worry, that suffer, people in pain or in ill-health. So many people that need our prayers.
I placed my 6th geocache in this beautiful setting just off Badel Powell drive. I enjoy finding places like this within easy driving distance, but not well-known and then placing a cache there for others to find.
I took a training ride with the cycle club this morning. We cycled all the way to Rooi-els and back. It was a spectacularly beautiful morning and I enjoyed the workout a lot.
I am at one of my shareholders this afternoon. I really like their style. To have two golf-courses on both sides of the property, lots of world-class restaurants in close proximity and this kind of view does say something of the company. We had a good meeting.
What fun we had. Ernst and Catherine visited today. We were joined by JP and Maritha and their three daughters. We talked, laughed, built a big fire, made sushi and drank wine. We watched Arden walking around in the house. Even the dogs started making friends with the little boy. I am truly blessed with such family and friends.
We attended the produce market at Lourensford this morning. We sampled some of the cheese and toffees and bought some of the food. We marveled at the beauty of the estate and the surroundings. It was also great just to be out and to be in each other's company.
On our way to Cavendish to watch one of the first screenings of "Moa's last Dancer", me and Annelie had this view of the sun setting directly in front of us as we headed in to town.
Leon is one of those guys that knows about everything about mobile products and he has been around. He is visiting family in Cape Town, and I could not miss the opportunity to meet him. We had coffee at the Waterfront and spoke about the past, but also where the future will take us. I really enjoyed it.
We had a most enjoyable wine-tasting experience with Albertus and his wife from Avondrood winery close to Rawsonville. This was one of the tastings that we had with the wine-club during the weekend. He show-cased his excellent wines with small food tit-bits prepared by his wife in the mountain-cabin on his farm. More so than the wine and food, it was his passion and energy that we really enjoyed.
I saw this poster at Dasbosch winery. I felt a lot of responsibility...
Part of the implications of Fundamo's growth is the exposure to many different cultures from all over the world. We decided on Friday to invite all the different people to prepare food from their country for all of us to share. It was a celebration of many different people and one of the many events that I will hold close to my heart. In the spirit of the day, I dressed in my Nigerian outfit: one of the the many countries that I got to know and love.
It was quite overcast as I was driving to the office this morning. Then out of the blue the sun broke through the dark cloud cover. And at the same time, I saw a plane switch on its landing lights in the clouds for long approach to Cape Town International. There was something special about this.
We had our quarterly lunch this week, me and Willem. I love our lunches. It usually turns into "how-to-change-the-world-for-the-better-tomorrow" discussions. I usually leave inspired and full of new ideas. "Where shall we meet this time?", Willem asked, "Seeing that I come from the Southern Suburbs and your from the Northern". Then I had a brilliant idea, "Langa", I said. We had our lunch at Esiko Restaurant. We should do this more.
I was so disgusted with the performance of the Springboks against Australia, that I searched for GeoCaches rather than watching rugby. As the sun was setting, the moon was already above the horizon and the clouds made funny patterns against the mountains. I did not find a lot of Caches, but I once again were reminded how beautiful the Cape can be.
We initially thought that we should go and see a movie on Friday night, but could not find something interesting. In the end we attended a life performance of Die Kaalkop Waarheid (DKW), an Afrikaans Rock Band in a local theatre. It was fun.
Wim and Kobie stayed over on Thursday night and we had a most enjoyable dinner at La Pineta. I thought that it was fitting that we should dine at a restaurant as close to a airstrip as possible. After dinner (when we left), Wim found this hat at reception...
Me and Annelie drove down to the beach after lunch on Sunday and had a cup of coffee and a slice of chocolate cake at a sea-side cafe. We then had a brief stroll on the beach. It was low tide and the sea was very calm. Birds were feeding below the low-water mark and the fresh smell of the cold water filled the air. We experienced, we shared and we were thankful. Words cannot describe it.
I just love the people I work with. I received this box from our Singapore office - properly packaged with all the required stickers on and professionally signed with my full name and title. Inside was a Fundamo stamp with a nice letter attached. Background to the story is that it is customary to also stamp a contract when it is signed in the East. This is not really a Euro-centric thing. We discussed it a few times (me and Aaron), recognising the differences in culture and practice and how important it is to have respect for differences. Just to show that he remembered, Aaron made sure that we now have our own stamp. Love it!
With the exception of the soccer, everything about this World Cup was amazing. Africa has opened her heart to all the visitors from afar and showed the generosity of a special continent. As old as the human race and with rhythms that you can feel run through the packed Calabashe (Soccer City - as magnificent arena as I have seen), Africa has shown her warmth. The opening ceremony was well planned. Even the lack of coordinated movements felt right and the amazing computer animation on the pitch showed a continent that can use technology as good if not better than any-one. This is why it is such a pity that FIFA could not rise to the occasion. It is clear that the superstars of the game are tired or just arrogant, the officials are scared because of the lack of technology and the game-plans played un-inspiring.
Me and Annelie have just booked in for our flight to Johannesburg with BA to attend the final. I have poured a glass of Printer's Ink (a stunning Pinotage produced by Meinert in Devon Valley). As I sat at the window of one of the better lounges (not as good as BA lounge in terminal 5 or Emirates in Terminal 3 though), looking at the Airbus A340-600 being loaded, I realised how much I enjoy this life. To experience all this travel and events, to meet interesting people and be exposed to interesting ideas. It is as if I live on the edge, but the view is beautiful.
Arden stayed over with us on Saturday evening. Sunday we took him to the Duckpond for morning tea. We showed him the small ducklings. He helped the tannie write the menu on the big white board and just generally spend time with his oupa. It is such a blessing to experience this time of my life.
I had such a great mountainbike ride on Saturday. All the way to the Jonkers bench high up in the Jonkershoek mountains. It was quite a strenuous trip as I had to climb a number of very steep hills (often with loose rocks). But the view from the top and the satisfaction to have done it was just amazing. I will definitely be back.
Friday is Soccer Friday in South Africa and some of the guys at work do the name justice. I noticed that both Richard and Martin donned shirts of two of teams playing tonight. I don't know about Brazil, but I definitely hope that Ghana progress to the Semi's
I saw this poster when I got off the plane at OR Tambo: "...some-one to look up to, no matter how tall you've grown". This just touched my heart; for being a dad, for beiong a son, for knowing dad's and just feeling the responsibility, but also the safety. 'made my day.
We had a perfect Sunday lunch at home. I prepared a roast with potatoes in the Webber and Annelie made a simple green salad. We opened a good South African Pinot and had the meal upstairs with a view of the Stellenbosch mountains on a wonderful, sunny day. Difficult to think of a better lunch anywhere in the world.
We had lunch at NICE on the R44 on Saturday. It was one of these perfect Cape winter days. We selected a table with a view onto the Helderberg and ordered a glass of the local Rose to celebrate the sun. Annelie had a huge omelet with additional mushrooms and I had the Tjakalaka burger - truly South Africa.
It was Arden's birthday on the 24th. Catherine arranged for a birthday party with an insect theme. Many of Arden's friends attended and Annelie was also present. I joined after work and we had a great dinner with the kids. I had so much fun to see Arden play with his new toys, interact with his parents and just experience life. While I laughed a lot, I also thanked the Lord for all His blessings that he pours out into our kids' life.
We celebrated Annelie's birthday by witnessing how Portugal won 7-0 against North Korea and then had an early dinner at an Italian restaurant close-by.
Me and Annelie took some time off to go to Meerenbosch for one night. We just chilled, braai-ed with friends, took a long cycle ride in the morning and left re-plenished. We always promise ourselves that we should do this more, but don't do it enough.
On my way to the airport from Sandton and I am catching as modern a train as one could expect. I am proud to be a South African.
Watching soccer at Soccer City (The Calabash) with Reg and Pieter. This is an amazing stadium - definitely on par with the best in the world. The whole stadium is abuzz with excitement and it is so great to be here and to experience the occasion. South Africa pulled the arrangements for hosting the World Cup off and it is a roaring success. I also enjoyed to see the passion with which Argentina played and the difference Maradonna makes in the whole approach of the team.
We are on our way to Soccer City as guests of MTN and meeting with them at their Head Office in Fairlands. They had this picture of a goal and I could not help myself...
After a good Sunday lunch at Ben's on the Beach, we decided to go for a stroll on the beach. The sky was overcast and the see a deep green. It was spectacularly beautiful. When I saw my son, Ernsts with his son, Arden walking towards me, I couldn't help but feel blessed and thankful for all the special things that I can experience.
This is the new stadium built in Cape Town as one of the eight venues for the world-cup. Me and Annelie saw the second game in this tournament at the Greenpoint Stadium (Uruguay against France). This is truly a world class facility and we enjoyed being part of this big event. Everything was almost perfect. The catering was however too little for the big number of spectators and one could only buy Budweisser.
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.
