Friday 25 September 2009

Life is to short

A friend, guide, and all round pleasant chap Themba Sibanda passed away yesterday in a tragic accident in Livingstone Zambia. We will miss you....


-- Posted from my iPhone

Saturday 5 September 2009

My wife!

I own and run a tour company called Sunway Safaris. It operates Small group safaris through Southern Africa. The thing is it operates 24 hours per day 7 days a week, every day in the year.

Over the years it has gotten quite big and that means that it is quite a serious business and takes a fair amount of time. This is not to much of a problem during the week, as the phone calls generally happen during the day unless there is an emergancy.

But on the weekends they happen all day and as it is my family time it can get quite distracting having the phone go at all times on a Saturday and Sunday.

I also do departure meeting in the mornings between about 6 and 9 o'clock. During these times my darling wife looks after the kids.

For this I have to say a big thank you.

I love you with all of my heart.



-- Post From My iPhone

Monday 31 August 2009

Rockets need to be red!

The rocket that my son and I made a few months ago has at last been painted.



Always be prepaired




-- Post From My iPhone

Saturday 15 August 2009

War paint

It took only 5 min for the following to happen when Meg thought the boys were with me and I thought they were with her!









Self made artists.

-- Post From My iPhone

Tuesday 11 August 2009

Our trip to Port Elizabeth

On the last long weekend we went to visit my folks in their new retirement unit in Port Elizabeth.

Flying with the kids has always been a bit of a daunting task. Previos trips mostly being long haul to Australia. But this shorter flight to P.E. was a pleasure. Laird all excited at the prospect was screaming encouragement to the aircraft to help it take off. Fynn was a pleasure proceding to sleep his way through the entire flight. Laird was also very excited to see the sea out of the window of the plane.



With the small PE airport my Dad was waiting for us and after squeezing boys and luggage into his car off to see my parents new retirement home.

After settling in my parents in their typical fashion offered lunch and then coffee and my aunt arrived a few hours later to share in the birthday cake. I am now officially 38. Nice.

The thing that my parents have learned from my aunt and uncle was that when we visited you never felt like they had anything planned but by the time you left you had accomplished so much. From trips to the beach. To visit my aunt. To Addo NP, to Maitland beach for the boys to swim. It never feels rushed. They always just pop in in the morning and say. Ahh today looks like a good day for..... And off we go.

Taking my boys to Addo NP to see the elephants was a wonderful experience. Laird loved the elephants. Although we had a fight over the dummy as well as he wanted to be in the car with Mom and not me and Lala.




Beach time was great. My dad grew up on these beaches. So was very special to have Fynn and Laird digging in the sand, looking for shells and finding fish in the rock pools.





All too it was time to fly home. Sad goodbyes to my folks and off we went.




Thanks for a lovely holiday


-- Post From My iPhone

Wednesday 5 August 2009

Virgin Active

My wife has been trying to sign my son Laird up to the kids section








at the local gym. Very polite people, mainly because they are earning commission from the sale have always been on hand to help. So far we have been helped by four different consultants, one sales manager, and the receptionist.

So far I have 4 different cards for Laird to access the gym (none of which work). A free lime green bag. A headache. A caffiene rush from the 3 cups of coffee that I have had while waiting, probably 10 new grey hairs in my beard (purely from the waste of time) and I think that Laird will be 18 by the the we finish. By then he can join on his own.

This has been 3 months of trying to get a card so that we can put our son in the kids section while we train! Amazingly enough. We started this process in April. It is now August.

Where is the service? Where is te training for the poor sales people who I have been mean to for the last hour and a half.

Come on Virgin Active.

-- Post From My iPhone


Friday 24 July 2009

When you forget your child

Yesterday I forgot my child at school. I was meant to collect Laird from school at half past two and at four o'clock I got a call from my wife to ask what was going on.

I feel like a real prick. Luckily the school he goes to runs all day and the after care looked after him. But that does not make me feel any better.

So, Lairdy. I am sorry.




-- Post From My iPhone

Monday 20 July 2009

Laird and the Spider Monkey

My weekends are for Family. I have spent so much time working that I now believe that every moment I spend on the weekends at work needs to be complimented with time for the kids and my beautiful wife Megan.

So this weekend we went out to the Bush babies sanctuary in Haartabeesport. We spent the day walking around the raised platforms and suspension bridges looking and learning about the monkeys they have rescued. All of the monkeys were exotic and most rescued from people whom had bought them as pets and could not handle them.

So with us looking for monkeys in one of those beautiful gorges that you only really find in the Magaliesberg. Carrying Fynn on my back and chasing Laird to make sure he did not fall off the path (as he has a tendancy to do), and seeing that we are in the middle of toilet training, wondering where in this beautiful area we would be able to sneak off the platforms and pee in the bushes. We had a wonderful time.

At the end of the tour they have some lehmurs and monkeys in quarantine. There Laird made a friend. A lone spider monkey was sitting on the ground next to the fence. Laird was instantally attracted to him. Laird played with his fingers. Patted him through the fence and then when It was time to go and Laird was about to stand up the spider monkey reached out and held Laird's hand and even gave him a tickle. It was very cute.



And I would have to say one of the best days I have had.


-- Post From My iPhone

Thursday 16 July 2009

Time with the kids

So I was lucky enough to be able to spend some time with my youngest son, Fynn on the weekend. Meg took Laird and headed to gym on Sunday afternoon. And there Fynn and I were left looking at each other.



Now having two boys under 3 makes life quite busy. So you don't always see the small little steps of development. Much to my amazement Fynn now has a substantial vocabulary. I noticed that he was close to talking because at 3am in the morning about a week ago he was standing ip in his cot and pointing to the cupboard and saying "inder". Not really understanding what he was trying to say until a few minutes later while I was feeding him his bottle that a rat ran out from in the cupboard.

I tried to chase the rat outside but it was not having much respect for me and my squash racquet ( the only weapon I could find at three in the morning). My son shouting "inder inder" ( which I translate as in there). And the bloody rat zoomig up and down the curtains, under the cot, under the chair and about 20 min later, with my wife now yelling from the bedroom "what's all the noise!?!" that I ws able to chase it out of the window. So peace and calm return to our house in he early morning.

Then a week later while the tour de France is ambling over the mountains I hear a strange sound from Fynn's room. I head off to investigate to find the little chap unpacking his cupboard in search of the rats in his cupboard. In his hand the cover of a DVD movie - Ratatouille. I wonder what he thinks of Dad trying to kill the hero of one of his movies with a 15 year old squash racquet.

-- Post From My iPhone

Friday 26 June 2009

Morning blues

So I wake up this morning on what must be the coldest morning in Johannesburg this winter, feeling a tad down for Bafana Bafana who played a phenominal game of football last night. But were denied a spot on the final by a late free kick

So in the usual rush to get the kids dressed, fed and to school. Fynn grabs his brothers schoolbag and heads for the car.





If only we were this enthusiastic later in life.

-- Post From My iPhone

Thursday 25 June 2009

Watching the soccer


After the critiscism that our country and football team have been subjected to. I am proud to be South African, and see Bafana Bafana playing well and the Confed Cup being hosted successfully.

Go SA go!

-- Post From My iPhone

Thursday 23 April 2009

Proudly South African

I went to vote yesterday in South Africa's national and provincial elections. Our closest polling station's que was about two and a half hours long but it had a very festive atmosphere.

I was joined in the que by Yvonne Ncamane so that we could have our say in the countries future.

It was refreshing to see that even after the mud slinging by the political parties during the run up to the elections that voters visibly supporting the opposing parties of the DA and the ANC were happy to share a joke and that the the spirit of "Ubuntu" was alive and well as drinks were shared and that trips to the nearby shops for snacks and coffee were shared.

Here are some pictures of our day. Yvonne also enjoyed that day. Today we are proudly South African, may the feeling last all year.