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Four years on

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Reflecting on my experience over the last four years on. So August 2019, doing the Baviaans, 24hr, 230km mountain bike ride from Willowmore to Jeffreys Bay with Amanda, Joy and Linda was inevitably going to be a glorious event. Having done it before I knew what to expect. The beauty of the Baviaans Kloof, unmatched comraderie, some fun, some vasbyt and the exhilaration of the night ride and the finish in Jeffreys. All started well and soon we were barrelling down the dirt road into the Baviaans Kloof. Much of the first 100 odd kms is relatively rutted and flattish, giving the illusion that speed is your friend. Experience has shown that measured pace is wiser for this stretch. Then comes the climbing out of the Baviaans and into the sunset. A most memorable moment is always looking back into the Kloof to view the bright orange reflection of the sun setting against the rutted rocky crags. Soon it’ night fall. Here’s where my surprise began. I began cramping like I had never done befor...
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Supporting the supporter in times of crisis

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  Supporting the supporter in times of crisis. As many of you know I have travelled an interesting journey with cancer and am now well. Neuropathy in my feet and a few other challenges but happy and healthy and returning to the elite athletic match fitness we all aspire to. I am so grateful for the support I have received and continue to receive from the medical fraternity, my friends and family. My wife, who has been my primary supporter has been the most incredible support possible and I am so grateful for this. In this note I wish to focus on the supporter/s. How can we, friends and family support the supporter in times of incredible compassion, uncertainty and fear of the future. The point of this conversation is to focus on the supporter and the support they need. By observing the process I have a few ideas that may be valuable when supporter the supporter. You role is to be a supportive presence and not fix the situation. Firstly, be aware that everyone is different and...
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Gravel road strewn with delight

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  It’s been more than 1045 days since a State of Disaster was declared in South Africa.   The world is still not harmonious.   Covid’s still with us and the abusers of power have not taken their foot off the pedal one little bit. I made this statement at 207 days and it remains true. While the landscape may be different our politicians are predictable in the shit they serve. Only the number of days seems to change. Sitting here in the comfort of my home, I have just realized that more than a year has passed since my last note. It’s been a great year with challenges I never imagined. So to provide some context - I spent the last 18 months working with an amazing collection of people to beat lymphoma. This has entailed a year of various chemo cocktails, a bone marrow transplant and five months in hospital. I have been out of hospital since July 2021 and all is going well. A short visit for pneumonia and dehydration is hardly memorable now. Ah, yes, I stupidly fell and bro...
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Here's a thought

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Its 207 days since the state of disaster was declared in South Africa, the world is still not harmonious, Covid’s still with us and the abusers of power have not taken their foot off the pedal one little bit. We’ve all grown up believing that power corrupts and total power corrupts totally. Have you ever really thought about that? Well it seems like an easy statement to agree with when we consider both history and current affairs. We do see many powerful people abusing their power. Hmm, well! I read a quote this morning that put this into perspective. It is not power that corrupts. That’s a cop-out. That simply disempowers humankind by implying that power is this evil, living thing and it corrupts. This gives power a life. In this context power is like a poisonous snake whose bite festers and that suppurating wound is called power. We know that is not true, is it? The truth is that power attracts the abusive and the corruptible.  That sounds better, doesn’t it? Other, service drive...
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Imagine

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  Its 181 days since the state of disaster was declared in South Africa and let’s face it we are not living in a harmonious world. In fact the world seems divided as ever. One might imagine that we could at lease unite around one common goal; the pandemic. The USA seems divided at a time and about issues that could have some dramatic and violent outcomes. Then again so is our country and so are many countries. As I ponder this sad truth, I think of a world united by a common set of values. The question is, “Would we all interpret the same value differently?” While many religions share common values, each religion has its own truths. How in goodness name can we create a common set of values? Well I have an idea and I don’t think it’ll offend anyone. Imagine if everyone shared the values of truth, equality, compassion, freedom and courage and lived their lives in accordance with these values? This is a list of secular values proposed by Yuval Noah Harari in his book “21 lessons f...
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Once you've set the goal

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  Once you set the goal Today is the 173 th day since a state of disaster was declared in South Africa. Wow, hasn’t our world changed since then? We’ve learnt so much about the virus. In particular the treatment protocols have really advanced in leaps and bounds. We’ve been through ventilators, Chloroquine and so much more. Remember the mayhem in New York, Italy, the UK and the growing cases in our country? Thank goodness we are seeing the graphs pointing in the right direction now. Long may that last! We even hear murmurs of a well-developed, tested and effective vaccination on the horizon. Another glorious reality is that there are less than 60 days until the American election is done. We could even have a result by then. Don’t hold your breath if the Orange Sentient feels the need to challenges though. Praise be to anyone that cares. Only 60 odd days of divisive USA rhetoric, the string of Trumpian pathological lying and general electioneering. OMG….. I am tired of that. I ...
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St James Beach Huts

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How sad it was to read about the colourful and historic St James Beach huts burning down! My first engagement with this unfortunate event began with the news screaming something like “ Unbelievable, St James Beach Huts torched”. From this message, it was reasonable to deduce that the huts, and possibly all of the huts, were deliberately burnt to the ground. Armed with the misinformation, one could even have built a scenario where the torching was politically motivated or driven by malice and hate. Thankfully, as it turns out, only three of the huts were burnt down and it seems to have been an accident. A group of homeless people lit a fire in or near these huts and the fire got out of hand. The whole event is sad off course but the outcome, the cause and how to avoid such an unfortunate event in future are all very different to the original message I received. That word torching is loaded as it suggests an intentional act of burning of something. This is how fake news begins, with ...
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