my views

It’s been a couple of months since I blogged. I’ve been a bit preoccupied. A few weeks ago I attended our company’s awards evening where we recognised the work of our staff volunteers. I was privileged to meet one of the guest speakers, Professor Shirley Zinn, who shared a brief synopsis of her story. She has a book Swimming Upstream, which I read cover to cover on the Saturday after we met. Shirley’s story is both mesmerising and heart-breaking. As the reader you are taken along on her journey which was not easy but her attitude and perseverance resulted in an inspirational tale of how hard work is rewarded abundantly. Here are some of the highlights from Shirley’s book that stood out for me: 1. Where you start out doesn’t have to determine where you end up. You are not a product of our circumstance. Shirley was born in Steenberg on the Cape Flats in the Western Cape. It is an area that is consumed with socio-economic conditions such as gangsterism, domestic violence, poverty,

We spent the Valentine’s weekend, celebrating my dad’s 62nd birthday, on Good Hope Farm . It is about a 2-hour drive from Cape Town (during relatively low to no traffic). Travelling on the N1, through the Huguenot Tunnel, you will pass Goudini Spa, go through Worcester and Robertson and cross the Breede River, where the farm is a little oasis at the end of a gravel road, at the base of an amazing mountain range. The route is scenic and lined with loads of vineyards and you pass quite a few wine farms on your way to the farm. You don't get more rustic than a vintage petrol pump One of the cottages on Good Hope Farm The mountains go on forever and ever... framed by marshmallow clouds. A digital detox We reached the farm just before sunset and as soon as we entered the gate my google maps app lost connectivity. I was surprised, and in hindsight, pleasantly so that there was no signal on the farm and no internet in the cottages. We connected to the WIFI at the main

Usually towards the end of the year I reflect on the months gone by and set my goals for the year ahead. For the last few years this ritual has been preceded by watching The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. The Secret taught me a couple of things: to live more consciously to create a vision board with pictures of what you desire and by focusing on this subconsciously and seeing it regularly you attract it into your life (goal/intention setting) obviously you need to do the hard work too and take action to have a positive energy and talk about the good in the world to be grateful and to acknowledge this often, especially to the people you love and appreciate. Continue to read this post as I share some of the lessons I learnt during 2015 through reflection, my experiences and the people I've met and interacted with... Goal setting and the power of a vision board My journey with The Secret started in 2007 and since then I've achieved many of the things I've set my mi

Kids parties are big business nowadays. We often fall into the trap of wanting to give our kids everything they desire and with very little boundaries the little one's party can run into thousands. Not only are parties heavy on your pocket but it can cause a huge amount of stress as well. The way to avoid this is to plan it way in advance. Continue to read this blog post to find out how to organise a do-it-yourself party that doesn't cost a fortune. I will also share some useful party tips and Cape Town-based party contacts. 1. Planning and preparation One of the key ingredients in your preparation and planning stage should be to answer the 5 Ws and H...  Why? In most instances planning a party is in celebration of your child's birthday so it would take place on or around the actual birth date but sometimes it's a graduation party or just a reason to celebrate.  What? So once you've decided on the date, you can choose the theme. Sometimes a theme m