3D REFLECTIONS OF LIFE

Nazeer, Christo and Sasha are ready to do the walk. We were there to participate in the Community Chest Twilight Team run this year. We wanted to be part of the fun. I should have planned my outfit better, but like many, I am always caught napping. However, I made sure that my outfit was symbolic.  I wore a red sweater to symbolize World Aids Day Awareness, a handwritten poster which read " Leave our women and children alone", as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender Violence and a spiky, blue wig and red cheeks as part of the fun element. My funky blue wig matched Christo's oversized sunglasses!  At the start, we counted down from 33 because the Community Chest Twilight Run celebrated its 33rd anniversary this year. Then off we went, literally strolling for the entire five kilometers. Lorenzo Davids, the CEO at Community Chest,  chatting to the waiting crowds. My children made the most of the walk. They looked for any opportunity to wis...

Basil and I had a fantastic breakaway at the Caledon Spa hotel. It has always been his desire to visit the Caledon Spa as a guest and not as a visitor to the casino. So, luckily for us, the Caledon's Spa Midweek special was on and off we went to the Overberg. The Caledon Hotel, Spa and Casino trio meet the needs of most of local tourists or the stay-vacationers as I believe, we are called nowadays. View from Da Vinci's restaurant.   Before we look at the Caledon Spa delights, let me just say this about midweek breakaways. Midweek breakaways are fantastic because these are the added treats: You get value for money because the same holiday could cost you twice as much. There are fewer people so the the atmosphere is more chilled and you can pretend the place belongs to you! Guests become familiar faces and you will find yourself greeting one another wherever you meet up. You may also meet interesting folk during your time there. Now on to the Caledon ...

Paarl has many secret gems and the Calais Wine Estate , the oldest wine farm in Paarl is one of them. We spent the last weekend of the school holidays at one of the Kleinvallei self-catering cottages. Kleinvallei used to be a boutique wine farm that was privately owned. Now this farm is part of the Calais Wine Estate. Kleinvallei Family cottage. Friday Chillbuzz The hosts, farm manager, Vladimir and his wife, Helena, were warm and friendly. The welcoming tone was already set by Maritza, the Office manager who took care of our booking and received us with a broad smile the Friday afternoon when Sasha and I arrived. We settled in and then took a walk on the upper slopes where we saw rolling vineyards of black grapes, a dam hidden by tall pine trees and two houses perched on the upper banks of the dam. That was a pleasing visual treat. Later the afternoon, Vladimir had tried to tune the television channels. Interestingly, only channel that had a good signal, was a Russian ...

  Maynardville Open-air theatre If you want a different outdoor theatre experience for the family, book tickets for Othello, a Shakesperean play that is on at The Maynardville open-air theatre. Othello is one of Shakespeare's tragedies. Othello, a black "Moor" general in the Venetian army and Desdemona, a white, Upper class woman, fall in love and get married against her father and society's wishes.   The play is meaty. There is the tragic love story of Othello, who consumed by obsessive jealousy, falls prey to the scheming Iago and eventually murders innocent Desdemona. The play also deals with issues of racism, sexism and cultural discrimination, issues that we experience and understand only too well.   The production of Othello at Maynardville sticks to the traditional theatrical format and may appeal more to Grade 12 students who study Othello as a setwork rather than to the general public. The Daily Maverick article raises interesting insights into th...

  Whether we are talking about the nuclear or the extended family, we can expect to find a delicate, explosive network that is second to none.   Families bitch and moan. They can suck up your bone marrow better than a giant octopus. Competition is their middle name. The house, children, jobs and pets are fair game during any family gathering. How many times don't we just want to throw in the towel and swear we don't need this madness in our lives?   Then there's the creme de la creme personality of families. The Pacific Ocean is too small to hold all the love and concern they have for us. When we succeed, they rally the shooting stars to broadcast our achievements to the world. Their drooling makes our spines curl and the water rise in our knees. Don't we just want to hug them eternally on these occasions?   Such is the life of families. Embrace this ambivalence that provides the fuel for REAL families. Families are alive, high energy organisms that need constant int...

Seasoned campers like Lynn cannot enjoy their own music If you want to maximise your camping experience, don't be a spoilsport. Just stick to the rules. Your neighbour is a tent flap away from you and you will invariably bump into many of your temporary neighbours at the communal ablution facilities. That is how intimate and relational camping is. Below are turn -offs that give camping a bad name: 1. Miserable, aloof people. These folk move around the camp as if it is a leper colony. They can barely greet and almost choke when you acknowledge their presence. I am convinced they need therapy for all those strained neck muscles when they get home. 2. The Blaring unsolicited resident deejays. This group often overestimate their role as bridge builders at the camping resort. Their music blares non stop and they drown out the music of all other campers. I can imagine how frustrated others may feel who made an effort to organise their camp music and their music equip...

Christmas Eve party with the Lewinskies We are in the season of generosity and we often give gifts to more people than we usually do. When we make our list of gifts we want to give to others, we must guard against our desires to get something similar in return. Giving is a spontaneous, selfless act.   A gift is a multi-layered act of kindness. Think of an onion. When you peel back the layers of an onion, you arrive at its centre. Such is the structure of a gift. Deep inside - way past the physical manifestation - you will find a part of you that you have shared with another person. Therein lies the value of the gift. It is this relational element that separates the act of giving from a business transaction.   When you attach a price tag to a gift, it is no longer a gift. Whatever you gave becomes a trade-off, an investment. Subconsciously, you are making demands on the person to pay you back. You start adding up what you have done, the cost involved and the sacrifices you hav...

Today was fantastic. The day started on a high note. The birds were having their early morning breakfast talk in the Brazilian pepper tree in our backyard and the sun was already beaming its energy across the skies from seven o clock.   My programme was sorted. Today was Brett and Geraldine Time. I was not going to touch anything related to work.   Tramway supporters with Peter and Brett. At the #C.T.T.F.A Soccer Finals in Somerset West   Our first trip was to the C.T.T.F.A Senior Soccer Knockout Finals held at the De Beers A.F.C soccer fields in Somerset West. Tramway F.C was a finalist in one of the divisions and our eldest son, Brett, was playing.   There is very little that can beat the atmosphere at soccer tournaments. Cheering crowds, beer and food gardens, umpire whistles, vuvuzelas - heaven!   Tramway F.C. Winners with their coach   Tramway had the best supporters in the house. Peter, one of the Brett's teammates, brought along his workers to the t...

Our children determine the quality time agenda at times When our children become teenagers, they slowly start shifting away from us. I am sure we are all too familiar with the signs: the irritation with all those supposed faux paus we make - laughing too loudly, not 'getting it', not cooking the right foods, not enjoying life - just about everything that was fine not too long ago.  Our own children are no different. And, when they wish to include us in their activities, I jump at these opportunities! Weekend nicknaks  This weekend was no different. Each of the Lewinsky trio had their own plans and somehow we were roped in at junctures which they determined. Brett and his lil' family had a movie day in front of the fireplace. All movie snacks and homemade burger rolls travelled to our bedroom at various intervals. Sasha was at Tyler's place where she and her friends worked on one of the items on their bucket list. They too had a movie night, watching some chick fli...

Back at the Berg... Berg River with rapids in the distance Our brains possess the miraculous ability to re -wire our thoughts in an instant. After spending the greater part of the year like madmen on a highway chase, we are calibrated to go into holiday zone. We are slowed down so that our senses can be drenched in the sounds, smells, tastes and feelings of REAL life; an absolute necessity else we will go crazy “chasing pavements” as Adele sings. Our family is going nowhere slowly here at the Berg river resort in Paarl. Although the sun bakes fiercely here in the Swartland, we are willing to make that sacrifice. Our home from home at the Berg River  Resort   View from our caravan - area where you can go down the rapids There is nothing more therapeutic than surrendering yourself to the rhythms of nature. Simple pleasures abound. A critter that would normally scare the daylights out of our children, become an object of wonder – science in motion. ...

I can’t wait to go camping in June!