Random news

Been an interesting week. What with Guinevere getting stuck in a train carriage, delivering a good project, meeting some old friends for dinner, and having my new tooth rejected by the dentist!


I also discovered a potential solution to my total lack of energy of late. A vitamin supplement; and a world of difference it has made. Far better than a Coke to fuel the late afternoon snooze issues.

Then there was the surf on Saturday morning. We saw our first swell in months tumble onto our shores, and line up some lovely waves just ripe for surfing. It has been a long summer for a Cape Town surfer, flat seas and lots of wind. Winter is on its way, and this makes the surfer in me very excited!

Ash Wednesday, the start of Lent, also found its way into our week. I took my boys to mass in the morning amidst much excitement. All the excitement of course, generated by the number of hours that they would be late for school, rather than for the event that we were celebrating. Regardless it gave us a great opportunity to talk about Lent and the preparation that we can do within ourselves for Easter.

The Pope provided some much needed inspiration for me to continue writing my book. At the tender age of 83, whilst in charge of a massive organisation, he still found time to publish another book. With another one on the way, God willing!

Tomorrow is Monday and I am immensely excited. We have a board meeting scheduled for 08h23 at backline and the waves are expected to roll in. Really looking forward to this week, I have a feeling that it is going to be filled with excitement!

Hiding out in a Convent

On Thursday I packed a suitcase and got on another plane. My destination was a little convent in Bez Valley in Johannesburg. The idea was to attend a workshop on Catholic media and communication, and somehow somebody had contrived to find me a space at this meeting at the last minute.

Apart from being Catholic, I am working on an incredibly interesting project that involves Catholic film. The workshop seemed to be just the thing to educate my completely uninformed brain on both my faith and the state of the Catholic media.

My room was simple and clean. The food was plentiful and made with much love. And an honesty shop did a roaring trade in chocolates and curios. Imagine that, a shop where you slip your cash into a money filled box, select your change, and take your purchases. All without supervision!

Add to that, the entire South African Catholic media assembled in the same place as me...

I have always known that my faith and understanding of the Catholic Church is a bit shallow. These four days clearly pointed out that I now know that I don’t know how much I don’t know. Regardless, my new found friends were dynamic, deep, and passionate. The sharing of mass first thing every morning was absolutely beautiful. The laughter was plentiful and the debates lively till the early hours of every morning.

More than anything, I had found a group of kindred spirits. People eager to change the world with the power of the written word, the music of broadcast radio, and the soulfulness of film!

I keep wondering if I have found that special place where I will be able to unleash the talents within me to actively serve my fellow man...