There’s a distinct hush that settles on the start chute of the 36one. It’s not the normal vibe you’ll find at the start of a marathon race, or even anxious energy that buzzes on a stage race start. It’s a confused, pent-up rustle of voices. This is because there are two kinds of riders at the start line. Those who know what is coming, and those who have no cooking clue. Those who have done this before and those who have only heard the stories. The hush from those who’ve done it before is pregnant with respect for this race. The nervousness from the newbies is the sound of the unknown and the hanging question of whether it’s even possible. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve been spending some time bringing an idea to life: www.shupshup.com.
This is our story of how Silver Wolf Spur negligently caused my son’s broken leg and have lied their way out of accountability.
On 1st December 2014 we had dinner as an extended family at the Silver Wolf Spur (Carnival Mall) for my sister’s birthday. The place was busy and they removed some table partitions from an extended table to make room for us, and placed them in the general walkway behind our table. At one point Oliver (our then 1 year old) was playing a game of peek-a-boo with us from behind the table. Unbeknownst to us he was standing on table partitions that had been stacked there in the walkway. Sam noticed this and told him to get down. He did so. As she was shuffling out of the cubicle to get him, Oliver and a waitress collided in the walkway … Read the rest of this entry »
Dear blog
It’s not you. It’s me.
We haven’t seen each other in a while. It’s time for me to come clean about where I’ve been while you’ve been here alone. The truth is that I’ve met a new medium and have been spending time (a lot actually) with her. I can see by the look on your face that this is no surprise to you. My absence has been telling no doubt. You’re entirely justified in feeling neglected. I can understand it. Month after month without a word for you to publish. No new blog titles to add to your list. For this I apologise.
If you’re ever feeling up for a challenge you should consider riding the Race Across South Africa. It’s a 2300km unsupported individual MTB race along the Freedom Trail. 50 riders set out from Pietermaritzburg and they have 26 days to reach Diemersfontein in Wellington. To finish in that time you have to average about 100km a day.
Easy right?
Besides the sheer magnitude of the event, notoriously known as SA toughest race, the other thing that makes it special is that it was broadcast exclusively over Twitter this year. Read the rest of this entry »
Crime and human tragedy have a peculiar impact on space and time. It may just be a psychological sense of impact or alternatively a very real and tangible alteration of physical space and time.
I remember when my car was broken into some years back. The thieves stole my car radio. I had a very strong sense that my ‘space’ had been invaded and that it had in some way been defiled. Sitting in my car just did’t feel the same for a long time thereafter.
Although I was still in possession of my car and the interior was not greatly altered, there was a definitive sense that the space had been altered. There was also the sense that something more than the radio had been taken from me. That sense subsided after a while, but the memory lingers. Read the rest of this entry »
[Originally published on www.rattleandmum.co.za – 20th June 2012]
I was so excited to become a dad. At times I couldn’t explain the anticipation except to say that it felt like I was about to fulfill a purpose. Sam and I had heard how difficult it was being a parent, but in the exuberance of our excitement we felt immune to such realities.
Daniel was then born.
I remember that first night in the hospital. There was a crash of reality as we put him down in his cot. This is real. This is permanent. This is a feeling I didn’t anticipate. Read the rest of this entry »
We all begin as Facebook sluts.
Those first few weeks after successfully signing onto the famed network are saturated with anxiety inducing spates of patience as you wait for long lost friends, awkward school mates, current colleagues and family members to accept your friend requests.
There’s a certain fulfillment in having your friend count expand. The slutting has begun. Read the rest of this entry »
There is certainly no shortage of ideas floating around. What is in short supply however is solid execution of those ideas.
This is the issue tackled in the new eBook, Do Ideas, from the most excellent guys at 21 Tanks. I felt honoured when they asked me to contribute to it and share my own ‘secret’ to execution.
You really should download this book. There is outstanding advice from some of the most progressive entrepreneurs and business leaders in South Africa.
Many friends tell me that they do not understand the appeal behind participating in social media, specifically on platforms like Twitter and the practice of blogging. “I just don’t have anything to say,” they tell me. I’ve long held the belief that you need to suffer from acute self-exhibitionist tendencies in order to engage effectively with social media. You have to want to ‘put yourself out there’ in some respects. The desire to say something and to have people engage with that ‘something’ are powerful drivers behind activity on social media. If you didn’t have that desire or urge, your writing would just fall into the category of journalling.
In reading one of the last interviews with C.S. Lewis I began to realise how important the ‘urge’ to write is, not only in social media circles, but for the sake of writing at all. Read the rest of this entry »