I love this time of year. The Jacaranda trees are in full bloom and when I see these majestic purple trees in town, it always reminds me of my birthday. When I see the first purple trees I know that my birthday is around the corner. They also smell divine and make a grand mess. Tip, if you ever visit Johannesburg, never park your car under a purple tree, you will regret it. They tend to rain ugly splotches, similar to bird poop, on your car. A mission to clean.

PS, I wrote this during November. Our internet connection has been down since then - the "perils" of living in Africa

Last weekend the girls at the office were treated to a weekend away on the tranquil banks of the Vaal river. Except, it wasn't so tranquil. Around the corner from this very Zen spot, is a raging torrent, which we negotiated for most of Saturday morning. We were kitted out in life jackets and crash helmets, given a quick rundown on river rafting techniques and put into rubber duckie thingies two by two. My partner, Charmaine who is our receptionist, bless her - could only paddle on the left, so we kept going round in circles! Sounds like a normal day at the office to me. Before we were set loose on the water though, we had to hike to our starting point over obstacles and through the river. I hated it. Let me say that again - I - F$%#*ng! - hated - it! I'm terrified of heights and had to climb up trees and hold onto ropes while crossing parts of the river where the water flowed less peacefully, plus it was slimy and slippery and sometimes just eeeuuuwwwww. I did learn something big though. I found that the more I helped the other girls along the more my terror subsided. In fact, the fear just melts away. Who would have thought I'd get that from some sticks, stones, water and rubber ducks? Oh in case you were wondering we did go through a rapid which dropped two meters across a five meter decline. That was great fun, rather like a water ride in a Disney theme park.

How fortunate am I? I work in the heart of an idustrial area. This is the drive way entrance to our warehouse and offices. I stopped to photograph this a few days ago. Our IT lady Sanet, overseas these gardens. I think she does a fabulous job. To be greeted by this sight makes me love popping in and out of the office every day. We also get to pick the roses and put them in vases on our desks, cause the more you pick the more they flower. Ahhh I love summer.............. I am blessed.

This is Tony Cox. In a previous posting, I wrote about how much I loved his very brief performance at a charity event I attended. Last Saturday, I managed to watch him in a full length performance. He was brilliant. I was completely mesmerised. He tells stories about each of his songs, why and how he got to compose them. None of the stories are about mind blowing revelations, just about ordinary stuff and the normal things that happen to us. Even so, the music was phenomenal and I was riveted. I desparately needed to pee, but wasn't prepared to miss a note of his show. It was the kind of music/evening that made you feel enriched for having experienced it. I bought a dvd and cd and he signed it for me - that's always a nice touch. He was gracious.

One small thing - his posters and website still show pics of him with lovely long wavy curly hair. Clearly they need to update that.