Céilidh | Cailey - My Life

Travel Tips and Sites

2009-08-23T16:12:00.000+02:00

So i've spent a fair amount of time lately looking for deals on flights, trains and buses for around the UK, Europe and overseas (South Africa) etc.

A friend of mine (Xenia) suggested that I blog about all the best sites that I have found and any tips I have for finding tickets.

For example, a "normal" return train from London to Oxford is around £40 whereas I found advanced train tickets on First Great Western for £4 one way, so it turned out to be the best option to buy two one way tickets which was £8 in total!

Also always have a look at Megabus as they have extremely cheap tickets and if you can afford an extra hour travel time, it may be worth doing that over a train.

* Flights:

www.Kayak.co.uk
www.TravelStart.co.za
www.Expedia.co.uk
www.Skyscanner.net
www.Travelsupermarket.com
www.Opodo.co.uk
www.Travelpack.com
www.eBookers.com
www.WeFly.co.uk
www.Qatar.com (has cheaper flights than going through price comparison websites)

* Once you find a good flight, get a quote from Flight Centre (http://www.flightcentre.co.uk/contactus/traveladvisor) and if their quote is not better than what you have found, let them know what price you found and they will match or beat it!

Trains:

www.Megatrain.com/uk
www.Firstgreatwestern.co.uk (10% Discount when booking online and 3 person group save)
www.TheTrainLine.com

Buses:

http://www.megabus.com/

Simple Health Tips

2009-07-05T18:17:00.000+02:00

Vary your workout

Don’t work the same muscle group two days in a row.
Your body quickly gets used to / learns specific exercises which then become less affective.

Rest

Rest days are as important as workout days
Don’t overdo it.
It’s all about sustainability.
Your body needs time to refill its glycogen stores.

Eat breakfast!

Breakfast kick starts your metabolism so it can help you lose weight.

Supper

Don’t eat a late supper
Give your body time to burn your food before going to sleep (2 hours min).
If you can, go for a walk after dinner to digest.
Try not to eat in front of the TV. It has been proven that you will eat more than at the dinner table.

Fruit

Eat fruit in the morning rather than at night as fruit is slow burning.

Drinking

Try not to eat and drink at the same time (especially milk).
Drinking while eating counteracts the citric acid in your stomach so that digestion is not as affective.
Avoid eating after a few alcoholic drinks.
Alcohol slows down your metabolism and inhibits the liver from metabolizing fat.
Alcohol also has 7 calories per gram so eating fatty foods on top of this will make you put on weight.

Eating

Try to eat within 45 minutes of finishing a workout
Your muscles will still be “working” and they absorb the most nutrients and replace the most glycogen during this period.
Eat protein to repair muscles after a heavy workout.

Throw away the weighing scale

Don’t weigh yourself, rather measure yourself (waist, hips, thighs etc)
Muscle weighs more than fat!
If you build muscles, you may weigh more but you will have less fat on your body and look and feel better.

What makes me happy...

2009-03-20T15:27:00.005+02:00

I'm addicted to exercise,
delighted by food,
passionate about animals
and thrive on dancing!

Earth Hour

2009-03-16T16:34:00.006+02:00

28th March 2008 - 20:30 pm GMT

Please pledge to turn off your lights for one hour in our fight to save our Earth...

Zane and Wendell's Wedding

2009-02-22T02:10:00.010+02:00

A Beautiful Wedding by Suzie Gordon

Belgium

2009-01-01T20:36:00.009+02:00

Brussels

Mikey setting up his camera for a night shot of Grand Place

The Atomium

Mikey and me at the Brussels Christmas Market

Amazing mulled wine - greatly appreciated as it was -5 degrees!

Possibly the closest thing to Heaven! Belgium waffles - YUM!

Bruges

Stunning lit up buildings

Beautiful view on our way back from getting lost out of town

In a gorgeous little hidden pub that has over 200 beers on their menu

Note that the river is completely frozen!

My 26th Birthday

2009-01-01T19:36:00.005+02:00

Paris - Le Sicac

2008-11-09T21:16:00.012+02:00

Mike and me at the Sicac Knife show in Paris

"Be your own chef" - pancake shop!

Mike's pancake recipe

Supper at the Artists Square - Sacre Coeur

"Sacre bluuuh..."

The supper we speak not of...

Escargot -In the spirit of France

Snail pincers?

Oh dear, we might have missed the last train!

Eish - Do they even have night buses in Paris?

Mike's camera skiiiiiills - ahhhhh...!

Notre Dame - Mikey's amazing night photography

Yummmmm.... fondue!

Versailles - after the very quick and claustraphobic walk around the castle

Mikey in front of the "water show"

The very garish "art" at Versailles

"I'm sure I ordered a burger? I guess it is a pancake restaurant!"

Breakfast At Tiffany's

2008-10-25T11:52:00.008+02:00

Meaningful Present Ideas

2008-09-11T22:46:00.014+02:00

If you are unsure of what to get someone who loves helping others or who has everything, or if you need a gift idea for a corporate function or wedding etc. why not think about one of the following. You can then print a certificate for the recipient with details of the donation you made and how it will help those in need.

1) Donate to a Charity

- Green Peace

- WWF

- NSPCC

- Childline

- Great Ormond Street Hospital

- British Red Cross

- The Medical Foundation Torture Center

- RSPCA

- PETA

South African Charities:

- Feedback

- Choc

- Starfish

- Sunflower Fund

- SPCA

2) Find out about your local charity/church organisation and donate to them

3) Adopt an animal - WWF

4) Sponsor a Child - Action Aid

5) Save an acre of rainforest - World Land Trust

Turkey - September

2008-09-10T23:13:00.011+02:00

Where we spent most of our time - on deck... reading, tanning sleeping... pure bliss!

Kas - on way to Fethiye

Out boat - "BeforeLunch"

Damo doing a ninja back flip from the boat

"Yummi yummi pancakes"

Tiff and Shells

Oludinez at the lagoon

Mikey

View from our villa in Kas

Our Villa in Kas

TARYN & ERIN

2008-07-05T23:30:00.004+02:00

Taryn and Erin - my little fairy god-daughter

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAVIS

2008-06-24T21:25:00.006+02:00

Thank you for all the years of love and support

Thank you for the wonderful memories over the years

Thank you for your happy and caring nature

Thank you for being such a special part of our family

We love and appreciate you always

Have a wonderful birthday

June 26th 2008

Mark and Xen's Engagement Party

2008-06-22T20:53:00.006+02:00

Xenia

Mark

Me and Xen

Mark and Mike

Bryce, Warren and Loryn

Tiff, Darren and Leanne

Thiers Knife Show

2008-06-22T20:37:00.002+02:00

Some London Photies

2008-05-30T20:57:00.008+02:00

Wimbledon Park Lake

Me doing our recycling!

Poker night!

Braai at Leanne and Geoff's House

Sunny day with Izzie in our back garden

Visiting the Queen @ Windsor

2008-05-14T21:14:00.002+02:00

Our House

2008-04-25T11:52:00.007+02:00

I thought I would put up some photos of our rented house in Southfields, London as it is just so lovely!

There are fairy lights on the wall in the garden and on the decor sticks all over the house. The lady that owns the house has wonderful taste!

The open plan lounge & kitchen area

This is Izzy, the owners cat who we are looking after - she's really affectionate and super spoilt!

The low maintenance garden with lovely deck and water feature in the middle.

Ceilidh - My Life

2008-04-24T17:24:00.007+02:00

You may have noticed that I have changed my blog name to - "Ceilidh - My Life" and are wondering why.

Well, my name (Cailey) comes from the Gaelic word "Ceilidh" which is pronounced Kay-Lee in modern use.

A Ceilidh is a "literary entertainment where stories and tales, poems and ballads, are rehearsed and recited, and songs are sung, conundrums are put, proverbs are quoted, and many other literary matters are related and discussed." -- Wikipedia

I therefore felt it most appropriate to name my blog after my name's etymology as, in essence, it is a blog of literary entertainment... a celebration of my life.

God Save the Queen

2008-04-12T20:49:00.002+02:00

So we've finally relocated to London yesterday.

The flight... not great. Air Namibia, one movie screen for all... which broke after 5 minutes, so we had some drinks and called it a night.

Feelings of...

Anxiety
Stress
Fear of the unknown

Now, having walked London for the day and...

Had delicious take away sushi...
and mazing hot chocolate
Seen chess being played in a tunnel...
and gone on a merry-go-round

I feel a lot better about the prospects of being in London and feel very...

Cold :)
Calm
Content

Next stop... Job hunting. Fingers crossed!

Sky Diving

2008-02-19T10:22:00.006+02:00

16 February 2008 - Sky Diving in Melkbos

Mike and me on our way up in the plane

Mike leaving the plane

View from the sky

Table Mountain and Robben Island

Mikey Landing

Rolf and Ulla came to watch

Chris next to the plane

Katie and Chris

Arno, Katie, Chris, Me, Gary, Mike

Taryn's Baby Girl

2008-02-11T03:04:00.001+02:00

Taryn Aldridge's Baby Girl (Tiff, Shells and My Goddaughter!)

Erin Margaret Meiring

Birthday: 08 February 2008
Time: 17:08pm
Weight: 2.9kg

Fire Fighting at Scarborough

2008-01-31T03:12:00.000+02:00

Friday 25th January 2008 - My shift: 5pm until 4am

Photos: Mike Low and the Volunteer Wildfire Services (VWS) Website:

http://www.capefires.com

Me in the bakkie on the way to the fire

My team making sure the fire didn't jump the road

The Table Mountain National Park (TNMP) crew

The fire line

Water bombing - Each bambi bucket holds 3500L

The VWS Mobile Fire Ops Unit - From where all the crews etc are controlled.

VWS Hotline: 084 700 5402

If you see someone throwing a cigarette out a car: 021 424 7715

New Years 2007 - Resonance @ Theewaterskloof

2008-01-01T05:10:00.000+02:00

New years eve at Resonance (Vortex)

Justine, Chris, Tony, Marissa and me

Chilling in the river

Chris, me, Mike, Tony and Katie (aka Chip)

Ty, Justine, Mike and Marissa

The dance floor

Merry Christmas!

2007-12-27T01:41:00.000+02:00

Garfield!

2007-12-13T03:22:00.000+02:00

How to Fail Exams!

2007-12-03T07:17:00.000+02:00

Greyton Accommodation

2007-10-29T07:28:00.000+02:00

GREYTON HOUSE TO LET OVER CHRISTMAS

Sleeps:

3 couples or 2 couples and 2 singles sharing

Tarrif:

R900 per night

About:

Char comes in twice a week to look after the dogs and keep the house in order
Gardener comes in three times a week
Self catereing
Friendly, fun, tranquil, country village

Dates:

+- 17 December 2007 to 3rd January 2008

Bulk Apostrophes and Commas for SQL Queries

2007-10-26T00:15:00.000+02:00

Hi all

So once again Excel has come to my rescue, however this time I had a list of building IDs that were alphanumreic so they needed apostrophes around them and a comma at the end.

E.g. 'ABC123',

So here's the Excel trick...

Right click the highlighted cells --> Under the 'Number' tab choose 'Custom' --> Then where it says 'General' type '@\',

HEY PRESTO!

Kleinmont Accommodation

2007-10-23T02:57:00.000+02:00

(click to enlarge)

ACCOMMODATION:

FULLY EQUIPPED (EXCELLENT SUPERMARKET SPA NEARBY)
SELF CATERING, SLEEPS 4. (1 DOUBLE ROOM, 1 TWIN BEDROOM)
SLEEPER COUCH FOR 2 CHILDREN (PLEASE BRING SLEEPING BAGS IF YOU HAVE THEM)

OPEN PLAN LOUNGE, KITCHEN, SUN ROOM, BATHROOM + SHOWER (TV/DVD/VCR)

BRAAI WITH THATCH UMBRELLA / TABLE, CHAIRS AND TREES FOR SHADE

SECURITY GATED ENTRANCE AND ALARM SYSTEM IN CHALET

VERY SORRY, NO PETS.

TARIFF:

R700 FOR THE CHALET PER NIGHT, MINIMUM 2 NIGHTS (CHRISTMAS LETS MINIMUM 1 TO 2 WEEKS)

DIRECTIONS:

THE ENTRANCE TO MEERENVLEI FROM THE R44 AND N2 IS ON YOUR LEFT SOON AFTER THE
WELCOME SIGN INTO KLEINMOND 5 MINUTES FROM THE ARABELLA ESTATE.

THE ENTRANCE TO MEERENVLEI FROM THE R43 GORDONS BAY N2 CAPETOWN IS ON YOUR RIGHT OPPOSITE THE CAMPING SITE SIGN AFTER PASSING THROUGH KLEINMOND VILLAGE

DON’T FORGET YOUR BEACH TOWELS!

ENJOY YOUR STAY.

BOOKING AGENT: ELIZE POOLE 082 811 2312. EMAIL ELIZE.POOLE@VODAMAIL.CO.ZA

http://www.ecoscape.org.za/

My 25th Surprise Party!!!

2007-10-15T02:58:00.000+02:00

My suprise party invite that Mikey made

Cameron, Sarah, Kath, Nicole and Creagh

Ulla and Rolf

Sean and Craig

Mo, Ash (my sis), my dad and Carol (my step mum)

Em and Ga

Dex, Steve and Hilton

Nats, Polly and Ian

Gareth, Jean and Waynne

Jason, Alex and Michelle

Steve and Hannes - I mean Spider Man

Stinky and Penny

Duncs, Chris and Dimples

(Mike's fam) Lynda, Des, Theri and Jessy

(Mike's fam) Richard, Anne, Shan, Tasha and Tatiana

Where's the ball..?

Jessy, Me, Tatiana and Mikey

Me and Mikey

Tatiana and Jessy

Shebeen Boys End of Year Dinner

2007-10-12T07:01:00.000+02:00

Sparky's collection

Back step cha cha cha

T and Me

Hellooooo Baby T...

Someone's stealing me rose!

Shebeen Boys win the Final

2007-10-12T06:48:00.000+02:00

Dimples, Me, Kerry and Wes

Chris, Me, Wes, Kerry and other Wes :)

Tony, Wes, Milf and Mike

Me, Shebeen and Dimples

England Australia 20 Twenty @ Newlands

2007-10-12T06:44:00.000+02:00

Leanne, Dimples and Me

Dr Beat and the Open Box crew + Dimples :)

Mike and Mark on the Stage after convincing the guards to look the other way!

Springboks at Springbok Pub...was a great idea at the time!

Photos from New York

2007-08-17T03:26:00.000+02:00

At Rob and Scott's house

Making 'smores' - Gram crackers with hersheys chocolate and melted marshmallows!

Wendell and Zane

Marble Head

Rockefeller Center (where the ice rink usually is)

- I worked in 45 Rock -

The Observation Deck

(An Open Box ticketing system)

From the top of 30 Rock (The observation Deck)

New York, New York

2007-08-07T11:37:00.000+02:00

So I find myself in the Big Apple which is overwhelming at first but i'm settling in nicely (the irony is that by the time i'm truly settled i'll be flying home!)

So I thought i'd post some intersting things i've learnt/found in NY:

Their driving sucks!
They hoot for nothing.
The green man counts down how many seconds you have left to cross the road.
Poland Spring is the largest still water company (by far) - until today I thought it was the only bottled water around. (I see a market)
When you buy something, the exact change is often given out by a machine (like if you were paying for a parking ticket).
The gym in my hotel has a TV on every equipment which is linked to every cable channel!
There are probably the same number of cabs as there are other cars.
Food is ridiculously expensive - I went for breakfast with a client and we each had cereal with fruit and she had tea - it came to R284.90!!!

The photo above is where i'm working - 45 Rockefeller Center.

Working with Idiots can Kill You!

2007-07-21T11:35:00.000+02:00

Idiots in the office are just as hazardous to your health as cigarettes, caffeine or greasy food, an eye-opening new study reveals. In fact, those dopes can kill you!

Stress is one of the top causes of heart attacks -- and working with stupid people on a daily basis is one of the deadliest forms of stress, according to researchers at Sweden's Lindbergh University Medical Center.

The author of the study, Dr. Dagmar Andersson, says her team studied 500 heart attack patients, and were puzzled to find 62 percent had relatively few of the physical risk factors commonly blamed for heart attacks.

"Then we questioned them about lifestyle habits, and almost all of these low-risk patients told us they worked with people so stupid they can barely find their way from the parking lot to their office. And their heart attack came less than 12 hours after having a major confrontation with one of these oafs.

"One woman had to be rushed to the hospital after her assistant shredded important company tax documents instead of copying them. A man told us he collapsed right at his desk because the woman at the next cubicle kept asking him for correction fluid -- for her computer monitor.

"You can cut back on smoking or improve your diet," Dr. Andersson says, "but most people have very poor coping skills when it comes to stupidity -- they feel there's nothing they can do about it, so they just internalize their frustration until they finally explode."

Stupid co-workers can also double or triple someone's work load, she explains. "Many of our subjects feel sorry for the drooling idiots they work with, so they try to cover for them by fixing their mistakes. One poor woman spent a week rebuilding client records because a clerk put them all in the 'recycle bin' of her computer and then emptied it -- she thought it meant the records would be recycled and used again."

(By KATE McCLARE STOCKHOLM )

IT vs Management

2007-07-21T10:48:00.000+02:00

A man in a hot air balloon realised he was lost. He reduced altitude and spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago but I don't know where I am."

The woman below replied, "You're in a hot air balloon hovering approximately 30 feet above the ground. You're between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."

"You must be in Information Technology," said the balloonist. "I am," replied the woman, "how did you know?" "Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is probably technically correct, but I've no idea what to make of your information and the fact is, I'm still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help at all. If anything, you've delayed my trip."

The woman below responded, "You must be in Management." "I am," replied the balloonist, "but how did you know?" "Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or where you're going. You have risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise, which you've no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now,
somehow, it's my f**king fault."

Excel Just Made my Day!

2007-05-31T05:13:00.000+02:00

So I was trying to install Ultra-edit today (very unsuccessfully) in order to avoid having to add a comma to the end of 680 numbers in a long list.

Now i'm not one to avoid manual labour, but this mundane task just seemed unnecessary in the greater scheme of everyday life... so I sat for a minute (or two) and decided that there HAS to be a way of doing this in Excel.

After much trying (and failing) I finally stumbled upon a winner... ;)

Dum dee dum!

So here it is - for all the world to see:

Right click the highlighted cells --> Under the 'Number' tab choose 'Custom'
Then, where it says 'General' type '0\,'

HEY PRESTO!

I hope this makes your day as much as it made mine!

HAPPY EASTER

2007-04-08T00:25:00.000+02:00

Training for the Argus

2007-02-16T03:54:00.000+02:00

Here are some photos of our training for the Argus with the office folk. Note our new sexy green Open Box cycling kit :)

Mark - see how dark and early it is!

Me - very cold at 6:15am

Mark pumping my tyres up - thanks Mark ;)

The small team today

Me coming up Boyes Drive - nightmare!

Irfaan - clearly good on the bike (if I had to lift my hand like that i'd fall over!)

Me concentrating hard!

After the cycle - feeling good about life

Say cheese!

Horse Riding in Greyton

2007-02-10T06:15:00.000+02:00

Horse Riding in Greyton...

Me on Taurus

Mommy

Ashy

Mikey on Blizzard - beautiful lush surroundings

Mom going through the mountain paths

The beautiful sunset!

First Fire Fighting Training at Epping

2007-02-10T06:00:00.000+02:00

So I was looking at the VWS (Volunteer Wildfire Services) website the other day and noticed that they had some photos up from when we did our first day of training with them!

Here they are...

Blinky and Little T (wohooo)

Mikey crawling under the fire engine!

So this looks like me abseiling down the 5 storey "building" - but to be honest, I don't think it is - but let's pretend!

Us having the fire hydrant stand and key talk - Don't be fooled by Mike and my body language far left) - we may have been a little hung-over and catching a few zzz's at the time.

That may also have been just before the lecturer picked on me for yawning! ;)

All in all a great day in Epping - team building events, abseiling, lectures - very cool!

My Flat

2007-02-10T05:55:00.000+02:00

Here are some updated photos of my flat....it's done! Yay

The kitchen (fancy that!)

The beadroom / lounge

The pool in the piazza

The piazza with braai areas around the sides

The VWS Fire Fighting Open Day

2006-12-09T05:41:00.000+02:00

Me and Carryn in uniform

Mike and Jorn

The Noddy Fire Truck on display

Titan ZS-RRI

The water bombing display

Mike after the water bombing display

Dad doing a tug-of-war with the kids

Paris - September 2006

2006-10-09T04:47:00.000+02:00

As most of you know, Mike and I took a trip to Paris on the 13th September to sell knives at a knife show for Des (Mike's step father).

So here are some photos from our trip (that I will be adding to each day - as it's a slow and painful process!)

The Centre Pompidou was created by architects Richard Rogers, Renzo Piano and Gianfranco Franchini as a cultural centre dedicated to modern art. The building is essentially inside out with the escalators, water pipes and air conditioning on the outside.

A statue outside Forum Des Halles - a large underground shopping centre with the world's largest underground subway beneath.

A big stone head next to Saint Eustache in the centre of Paris. We stumbled upon this huge piece of art while on our way to the Sacre Coeur.

The Sacre Coeur Basilica was built in 1873 as a "moral condemnation of the sins of Paris". The main dome towers 83m over the Montmartre hill and has over 300 steps that take you to the top of the dome in order to experience a stunning view of Paris.

At the top of the main dome

After going for sushi at the knife makers cocktail party, we took a walk to the Royal Opera House. My feet have never been so sore! But it was definitely worth the stunning sight of the Royal Opera House all lit up at night.

This is the Pais Knife Show that we went to. Below is one of Des Horn's custom folding knives
(Made from demascus steel, meteorite and mother of pearl)

This knife is made from demascus steel (innox in French) and Mammoth tusk (Mamoot in French)

Another of Des' knives with his first gold inlay (og)

Our table at the show (after we sold one knife :)

Mike at our table at the knife show

After the last show, one of the knife makers, Koji took us out for sushi to a Japanese restaurant. This is Koji and me with our origami we made each other.

Koji and Mike during our meal - the most and best sushi i've ever had!

Me, Koji and Mike

Mike during one of our many walks along the Sein.

We stayed near the Notre Dame so everything was virtually in walking distance... some walks a little longer than other - great exercise!

Ice cream by the Sein - always a win!

The Notre Dame in the background. On the first evening we went into the Notre Dame and there was the most beautiful singing during the service.

Another one of our masterpiece photos (taken by both of us) - spot the mistake...

The Pantheon (with some wierd "modern art") . This building was built as a Roman Temple and later became a Catholic Church. It is the best-preserved Roman building and is the oldest "important" building in the world with its original roof intact.

Since the Renaissance the Pantheon has been used as a tomb. Among those buried there are the painters Raphael and Annibale Caracci, the architect Baldassare Peruzzi.

The view from the top of the Pantheon

Onto another subject... Paris drivers...The driving in Paris is shocking, and even worse is their parking - could you get any closer???

Off to the Picasso Museum - Mike looking a little worried! lol

The Kiss by Picasso - I love it ;)

The Goat by Picasso

Our pick Nick by a fountain near the Lourve
(turns out the Lourve was closed that evenging!)

Then onto the Arc de Triumph

The view from top of Arc De Triumph (note that there are no lanes)

Mike holding up the Concord!

Me by a huge fountain at the Place de Concord.

Dome Church - Napolean's Tomb.

Rodin - The Thinker

Van Gough in the Rodin Museum

Nectar Bar

Nectar Bar -Mike and Ben

Nectar Bar - Sally and Me

Nectar Bar - Shelly, Mike and Justine

Nectar Bar - Mike and the girls

Me and Sally at the Paradise Restaurant

Mike and Sally (his sis)

Trying to find an open bar after the Paradise Restaurant

Dodgy underground "club"

The French House

French House - Brett, Mike and Mark

Mark and Xen on the other side of the underground

Mike in front of the Louvre

Me in front of the Louvre

"Trick photography" inside the Louvre (we both took this photo ;)

The Venus de Milo and me

Small World

2006-08-25T18:18:00.000+02:00

So this is a little wierd... the other day, Damo asked me to go to a "Bars and Clubs in Cape Town" website and check out one of the photos... so I go to this site and what do I see...

A photo of a chick dancing that looks scarily like me (granted that her hair is in front of her face and the photo is pretty small... ya ya ya).

Then... today, Mike receives this photo from Greg Lumley's photography website... and lookie here. Firstly there's Tor in the middle (walking right) and then there's Mike (on the left)... how bizarre!!!

Apparently this was taken at a Kirstenbosh concert! What a small world!

And here's another great photo taken during the Shebeen Boys rugby fines. Also by Greg Lumley!

Dilbert Favourites

2006-08-17T15:11:00.000+02:00

Ashy

2006-07-14T12:02:00.000+02:00

...My beautiful sister...

...LOVES nature

...and natural, organic food!

...Her love for art is inspiring...

...this is some of her work - amazingly real isn't it!

...She even won the 2004 body
painting competition (Body Spectra)...

...A stunning person to be around!

...She's beautiful, patient and polite...

...is dedicated to her family and friends...

...and is amazingly loyal and loving!

That's my sister...isn't she great! :)

Robertson 2006

2006-06-28T11:06:00.000+02:00

Robertson Wack Wine Weekend 2006

So once again we took the Friday off work and made our way up to Robertson to drink lots and lots of wine :)

We spent the fist evening at Janeza, eating Poitjie Kos around huge bon fires and dancing to the live lang-arm musiek! It was a blast and we even got the tunnies to join us!

Saturday morning started with a breakfast "cruise" after which we made our way to various wine farms, watched people swimming in red wine, stopped off at a local pub to watch the (rather dismal) rugby and then made our way to Springfield (see pics)... unfortunately it was closed so we headed to Cloverfield for a huge party and lots of beautiful blue cheese and hot dog rolls (nice one Mike) ;)

At the weee hours of the night, some were sober enough to realise that it had been a good night and supper was calling... if you were like me, Mike, Damo, Darren, Gary and Chris... the night had just begun.... so off we went (or squeezed - having only one car - thanks Gary) to some "non-english" party (what looked like a matric dance that we gate crashed).

Yes, seeing the "whiteees" try and bust some moves (after many glasses of wine) was most enjoyable for the locals.

The next day we tried to have an early start and headed to Bon Courage for the slowest breakfast EVER! Why bother taking coffe orders if you're going to turn the coffee machine off... apparently it could not handle the 6 plain coffee orders we threw at it!

All in all, a weekend enjoyed by everyone (except maybe our livers).

Thanks again Tiff for organising!

Happy Father's Day

2006-06-20T16:46:00.000+02:00

Happy Father's day Dad...

Thank you dad for being the most humble and sincere...

Honest and open...

Sociable and welcoming...

Entertaining and fun loving...

Gracious and polite...

Amusing and witty...

Supportive and encouraging...

Lovable and devoted...

...Father in the entire world!

Lots of love from your girls xxx

Happy Mother's Day

2006-05-18T19:15:00.000+02:00

Mummy, you are the most special mother and you mean the world to me!

I admire and respect so many things about you... including...

Your love and care for all animals, big and small

Your amazing artistic ability

(beautiful paintings around Greyton village)

Your positive, optimistic outlook on the world

Your inspiring character which touches all those who know you

Your charismatic and outgoing personality

(never a dull moment!)

Your love for children and your eagerness to help them learn

(giving the underprivileged kids art lessons)

Your beautiful smile...

You are truly beautiful inside and out. Happy Mothers day!

Animal Testing

2006-05-01T15:08:00.000+02:00

The next time you go shopping - Remember the animals...

+/- 115 MILLION animals are experimented on and killed in laboratories (in the U.S.A alone) every year.

Experimentations include:

- Pumping chemicals into rats' stomachs
- Hacking muscle tissue from dogs' thighs
- Isolating baby monkeys far from their mothers
- Forcing toxic products into rabbits' eyes
- etc etc etc

Eye irritancy

Products are placed in rabbits' eyes for 3 days to see if it will cause irritation and damage to the eye. Redness, swelling, discharge, ulceration, cloudiness and blindness occurs. This is extremely painful.

Skin irritancy

Patches of rabbits skin are shaved and abraded slightly to make them more sensitive. Products is placed on these patches and covered with gauze for 4 hours causing redness, inflammation, weeping and scabs. Obviously this kind of injury is extremely painful.

Acute toxicity

Products are fed to animals to see if they are poisonous when swallowed. The traditional test is the LD50 test, where increasing doses are fed to animals until half of them die. The animals are observed for 7-14 days. Rats and mice are most often used, although sometimes species such as rabbits, guinea pigs or dogs are also tested.

In the case of harmless products, like lipstick, ridiculous quantities have been fed to animals to make half of them die.

The animals often suffer from abdominal pains and cramps, convulsions, vomiting, paralysis, diarrhoea, breathing difficulties, bleeding ulcers etc.

AT THE END OF EACH TEST ALL ANIMALS ARE KILLED!

Please check out the list of companies (on the panel -->) that do and don't test on animals and rather buy a product that is animal friendly - it's the least we can do :)

MET 2006

2006-04-19T08:13:00.000+02:00

In "our tent"

Mark, Xen and Chris

Me and little T

Da boys (styling!)

Lia, Mike, Me, Darren and Xen

Mike and Mark

The token "police photo"

Photos compliments of Mark's Farm

Quad Biking & Wine Tasting (Feb 06)

2006-04-19T07:06:00.000+02:00

Quadbiking in the winelands - what a pleasure!

So Lia organised a day of quadbiking and wine

tasting on Dellrust Wine Farm, Somerset West.

Leave all your ideas of regular wine tastings and

visits to wine farms at home and join Alexander

on his quad bikes, equipped with crates and

picking scissors, for the unique opportunity

to harvest your own wine grapes.

Mike on a quad bike

Me on a quad bike

Mark and Xen

The view

Mikey picking grapes to stomp

Grape picking in the vineyard

Alistair and Shelley

Lia and Simone going through the obstacle course

On return to the cellar we had great fun stomping our
picked grapes... bare feet to the sound of festive music.

Mark and Mike stomping grapes

Stomping grapes

You get to taste the best wines Dellrust has to offer, accompanied by a
scrumptious cheese & cold meat platter from the Three Vines
Restaurant. In remembrance of the event, you take home a
complimentary bottle of Dellrust wine and a quad bike
experience like non other.

Mark and Mik - looking a little light headed :)

Me getting kisses ;)

www.quadrides.com

PLAYBOYS AND BUNNIES

2006-03-22T19:50:00.000+02:00

The T's Playboy and Bunny Valentines Day Party

17th Feb 2006

The girls

Darren, Polly, Mike

Tiff, Max, Me, Xen

Max, Me

Shooting in Hermanus

2006-02-17T14:24:00.000+02:00

So a couple of months ago myself, Mike, Chris and Damo went for a day of shooting in Hermanus. What a great experience.

We got to shoot more than 10 guns ranging from pistols to semi-automatic to shot guns to snipers!

Unfortunately all our cameras ran out of battery so we only hav a few pics...

Thank you to Des and Lynda for organising this for us. It was an amazing day and an experience I will never forget!

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY

2006-02-13T18:45:00.000+02:00

Thank you for treating me with kindness, love and affection. You have my utmost respect, gratitude and admiration.

xoxoxo

My Flat

2006-01-10T18:00:00.000+02:00

So, as most of you know i've bought myself a flat on Claremont main road - between Pick n Pay and the Atrium. Here are some photos of it being built...

First signs of life

Ground floor

My view

Sixth Floor - (my flat on the corner)

View on other side

What it should look like when complete

My flat's floor plan

HAPPY BIRTHDAY SARAH

2005-12-14T09:37:00.000+02:00

"A faithful friend is the medicine of life." -- Apocrypha

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Today's the day we get to say... we're happy you were born- Hooray!

Have the most special day today Sa... just as special as you are.

"We will be friends until forever, just you wait and see." -- Pooh Bear

Dad's 60th

2005-11-17T17:39:00.000+02:00

Jenny and Dyllon

Kila... our herd of Zebra

Me, Nick and Ash (my sis)

Africa (Dec / Jan 2004)

2005-11-01T10:39:00.000+02:00

Christmas Day - Fat Monkeys - Malawi

Christmas pub drink

Bawo Time - Fat Monkeys

Venice Beach Backpackers

Sunset on 2 day boat trip - Ilala

Sunset on Ilala - Chilling!

Namibian border

The long bus journey to Windhoek - It all starts...

Waiting for a bus in the rain

The Group - Inchata Bay

Lilongwe to Umzuzu - 5 hour taxi ride
Never been so happy to stretch my legs!

Table Mountain (Sunday 30th Oct)

2005-10-31T17:30:00.000+02:00

Hey guys... here are the photos of table mountain.

Thank you Brett for organising this outing.

Chris - half way up

Above the clouds

Mike catching some shade

The group

The kids (Mark and Chris)

View from the top

Chelsea - very tired after running up and down and up and down....

Chris, Me, Darren

Mike and Me

Mark admiring the view

From the cable car

In the cable car (Darren, Chris, Mike)

This is where it starts...

2005-10-31T10:10:00.000+02:00

Hey all

Well it all started at Forries (where all good ideas start) - What to do about the fact that I have so many photos to share with everyone but never get around to sending them to people - so Gary came up with the brilliant idea of starting a blog and just posting all my photos on the Blog for everyone to see / download.

So here it is... my blog... which is going to mainly be used for photos (because i'm a crap writer!)

That's about it... ENJOY!