The Cotswolds - Engaging!

Had someone written a script, this would've been the spot - opportunity missed and clearly rattled

The Washbourne Court Hotel – prettier in Summer, but not too shabby in Winter either

Bullseye!

A few glasses of Champagne later…

Our car – holding it's own in the hotel car park

Broadway Tower, on the way home

As of Saturday evening Robyn and I are engaged!

Unaware of what was happening, I woke Robyn up on Saturday morning and told her to pack an overnight bag! After taking a bit of a detour (we missed our turn-off while I was sub-conciously rehearsing my proposal speech) we arrived at our hotel, (Washbourne Court) in Lower Slaughter.

The next plan of action was to go for a walk through the picturesque surroundings and en-route pop the question! Well, that's how it happened, although not as quickly as anticipated, and after a fairly lengthy loop around most of the north-east corner of the Cotswolds, just as the light was fading, I finally overcame the nerves and rather emotionally went down on bended knee on a boggy path (near a gate overlooking a field).

The rest of the evening and night went superbly and the hotel where we were staying delivered the goods. Many a glass of Champagne was drunk in celebration, but also in reflection of those closest to us who we would've loved to have shared the moment with.

Christmas in Durban

For the first time in just under two years, we flew home on Christmas night for a very brief, five days in Durban. We had a really great time and it was superb to catch up with everyone again after a fairly lengthy period apart. As you can imagine, it was jam-packed with family get togethers, braais, babies, beers, sun and friends. Here are a few pics…

Jessica Semple reluctantly waters the garden

Jason Semple

The proverbial night at Waxies. Always good.

Jessica, Matthew (my nephew) and a rather pasty looking me

Matthew Clark

Recent reads

Nineteen Eigthy-Four – George Orwell
This was written in 1948 (there or thereabouts) and is Orwells view of what the world would(could) be like in 1984 and features the original 'Big Brother' concept. All I can say is, thank the Pope he got it wrong because he didn't paint a very happy and smiley picture of life thirty-odd years down the line. Nevertheless, this is an epic, dark story of an individual (Winston) who cautiously rebels against the trappings of an horrific, totalitarian government on steroids. If it were a movie, it would be directed by Tim Burton starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham-Carter.

The Alchemist – Paulo Coehlo
I probably don't even need to write anything here as it seems I'm one of the last people on earth to have read this book! Nevertheless, the way in which this book is written makes it a pleasure to read, and at 180 or so pages, a very approachable read at that. It is a very simple story of a journey to enlightenment. At the same time it is also a lesson to us to be aware of what's going on, in and around our lives because there-in lie the answers to many of our most important questions.

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – J.K. Rowling
Without doubt, the best of the Harry Potter books. Personally, Ms Rowling has saved the best for last. It's chunky, but when the content is this good, at no time does it ever feel laboured. I'm not going to say anything more for fear of giving anything away and spoiling it for you.