New Dimensions

The people from Brakpan are quite often ridiculed. How this came about is a mystery to me. I suppose someone started with a joke and others added to his comments and it grew from there. We live in a world where we put people into boxes with labels. Most often it is cruel and incorrect. Fortunately, someone's story comes along that changes our perspective. Yesterday I accompanied my wife to her uncle's birthday party in Brakpan. The Maps app on my iPhone gave me conflicting information so I had to use intuition to home in on the venue. Luckily my decision was correct and then the voice on my wife's smartphone announced that we were at the right place. Nice! all this technology that we carry with us. Well, we pulled into the parking area and went to meet the people. First up were some folks standing outside by the braai fires - I was glad that we wouldn't have to wait too long before we could get our meat on. Her family was very glad to see my wife Maggie since w...

Back in 1978, we were living in Tsumeb in Namibia where I was working for the mine. This was where I discovered the purest form of flying. It was by accident, but I didn't know it at the time. Our house was situated two blocks from the local airfield that belonged to the mine. Every so often a roaring could be heard when the company plane approached for landing or prepared for take-off. I always loved planes and the noise never bothered me. I usually went outside to watch. I'm not sure how it happened but I decided to visit the airfield and discovered that there was a model radio control flying club right next to the main runway. One of the members suggested that I order a kit from Cape Town if I wanted to join. I decided to leave things in his hands and a few weeks later my first radio controlled glider arrived. It took me quite a while to build the glider and it turned out looking fine. My new friend provided the radio control equipment and the day arrived when we m...

The Matric Farewell at Maranatha Christian School on 13 October 2017 was a special occasion for me because I could try out my Canon 1DX Mark II in ever-changing late afternoon lighting conditions. The addition of a decent flashlight contributed to my success. The photo above of a stunning couple made life even easier.  I only needed to make a tiny adjustment to brighten the photo ever so slightly. It was very sharp just the way I took it. The girl's makeup was picture perfect. When I enlarged it for a closer look in Photoshop it was perfectly focused even when I zoomed right into their faces. This is a close crop from a portrait picture and all the fine detail is there. I couldn't have asked for better results. They arrived in a shiny DKW car. A closeup in the car. The couple have just arrived - car in the background They got the royal treatment arriving on the red carpet. This is the same photo as the one at the top (uncropped)...

Ray-Ban Aviators sunglasses have always been my first choice in sunglasses and BMW my premium brand of motorcycle. Two things very dear to me. But there's a mystery behind this story on a particular day going back ten years from today. It flashed back into my mind and I decided to share it with you. This picture is almost exactly as I remember it. It was a sunny day with puffy clouds chasing each other against a bright blue sky - the perfect day to don my favourite Ray-Bans. After many years I managed to acquire a magnificent BMW 1200 RT motorcycle and I climbed aboard for my trip to the centre of Johannesburg. Nothing compares to the exhilaration of riding one of those machines. Travelling in a car doesn't come near. The trip into the city was fantastic and I felt like the king of the road. Midday traffic was busy and I parked my bike two blocks away from the Carlton Centre. Being in a hurry to get to the Foto Shop in the centre I grabbed my films and walked...

Fresh Hope Migration is an established and successful Immigration Agency specializing in South African: Immigration Visas Business Visas Work Visas Relative Visas Study Visas Visa Extensions Visa Appeals Change of Conditions Permanent Residence Applications They also assist with Nigeria tourists / work visas and passport applications. Place of Business Situated in Kempton Park on the East Rand (near Johannesburg), Gauteng, South Africa, Fresh Hope Migration have years of experience in the Immigration Industry. If you meet the requirements for a work visa call them for an appointment or send them an email. Visa Services Fresh Hope Migration - Immigration Agency Kempton Park, Johannesburg - specializes in the following visa services: immigration visas, business visas, work visas, relative visas, study visas, visa extensions, visa appeals and change of conditions. I have known them for a few years and have found them to be friendly and helpful. If you need he...

There's a place and a time to get out of your comfort zone and engage in social activity. Today was one of those days for me. I woke up early this morning and managed to get to church on time. What for? That on a Monday morning, too. Once a month they host a breakfast for the business people. After "The Message," which was excellent, we went for breakfast. After finding a place in the crowded canteen I sat next to an estate agent across the table. He seemed very interested in what I shared about my work and requested a follow-up meeting. Next, I joined a friend at his table and again shared what I do for clients which resulted in a positive outcome. That was a good start to my day and month. At home, I dug into some website designing and typing in Word. Before long it got much busier and I was multi- tasking 3 projects. With more clients comes more work. Then my work became even busier as the day continued. Later I spent some time catching up on Facebook. It...

How I miss the carpet of flowers that used to greet me when I was a young boy living in Namaqualand. During Spring those flowers always decorated the countryside where I lived in Nababeep. It was like heaven with all the colours imaginable. How fortunate I was to grow up in that mining town. Far away from the city. Isolated. Yet I wouldn't have had it any other way. Okay, I had to learn a new language, Afrikaans, because the majority of the folks there spoke it. In the beginning, my friends had to put up with my English until I picked up a few Afrikaans words. Fortunately, they were patient with me and helped me master their unusual language. After we moved closer to the mine so that my father could walk to his workshop I made friends with Dirkie Coetzee who became my best friend. We did many things together. Sometimes we just listened to his favourite Jim Reeves records and other times we read fiction books about "Die Swart Luiperd." My favourite hero was Ta...