20060410 Viva Afrika

Hi Guys

It has been a rather hectic 2 months for us with no updates on Bowenz.com, but at least we have a lot of news and photos for all of you. Let’s begin a week before we left for South Africa….

Lawrence started at Unilever at the end of February and could not be happier. His team is split between London and Rotterdam and everyone is from different cultures and backgrounds. This seems to be a ‘London’ thing where you can start playing ‘find the brit’ in the work environment, because there seems to be so many people from other countries here. It takes some getting used to but makes for interesting lunch time conversation. You would not believe how much you can debate about the type of jam in a jam donut (apricot for SA, but strawberry here).

I was asked to deliver 2 days training in Geneva, which is the only European country for which we South Africans do not require visa’s. It was great to be able to go for 2 nights, and an interesting work experience. I could train everybody in English, but their home languages were either French, German or Dutch. This was challenging when the students were able to work on their own…I could not always hear when they had a problem. I think that I coped quite well just through observing body language.

Then we were off to SA for the weddings. We landed 2 days before Nic and Michelle got married and we hope that we were able to help with some of the last minute arrangements. After a bit of rally driving on Lawrence’s part (best man tasks on the day), the wedding went off smoothly and everything was just perfect. We took some great photos if you want to have a look.

Jet setters that we are, we were not satisfied to hang around Pretoria for 2 weeks, so off we went to the Kruger Park with Lawrence’s parents. It rained quite a lot while we were there, so the bush was green and the grass long, but we still managed to see elephant, lions, giraffe and lots of biltong/impala. Staying in the park was a great way to unwind, there is nothing like the absolute quiet under the stars.

On the day that we got back from the Park, I attending the best ‘kitchen tea’ for Carin (my brothers new wife). We had an x-stripper teach the ladies how to do lap and pole dancing. What a laugh! We had a great time, Lawrence keeps asking for a demonstration but the imagination may be better than the reality in this case.

The week was filled with friends and family, but we still did not get to spend enough time with everyone! Luckily we live in the age of technology so we can still keep in touch. And then, off to Magoebaskloof for Thomas and Carins wedding. We arrived at the hotel with a couple of hours to spare before the wedding, and we wish that we had arrived the day before in order to appreciate the area. This is a fly fishers paradise (Jonny and Russell pay attention). Water, water everywhere and gorgeous scenery. Just mountains and forests where you look. T and C really picked the spot for their vows. The wedding went off so well, and the receptions was so relaxed, it was a great way to spend our last night in South Africa. More photos…. What else do you expect from Lawrence

The day after the wedding, we woke up with a monkey in our room (not Lawrence), enjoyed a breakfast over looking the Magoebaskloef valley and then shot off back to Pretoria for a couple hours before hopping onto a plane bound for London. We thought that 2 and a bit weeks would be ample for the holiday, but we could have done with a lot more.

It was great to see everyone again, and we are happy to know that you are all doing well.

All our love

L&G

PS: We are off to Amsterdam and Castricum this Easter Weekend…so watch out for the next round of photos from happy snapper Lawrence.