Part I was largely about how i found myself chosen and made my way to the Catan World Championships in Malta. Now to talk about the competition itself. Strategy vs Luck and some other third thing! The most asked question, by fellow competitors, and others, during the weekend of the Catan World Championships was 'Strategy vs Luck. What is your percentage?' Because Catan involves dice, there is a certain amount of luck involved. My [...]
The Catan World Championships: Stuff of dreams. And yet, in 2022, somehow the sheep and brick aligned to let this one bucket list dream come true for one very lucky "Fish". My History of Catan It all started for me, sometime around 2002, with one of the youth guys i was leading at the time and a German copy of a game called 'Die Siedler von Catan' which i instantly fell in love with. Prior [...]
Some thoughts about being different: It is okay to be different. After all, we all are. i have spent a lot of time over the last few weeks doing a lot of self-reflection. The in-your-face realities of a deadly worldwide pandemic, my dad about to turn 80 [this Saturday], hearing of a new colleague on a board i just joined losing his life in a car accident, are all things which can make you [...]
What a gift and a privilege it is to go to the Kruger National Park. Something the majority of South Africans won't get to do their whole lives. And how do you hold that thought while you decide to spend the money it will take to choose to go and spend a week there? To find out the answer to that one, you will need to sit with me and a cup of coffee [...]
If the variety and chaos and lack of aggression of the Traffic in the Philippines is the first thing that hits you as it did me, because of how in your face it is, the Hospitality and Generosity of the Filipino people will hit you in your heart. i have always found it quite a hard piece to navigate when time after time in my life it has been the poor who have consistently [...]
A reflection from our time spent in the Philippines regarding traffic... My wife tbV [the beautiful Val] and i have just returned from a two-month trip to the Philippines which was pretty amazing. If you're interested in how that came about, you can read some of the story over here. i am hoping, however, to share a few thoughts and reflections from our time there and hopefully in not-too-long pieces that are easy to [...]
A few weeks ago i received a gift bag of Fair Cape Goodies [Mousse and Yoghurt and Mousse and other non Mousse things - you can see where my passion lies!] which were all really great and so i shared a blog post about some of their Recycling Vibes [which you can read over here]. So when i received an email from my contact Noni, asking me if i would be interested in visiting [...]
Having recently had the amazing opportunity to visit my sister and some of my best friends in Durban, I am a big fan of cheap flights. So I am excited to share with you the news that Travelstart has a Birthday Sale coming your way in a week's time. Search to see if your flight routes are included so that you can get a great deal. It really is no surprise to see what the [...]
White South African friends… i have so much love for you. A number of you, when race conversations have been happening, have asked the question, “What can i do?” and as one who doesn’t have all the answers but certainly has some of the journey, i figured I can share some things that helped me to move further along in this conversation. So for the next forty days, i am hoping to share an idea a day – some simple, some more [...]
Do you have the Mind to Escape? I and a select group of my Durban friends - including my younger sister, Dawn - suspected we might have and so we decided to put Durban's Premier Escape Room experience to the test. On Monday 13th of August, six intrepid clue hunters known as Team Fish Poop [I provided the 'Fish' and have no idea which of these juveniles decided to throw in some faeces] took on The [...]
