: About Me

Home is where the heart is and mine is South Africa - for all its beauty, the vast open spaces, and my people - despite all its troubles. This place will always be a part of me where-ever I go in the world. It's a place of extremes we have the most spectacular natural beauty and the most shockingly atrocious crime and fraud imaginable! The most ferocious and the most compassionate people in the world live here. And we manage to laugh at ourselves anyway!

I'm an environmentalist working in the financial world. If I could change only one thing to make the world a better place', I'd like to change the way we regard water, soil and air as commodities to be disposed of when we're done with it. There's something to be said about people's place in society and the way they regard waste: on the one hand poor people develop the ability (probably a survival strategy) to live among waste while completely ignoring its' existence; on the other hand rich people view waste as distasteful and happily pay to make it disappear'. Either way, no one seems to be able to take responsibility for it!

My husband and I love camping and the outdoors. Our ideal holiday getaway would be a tent on a beach with our three kids' (Cocker Spaniels!) and cycling or mountain biking in every beautiful place we can find!

I am a Christian and believe in Christian morals and principles. When everything is said and done, what really matters is your family and how much love you've given them in your lifetime.

My passion is ...

changing people's minds about how we live in the environment.

I know too much about ...

servicing bicycles and motor bikes; the inside of a car engine.

My parents always told me ...

to practice piano.

My childhood ambition ...

to be a vet.

My favorite memory ...

sitting in a tree-house looking out over the valley in the Eastern Transvaal

Why I write ...

I seem to need an outlet :)

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

The Stern Review (Nicholas Stern); the Corporation (Joel Bakan)

My first job ...

selling soft serve and frozen yogurt

My best moment ...

Saying 'I do'!

My inspiration ...

my husband!

Relationships & Family > Acquaintances & Co-Workers Healthy acts of kindness

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I remember exactly where I was on New Year's Eve, 1999. Not so much because it was Y2K, but because of a kindness a friend did for me that has remained with me ever since: The five of us girlfriends went on a hiking trip in the Drakensberg to see in the New Year. We spent the previous evening at a fantastic little B&B near the Royal Natal National Park. The B&B was quaint and cosy, and the owner gave his guests a sushi picnic on the front lawn with the awesome Drakensberg view as the backdrop. It was an incredible experience! The next day's hike was spectacular, despite some of us ...

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