O P o t B

I have not been writing as regularly as I would have liked to.  I could say that I have a new role in the organisation and that has been taking up my time, or I could say that my hectic social life is consuming my time.  It would be easy enough to assign the blame to one of these factors, but then I would not be accepting responsibility.  The fact of the matter is that I did not make the time or even set aside some time to write.  Now that I have accepted responsibility I can work on it. The year thus far has been extraordinary.  I have been through a divorce and moving house.  Stopped being a slave to the weed, which was my crutch for a long time, witnessed a World Cup,  one of the few who managed to see the third and forth play off  and the final. I have made new friends and new acquaintances.  I have seen my son grow and heard the affection in his voice when he calls "Daddy Mo".  I have expressed my love to the people I care about a...

I have often wondered, especially recently, what is it that makes a man? There is an image of a man defined in men's magazine, the athlete, the party animal, the womaniser, the adrenaline junkie and  materially successful.  Women's magazines glorify the lives of celebrities as they move from partner to partner, declaring their independence and their search for happiness in designer wear. A life defined by the clothes that you wear, the car that you drive, the money you splash around and the number of notches you can put on your bedpost.  Devoid and empty in the pursuit of the happiness that has so successfully been depicted in the media around us.  Shaping us, our belief systems, our values and our warping our sense of right and wrong.  Actions that would have been unthinkable a couple of years ago, are the norm and are accepted in the light of being an "open minded human being". We have chosen to ignore the values that have been ingrained in our very DNA, c...

I have been very lucky.  I have been able to see a couple of matches in the world cup.  And I am probably, one of a few, who has had the privilege of seeing both the 3rd and 4th play off and the final live.  What makes this so special is that a friend and I, drove down to PE on Friday night, and back again on Saturday night, after the match, to be in time for the final. As it turned out, the 3rd and 4th play off, between Germany and Uruguay, was one of the best matches of the tournament.  Each side played their hearts out and scored a total of five goals between them.  And even when Germany scored a third goal in the 82 minute of the match, Uruguay relentlessly pursued to no avail. Of all the stars to appear on the World Cup stage, it was Forlan of Uruguay, who made his mark.  He was pivotal in Uruguay's campaign, and under his captaincy managed to lead the team to the semi finals and then the 3rd and 4th place play off.  It was a privilege to see ...

Being on my own again after such a long time has given me a chance to reflect.  It is this opportunity to reflect that has uncovered that which I have kept neatly wrapped and hidden away.  Now that I have removed the barriers and I am more fully engaged with my surroundings, I have reached a deeper understanding of myself.  I enjoy this time alone revelling in my own company and the freedom it brings. I sometimes wonder whether I would ever engage in another relationship, having been disappointed each time.  The more I think about it the more I know I will.  The thing is that while I am not lonely, there are things that I miss. I miss having the pleasure of sharing my experiences with someone special and I miss having someone special sharing their experiences with me.  I love my home, but I miss sharing and caring for someone in it.  I miss the intimacy of a sharing a cup of coffee or snuggling together while watching a movie.  I miss the feelin...

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times", the opening line from a Tale of Two Cities epitomises the way I feel at the moment.  Now you may think, judging from most of the material on this blog, that I have just experienced a major life event or that some major incident that is potentially life changing has occurred.  And you may be right.  Like all things, the World Cup is coming to an end.  For just over a month now we have been at the centre stage of the world hosting what is probably the most prestigious sporting event in the world today.  It has been reported that the number of tourists over the period has increased by twenty percent to one million, up by two hundred thousand, compared to the same period as last year.  What makes this different is instead of tourists moving around experiencing the beauty of our country, they are concentrated in the major cities of Johannesburg, which has three stadiums in close proximity, and Cape Town, w...

I recently posted a note on my FaceBook page, asking people for topics to write about.  Looking through the suggestions that came through I found one that was very very interesting.  It went something like this "the esoteric meaning of the hole in a doughnut".  At first I thought what a silly thing to write about, but something inside me said maybe not.  Maybe this is not such a silly thing to write about. The interesting thing about a doughnut is that it does have a hole in the middle, however it is not the only familiar item of food with a hole in the middle.  A bagel and macaroni come immediately to mind.  The hole in the middle of these do serve a practical purpose.  In macaroni it is to capture the sauces in which it is cooked.  In the doughnut and the bagel it is to aid the cooking process.  By creating a circle of dough of uniform thickness it ensures that the bagel or doughnut is cooked at the same rate ensuring a perfect product ev...

Yesterday I saw both the quarter final matches.  In the first one Brazil vs Netherlands, where Brazil one of the favorites was knocked out of the competition.  In the second, Ghana, Africa's hope, was eliminated by Uruguay in a match that ended in penalties.  While both teams lost, they did so in very different ways. In the Brazil vs Netherlands match, Brazil faced with three challenges, their first goal was disallowed, for the first time in the competition they were a goal down and last but not least one of their defenders was sent off, red carded.  Having outplayed the Dutch in the first half, and scoring a goal in the tenth minute, by Robinho, it seemed as though the Dutch were going the way of rest of Brazils contenders.  The Dutch equalizer came from a header by Melo, an own goal from a Dutch corner, injecting confidence and giving hope to the Dutch team.  A second goal, headed in by Sneijder of a corner to put the Dutch ahead, proving that the Bra...