Tucked into the folds of the Langeberg mountains outside of Rooiberg, sits the Saggy Stone Restaurant and micro-brewery. It’s a busy spot for something that is 20km, much of it dirt, from the main road and the fierce sun no doubt contributed to the large volumes of beer being consumed, not lease by a party of gratefully hikers. Our food was generous and tasty, the service excellent and only the need to drive two hours back to vineyards stopped us from spending more time with Dad and Mary.

The Da Vinci exhibition at the Chavonnes Battery Gallery was intriguing. The gallery space that has been built amongst the stone foundations of the original battery buildings is stunning.

News coming out of South Sudan of the scale, and brutality of the violence, horrifying. Our humanitarian operations now the focus, and how to implement them with the staff safely relocated.

Wind chimes stirred by the breeze, a special sound bringing memories of Christmas in Tazzie. Christmas lunch under the trees at the cottage. A menu of Terry’s pâté’, Stilton, tomatoes and salad bits, with Moët and 2011 Black Rock. Indulgent and scrumptious. We sat on the couch with Lesa and Alan watching the lights come on across the valley.

Website updated, with the customary sprinkling of errors which seems to be an inevitable consequence of making a bunch of changes each time I’m home. Still haven’t found a way to do the updates remotely, particularly from South Sudan.

Carpets spread under the pine trees, cushions and carpetbags. Dogs, people, wine, food and sunshine. The family day setting at the cottage.

My cold (no malaria thank goodness) is driving me nuts!

We wound our way through the pretty Elgin valley with its hidden blue lakes amongst the green mountains, across the pass to Franschhoek and our lunch spot at La Quartier Francais. The patio provided shade, the menu a host of intriguing options and the colourful yellow and green umbrellas, a cheeky cheerfulness against the blue skies.