garden royal - off the top

jose palmer on the roof

the way onto the roof

my golf partner and friend getting a taste of teh good life at garden royal

jose palmer, mr heidsieck and me

garden royal - roof top

the sunset in london

counting jets overhead

two very good friends....mr lanson and miss jose palmer

enjoying the sun and the company

jose palmer

garden royal - london

garden on the side

front enterance

garden at the back

the city in the distance

a view from our roof top

the wine spy versus johnie walker blue

i am an avid reader of keo.co.za. it is a rugby blog that has some interactive fascilities and a weekly newsletter rewarding its intelligent readers and followers. every week keo offers a bottle of johnie walker blue label to the reader that sends him the best question. and this week it went down like this...please read the following...

chef says: ‘Hey KEO. My question/comment concerns the PROFESSIONAL ERA and the lack of Joe Public and the so-called administrators to wrap their minds around what that means. I think a lot of problems concerning the rules of the game; the format of Super rugby/tournaments; and allowing players that play in foreign countries to play for their national teams, are embedded in this. I think in 15-20 years time (hopefully) we’ll be getting it right. Compared to European football or the American sports…it is evident that professional sport is about money and entertainment. Even the scum of big cities like London and New York understand that. They don’t seem to have a problem if one player gets transferred for the odd million quid. Perhaps it is our blockheaded conservative background as a country/hemisphere (cos the buggers Down-Under plus their 8th state also known as New Zealand, are just as bad) that stands in the way of progress into the arena of professional rugby. It is “their” amateur mindsets that say that guys playing outside their own countries should not be selected for their national teams and the same mindset does not understand that professional sport is (or should be) a CONSUMER DRIVEN brand. I have been living in Europe (France and England) for a couple of years now and I want to use the Dan-mania at Perpignan as my example. In such a remote/backwards part of France, people went CRAZY because of one player. And I was stunned by the professional manner his arrival there was handled. I am told the sales of jerseys and ticket went through the roof. Why don’t we see this type of thing in Super rugby? I put it down to the AMATEUR mindset we still carry around.’

KEO says: ‘You win the Jonnie Walker Blue Label Chef, because you reinforce what I say, know and believe and because at least I know I am now not alone in thinking that way. We have two games of rugby union, one that wants to be professional and one that wants to be amateur but reap the benefits of commercial investment. You can’t have it both ways and rugby administration, 15 years into professionalism, is way off the pace. The old buggers that engrain this mindset need to die. We ain’t getting rid of them. Until then we can put together any kind of professional blueprint, that makes commercial and common sense and it won’t be embraced. The good news is you are a winner. The bad news is I don’t do charity gigs like posting you a bottle of the finest, so contact Kara@hsm.co.za and nominate a charity of your own (a good friend in South Africa), and he/she will get to savour the taste of your great insights.

just goes to show...the value of a utility player...
wine spy.
poet and performer.
rugby guru.
the list goes on....

...or in the words of my good friend johnie w....

...keep walking.

sentimental versus nostalgia

i have often wondered what the difference is between sentiment and nostalgia. according to me it is not exactly the same thing. but after doing some searching for proper definition or two it seems that most people are of the opinion that it is more or less the same thing. but i will stick to my gut and declare that there remains a difference. i have always seen sentiment as weak and pathetic. people carrying around memorabilia. trying to cling to the past and not being able to let the good old days be exactly that. on the other hand nostalgia for me is the sudden memory of the good old days without trying to capture it or cling to it. it is not something that you have tried to posses or store in a box. but allowing it to be free and to visit you whenever the old song plays over the radio or the girl on the train turns her head and smiles. her expression takes you back to fond memories of an ex-girlfriend. nostalgia is a state of mind that allows you to enjoy happy memories and experiences without spoiling the essence of what makes it special. call it a free spirit if you want. i think it is closer to an openess to receive. an openess to loose and to win at the same time.

london baby

i have recently moved to london. after almost two fabulous years in france i have stepped across the channel for the final stretch of my honyemoon season. if all goes well i should be out of here in a couple of months heading down south. i am wrapping up my work in the north with some research concerning the wine market in the time of the so-called credit crunch. interestingly enough people seem to keep on consuming the good stuff in the face of financial adversity. what i particularly enjoy here is that everything is on price specials. this have given me the opportunity to endulge and experiment with what is available in the markeet out there. and it is indeed a sea of variety. some good and some not so good. none the less the experience of this wine spy in growing by the minute and i am lookiing forward to put knowledge to practice very soon...perhaps sooner than you think.

give zuma a chance!

the last couple of months and weeks people in south africa has been occupied with the election that happened this week. the fears of a two-thirds majority by the leading ANC was on everybody's lips. while reading and following this event closely i came up with some conclusions of my own.

i think people as a rule are afraid of change. they dont like the unknown that the future brings. that is why people often in life choose a second best life or they run away...because they are afraid of stepping out and to believe in something that is unknown to them. i think it is a general lack of faith. i think people in general are inclined to be negative instead of positive. they always see the challenges infront of them instead of looking far above and beyond to the promised land.

certain people in south africa have this fear that when jacob zuma takes over. but then if that is the case, why does his party enjoy such a land slide victory. surely somebody must like him. so who are these people then that are voicing their fear about the future? i leave that question open to discussion...

...but i am going to step out here and make a bold statement. despite what he has done in the past. the so-called allegations against him. and yes, his shower endeavour. i choose to be poistive about the future of south africa. perhaps this is exactly what we need. a leader for the people. and for some reason. i dont know why. i am excited about this change. i always say...i will rather follow someone that does something. even if he does not always get it right. but it is better than someone that only talks and does nothing.

so i call for action - give zuma a chance.