The sky above the South China Sea

In the wilds.... of Borneo...

.... I came across this young man.
"Orang Utang" means "man of the forest" - he is about 4 years old and an orphan, as a result of deforestation in Malaysia and on the island of Borneo specifically....
He is looked after by some absolutely amazing people who, in time, will rehabilitate him to the wild.
Normally a baby Orang Utang would stay with its parents until around 7 or 8 years old, which I suppose is about the same as people being 16, 17 or 18 by the time parents may think their children might just survive on their own...

The most amazing thing about today was this: just as the group was about to set off up the mountain, an old man joined us. he must have been about 70, and very frail - he was walking with a zimmer frame that had little wheels on it. Shuffling really - not walking. I thought to myself that he would potter around the nature reservation garden as there would be no way that he would make it up the hill, on what turned out to be a very steep jungle trail going up about 50 metres from the start point to where the viewing platform was for the young orphaned Orang Utangs.

About 10 minutes after I got to the viewing platform, the old man was there. He had been carried up on the back of one of the game rangers!! CARRIED. And then he was carried down. 35 degree heat - 80% humidity. CARRIED.

I said to the ranger that he had done an amazing thing and he said simply, "It is my job sir."

There are some amazing people in this world. It is good to find them and remind oneself that there are these amazing people going about their daily business.

Wonderful.

Gezellig

“Gezellig” is a fantastic word.
It is a Dutch word that cannot really be translated….
It means togetherness, coziness, fun, satisfaction, love and warmth - all rolled in to one.
It is a feeling more than a meaning, or a meaning with feeling.
“Gezellig” is about people.
“Gezellig” can happen over a cup of coffee, it can be over dinner, it can be around a camp fire, a Christmas tree, in a car or at a bar.
It can be a group of people laughing and chatting on a train, it can be a couple walking in the rain.
It is a feeling to be looked forward to, a feeling that you will know when you experience it. And you will miss when not experiencing it.
It is a good feeling, a comfortable feeling, a warm cozy and loving feeling. A trusting feeling, a place in your heart reserved for family and special friends of whom you are a part.

Pic of the week

Gone again

My gorgeous children..... Well those nine days together seemed to fly like none other before them. I hate it when I have to leave and I know that you do not want me to leave when I do. Nevermind, I will see you all soon enough. I will not be away as long as the last time which was over two months. I hope that school is OK now that you are back. Please try to stay focussed on your studies even if it seems hard to do knowing that you are going to England soon.
I love you all very very much.

Home again

You guys have NO idea how good it is to see you and how happy you make me. Sadly the time will fly that we are able to see eachother, but every second will be worth it and every second I will cherish until I next see you.

Picture of the week

Shanghai, China - 2 April 2006

18 months of work come together in a spectacular 1st and 2nd place at the final race of the season in Shanghai. I cannot tell you how happy I am for the team.......

Shanghai, China

Gosh - it has been nearly a week since I updated you..... I am now in China. In a city called Shanghai, right over on the eastern seaboard of the Chinese mainland. It is a massive city - 20 million people - that is nearly half the population of the whole of South Africa. Very interesting place to be. It is the first place in the world I have been to where I cannot read simple street signs because they are in Chinese and the Chinese alphabet is so different to the Roman alphabet which is what we use.
It is the last race weekend which is sad on the one hand but also quite a relief for most of the guys as the travelling schedule has been punishing.
It also means that I will be home in the not too distant future - as you well know. Not many sleeps to go now.
I will try to update you again during the course of the weekend.
I love you , miss you and am now very very desperate to see you.
I think yesterday was your last day of term. I hope you have a good holiday and don't forget to plan some stuff that we can do together.
xxxx

Check it out Jake....

Jake - this is the new Playstation 3 - Looks cool doesn't it....

I love these pictures

Thought you might like them too Meggie. Hope you guys are having a nice weekend.... Looking forward to chatting to you later.

Healthier Friday

Good morning may babbas!!
How are you? For the last three days my bathrrom scales have said that I weigh 95kg. That is the lightest I have been in 5 or 6 years and I feel great for it. Truly great. (Dr Shalala will be pleased!)
Only 16 more sleeps until I am home. This last trip will have been 2 and a half months by then which is better than the 5 months we had to endure before Christmas, but still a very long time to be away from you. I cannot wait to see you.
I hope you have a good weekend and I will keep my fingers crossed for you for the house "show day" on Sunday.
Please just rememeber that houses are a question of personal taste and someone will walk in one day and not even have to look in to every nook and cranny to make their decision, just as we did way back in June 1998. Megan was 5, Jesse was 2 and a half and Jake was only 3 months old!! Goodness me. Anyway......
The house will sell when IT meets the right people and then your next great adventure can begin. And what fun it will be.
Love you all - thinking of you all and hugging you all.

Picture of the day

Thunderstorms

Every afternoon for the past month at around this time - 16h00 onwards - a big thunderstorm has rolled in to Kuala Lumpur. And every afternoon as I sit doing my work, the storms make me think of Johannesburg, home and you guys. You have had a bit of a funny week this week with two days off at the beginning of it, haven't you? I hope you were able to settle in to the school routine after that. So, any other thoughts for what we can do when I am back? Let me know..... love you.

F1 in Malaysia

Yesterday was a long day at Sentul International Circuit watching the F1 race there. Malaysians are very proud to be a host nation of the Formula 1 series and there were at least 100,000 people at the race yesterday. I spent the day chatting to various people that we now know very well through what we are doing with A1 and unfortunately managed to get my head quite sunburned. Never have been able to find a decent cap and it was not really approriate for me to wear my South African bandana like I did on holiday. Would not have gone own too well.
I hope you all have a good week at school - not long now before your Easter holidays. I used to love the last couple of weeks of term before a good holiday break. Teachers always seemed to be in a better mood too!!

Jesse's back tooth

Well done Jesse.... mmmmm. Growing up now eh? Thanks for letting me now about your tooth my angel.

Your comments!!!

Megan and Jesse - my gorgeous girls........thank you for commenting on my last entry earlier today. Ice skating no problem - Sun City may be a little more difficult, but I am sure that we will find some interesting stuff to all do together.
Now that you have registered your own blogspots - you should try to keep them updated occassionally. Whatever you put there we will then use in www.leed-family.com when I get that up and running nicely.
Love you both very very much!! Please give my love and hugs to Jake and Wendy.

Good morning...

I took this picture on January 22 last year at Singapore airport where they have a beautiful roof garden, and today is a sunny sunflower day.
I have been awake since 06h35 which is actually very frustating as I feel as though I need more sleep. I couldn't drift off again, so caught up on the world news on CNN, had a nice long shower and some scrambled aggs and salmon for breakfast.
Now I am sitting in the 27th floor of the Shangri-La Hotel in a very comfortable lounge watching the city slowly wake up and get busy again. It is an exciting weekend for Kuala Lumpur because the Formula 1 race happens here tomorrow, so all the hotels are full of people who come from all over the world to see the race here. The race circuit is one of the most modern in the world and for some, like South Africans, Malaysia is a much cheaper place to watch F1 live rather than travel to Europe. In fact last night, I had a quick drink with some guys who are here from The Cape - they are friends of Werner Roux, my LagoonBay client. Werner called me and asked if I would meet up with them, which I did. Seem to be nice guys. I will see them tonight for dinner as last night they were a bit tired and jet lagged.
When I got back to the hotel I bumped in to Alex and Arianna and had sushi with them for supper, which was really really nice.
I hope that you guys have a nice weekend. I look forward to speaking to you later today.
I miss being woken up by you in the mornings. I miss Jake gently stroking my face and then crawling in to bed with me.... I miss a lot.

Friday AGAIN....

Thinking of you all very much. I will be going to the Formula 1 race on Sunday at Sepang International Circuit with Alex which should be a bit of fun. Hope you have some fun things lined up to do.
Guys - you need to email me with some thoughts about what you would like to do when I am home for Easter. And not just 20 ideas about how much chocolate we are going to eat.... Cannot wait to see you.

Teddy playing soccer

Thought you guys might want to see a picture that Auntie Megan sent me of your cousin Teddy playing soccer. Committing a terrible foul mind you!! He is in the red shirt with his leg jammed between the other little boy's legs....... mmmm Teddy!!!