into an exciting Easter...

All's well with Bob and Shaz. We're coming out of a really hectic period of hard work for both of us. Bob has been very busy teaching classes at different companies - including a trip to Jhb - and Shaz worked 19 hour days to get the issue of the feminist journal Agenda that she was guest editing through editing and layout and signed off for print. Engendering National and Global Economic Policies is now signed off!!

Bob has just started another round of courses, and Shaz has discovered there is more to life than sitting at her desk!

The kites left about a week ago - and have flown off for the winter. The garden is considerably quieter and the rather less majestic hadedas are moving back into their favourite tree - and the weavers and pigeons appear more comfortable to come down for seed again.

Durban is entering autumn - the mornings now have a pleasant coolth which is delightful, and some green leaves are already starting to yellow ... and I'm hoping that the growing knee-high grass will slow down sometime soon!

Shaz is very excited about an almost confirmed media trip to Limpopo from April 1 - 5 ... two private game reserves are about to drop fences between the two reserves and a state reserve - and the itinerary includes walking with cheetah (nearby breeding programme) and being present when a relocated leopard is released. Just waiting for flight details to confirm that all is on - but I'm sure it will be. I have a firm commission from Leadership and an expression of interest from Mario of Sawbona, dragged out of him over a weekend, just hours before he was due to leave for Uganda ...

Otherwise, in a very confused haze of work (see above), Shaz booked herself in for another retreat at Dharmagiri in April - it went something like: Oh look, there is a retreat on. A retreat, yeah. I could do with one of those - please book me on it ... and it was only this weekend that I realised that I had booked to go away over Easter.

Yup, I am feeling guilty about deserting Bob (more than I would like to admit) but have decided to go anyway - and will be hibernating in Underberg from April 9 to 16.

Very much looking forward to both ... and then the ANC, in trying to make up for me having to stand in voting queues on my birthday, have declared April 22 a holiday - but my financial news summaries remain due - so I will be working.

That's about my news to date - except to add that there is another media trip in the offing after Indaba in May ... and Bob is making slow but sure progress towards the sale of the property and the items we are not likely to want to take with us.