Done

My final scan was clear. After everything it seems a bit of an anti-climax now. Its over. The doctor is still a bit fussy about letting me get rid of the port but the BIG scan was clear and because I didn't produce enough stem cells for a second go, I'm not doing it again.

Sorry this is short and not very enthusiastic but I think I'm still getting over the shock.

Reporting Service and SPS

The problem when installing Reporting Services when SPS is already on the machine lies in Application Pools, however according to microsoft the installations of both systems have logic in them to detect each other and work around the problem.

This link should help: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/917826

If however this "logic" fails, you can try the following.

• Install Reporting Services (Express) and ignore all the errors it brings up.
• If your lucky the IIS reporting services directories will be created for you, otherwise use the report server configuration on the start menu to set up new directories. It simple you just click on the New button.
• DO NOT CHANGE THE APPLICATION POOLS FOR THESE NEW DIRECTORIES!!!

Got it all

Bit late to post this I guess but I actually got 3.1 in my second session!!! :)

So I went for the high dose, which was pretty crappy but I managed quite well, eventually got an immune back after about a month and now after about 2 and a half months even have some fluff on my head again.

So where am I now, well the doctor is positive. I have to wait until 3 months after the chemo before I go for a PET Scan again. Apparently something happens so the PET scans aren't that accurate if you do it too soon after the Treatment.

Anyway, so waiting till about mid November and then I'll finally be done with it!

All prayers and crossed fingers will be appreciated :)

Cannot create a connection to data source 'myDataset'

I almost pulled the hair out of my head trying to resolve this stupid error when working with SQL
Reporting Expresses Data source connection limitations;
Cannot create a connection to data source 'myDataset'

The solution is quite simple yet mystifying, the two connection strings below should be pointing to the same database

Does not work in Reporting Services Express: Server='MyDataBase\SQLEXPRESS';Database=Catalog;
Works in Reporting Services Express: Server=MyDataBase\SQLEXPRESS; Database=Catalog;

In case you miss the difference, you are apparently not allowed inverted commas around your attribute names.

Hope someone finds this helpfull

Installing SQL Reporting Services Express

Installing SQL Reporting services Express on Windows 2003 Server "trick"

I dont know why this works but if you are having

• Security problems with Reporting Services on Windows Server 2003.
• Trouble logging into reporting services from .NET Report Viewer

The solution is the following:

1. Open the windows registry
   
2. Locate the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINES\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\LSA
3. Add a DWork to Value and named DisableloopbackCheck and set its value to 1
4. Close the Registry and restart the server.

Unfortunately this does not resolve the problem Cannot create a connection to data source 'myDataset'. but at least now you'll be able to log into your report server and report manager and manage your reports.

Men can multitask!!

WHOHOOO HALFWAY THERE!!!

I produced 1.1454 of the required 1.5 so I need another 0.5'ish which I'll hopefully do tomorrow!!!

Waiting...

I'm nervously sitting at home waiting for my results from my latest stem cell harvest. I really hope this is it now. It doesn't need to be great just enough. The fact that I haven't been contacted yet... Not going to go there. ITS HAS TO BE GOOD!!

Migraine Scare

I think anything your body does becomes highly suspect when you have or had cancer. As I was sitting infront of the computer yesterday after my 3rd shot of Nupogen, my vision suddenly became blurry, and this was followed by about 10 minutes of visual and slight dizziness. So just to be safe I called the Oncologist rooms to check if Nupogen could have this affect. They said that it was unlikely but I need to come in and have it looked at. They set up a meeting for me at the neurologist and he promptly figured out I had a migraine. He sent me for some MRI (brain scans) but they LUCKILY did not find any cancer in my brain!!! YIPPEE!! I am however apparently prone to migraines so need to go have that checked out at some point.
I have to say it is expensive to be sick!! But hey if you have to pay for something, your life is definitly worth every penny :)

To be concluded!!

Here we go again

This week my Nupogen injections started again. And dispite actually getting a script from my oncologist, it seems close to impossible to get the shots given to you by a hospital. We have a very friendly neighboarhood GP who usually helped me out but since this time I'm getting double dose and I have to take it early morning and late evening I did not feel it was right to ask her to do it again. So now I'm giving it to myself. The first time is definitly the worse, but it helped that I was tiered and gatvol by die time I had to do it.

Anyway, so next week Monday they sticking the pencil in my neck again. Or quintis catheter as they like to call it and then on Tuesday and Wednesday its the big days!!! I need to produce stem cells this time otherwise... well I just have to.

So anyone who reads this please say a prayer for me, I'm going to need it next week!

Reading Test

Kinda cool I thought.

Stem cell Drama

So I'm still waiting for my next stem cell test. Which should be around 20st of July. Am really hoping it would be good news and I can get this over with.

What has been happening:
Had my brothers tested to see if they can be donors for me and unfortunately it's a no. Corne was a close match tho but not perfect so they had a look on the donors register and it appears there are like 88 possible matches world wide for me and 57 locally :) Which seems good to me, I'm not sure how possible thats "possibly" is but 88 isn't a bad number me thinks !! At least it was some good news.

So tick tock. 3 more weeks to go before I know. (lol seems sitting at home is bringing out the poet in me.)

Lawyers

Lawyers should never ask a grandma a question if they aren't prepared
for the answer.

In a trial, a Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first
witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman to the stand.

He approached her and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know me?" She
responded, "Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I've known you since
you were a young boy, and frankly, you've been a big disappointment to
me.
You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk
about them
behind their backs. You think you're a big shot when you haven't the
brains to
realize you never will amount to anything more than a two-bit paper
pusher.
Yes, I know you."

The lawyer was stunned! Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across
the room and asked, "Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?"
She again replied, "Why, yes, I do. I've known Mr. Bradley since he was
a youngster, too. He' lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He
can't build a normal relationship with anyone and his law practice is
one of the worst in the entire state, not to mention he cheated on his
wife with three different women. One of them was your wife.
Yes, I know him."
The defense attorney almost died.

The judge asked both counselors to approach the bench and in a very
quiet voice said,
"If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me,
I'll send you both to the electric chair."

Tale of an Irish Sausage. (Little Dirty)

Shamus and Murphy fancied a pint or two but didn't have a lot of money between them, they could only raise the staggering sum of one Euro.

Murphy said "Hang on, I have an idea."

He went next door to the butcher's shop and came out with one large sausage.

Shamus said "Are you crazy? Now we don't have any money left at all!" Murphy replied, "Don't worry - just follow me."

He went into the pub where he immediately ordered two pints of Guinness and two glasses of Jamieson Whisky. Shamus said "Now you've lost it. Do you know how much trouble we will be in? We haven't got any money!!"

Murphy replied, with a smile. "Don't worry, I have a plan, Cheers!"

They downed their Drinks. Murphy said, "OK, I'll stick the sausage through my zipper and you go on your knees and put it in your mouth."

The barman noticed them, went berserk, and threw them out. They continued this, pub after pub, getting more and more drunk, all for free.

At the tenth pub Shamus said "Murphy - I don't think I can do any more of this. I'm drunk and me knees are killin' me!"

Murphy said, "How do you think I feel? I lost the sausage in the third pub."

My current situation

It seems I have a 82% chance of staying in remission based on the clear pet scan.

http://www.lymphoma.org.uk/hottopic/topic20/index.htm

NO GO for the stem cell transplant.

Had some disappointing news again today. My bone marrow isn't recovered enough to produce the stem cells required so I can have a high dose chemo. And it puts me at great risk of the cancer coming back. So we giving it another 6 weeks to recover before we gonna try again. Hopefully my body would have sufficiently recovered to produce the cells that I need to do a transplant.

Otherwise I need to get a donors stem cells and that is very risky and potentially disabling or lethal. It can cause Graft-Versus-Host Disease (GVHD)

So again, I ask please hold thumbs for me. It seems its not quite over yet!

Male dumb blonde joke

Nice landscape picture from the Kruger Park

IT'S NEGATIVE!!!!

Just been to the doctor to get my PET scan results. After a couple of minutes sitting in his room waiting for the to find the scans that the scanning people swore they dropped off. The delivery guy suddenly pitched up with the package. By this time my heart was about to climb out my thought and Heather and my mom sitting next to me didn't seem to be any less tense.
The doctor opened the envelope, gave it a quick look if an experienced neutral look on his face before handing it over to me simply saying,
"Well the last paragraph is pretty self explanatory."
I read it slowly (even more slowly than I usually read.) to make sure I got it right;
"There appears to be no active disease."
I could not believe my own senses so the first words outta my mouth was
"Does that mean its negative."
The doctor replied with a quick sharp "Ya!" it was one of the greatest sounds I've ever heard.

I leaned across the table to shake the hand that had got me this far. He smiled and in a matter of factly way told me. "Well this is only half the battle."
I still needed to go for a stem cell transplant. The kind where they take your own stem cells and give it back to you after high dose chemo. However in my opinion the battle had been won. I don't have cancer anymore!!!

Anything that comes now any treatment that he puts me through and any pain that I suffer from now on will be better because I know there is an end to my current struggle :)

Thanks God
Thanks Heather
Thanks to my Parents and to Heather's Parents
Thanks to all my friends and family
And to everyone else who prayed and helped me through this difficult time!

NOW!!!

Bring on that stem cell!!! ... after I recover from this stupid head-cold :)

AND THEN THE REST OF MY LIFE!!!!

Moment of Truth!!!

About an hour to go before I see the doctor for my results of the last set of tests!!!

HOLD THUMBS!!!!!!!!!!

Waiting again!!

The big day has come but no news just yet. Aparently doctors are having "a final look" at the scans. So fingers still crossed and still praying hard!
Maybe I'll hear this afternoon, maybe tomorrow!!

Waiting for results

Today was the 3rd time I went in for scans. The PET scan is quite a mission seeing as you are event required to take an hour nap before you go in for the scan. This after you have to sign a concent form for something your going to be injected with thats not fully approved by the medical board yet.
But the worse part of the test is waiting for the results. (Yup even worse than having to lay on your back for 35 minutes with your arms above your head.... Try it.)
But if these results are good it will be the beginning of the end for my treatment. If they are good I only have a stem cell transplant or 2 to go. Which is apparently not the most fun thing in the world but it keeps the cancer from coming back!!! Which is always good to know.
So holding thumbs so that I can get on with my life.

2 Sleeps to go!!!

CSI Question

Read this question, come up with an answer, and then scroll down to the bottom for the result. This is not a trick question. It is as it reads. No one I know has been right. A woman, while at the funeral of her own mother, met a guy whom she did not know. She thought this guy was amazing. She believed him to be her dream guy so much, that she fell in love with him right there, but never asked for his number and could not find him. A few days later she killed her sister. Question:

What is her motive for killing her sister? [Give this some thought before you answer, see answer below)

Answer: She was hoping the guy would appear at the funeral again. If you answered this correctly, you think like a psychopath. This was a test by a famous American Psychologist used to test if one has the same mentality asa killer. Many arrested serial killers took part in the test and answered the question correctly. If you didn't answer the question correctly, good for you. If you got the answer correct, please let me know so I can take you off my email list...

BECAUSE I AM A MAN

Because I'm a man, when I lock my keys in the car I will fiddle with a
wire long after hypothermia, or heat stroke, has set in. The AA is not an
option. I will win.

Because I'm a man, when the car isn't running very well, I will pop the
hood and stare at the engine as if I know what I'm looking at. If another man
shows up, one of us will say to the other, "I used to be able to fix
these things, but now with all these computers and everything, I wouldn't know
where to start." We will then drink beer and break wind as a form of
Holy Communion.

Because I'm a man, when I catch a cold, I need someone to bring me soup
and take care of me while I lie in bed and moan. You're a woman. You never
get as sick as I do, so for you this isn't a problem.

Because I'm a man, I can be relied upon to purchase basic groceries at
the store, like milk or bread. I cannot be expected to find exotic items
like "cumin" or "tofu." For all I know, these are the same thing. And never,
under any circumstances, expect me to pick up anything for which
"feminine hygiene product" is a euphemism. ( F.Y.I. guys cumin is a
spice and not
a bodily function).

Because I'm a man, when one of our appliances stops working, I will
insist on taking it apart, despite evidence that this will just cost me twice
as much, once the repair person gets here and has to put it back together.

Because I'm a man, I must hold the television remote control in my hand
while I watch TV. If the thing has been misplaced, I may miss an entire
show looking for it (though one time I was able to survive by holding a
calculator)...applies to engineers mainly.

Because I'm a man, there is no need to ask me what I'm thinking about.
The answer is always either s*x, cars or sport. I have to make up something
else when you ask, so don't ask.

Because I'm a man, I do not want to visit your mother, or have your
mother come visit us, or talk to her when she calls, or think about her any
more than I have to. Whatever you got her for Mother's Day is okay; I don't
need to see it. And don't forget to pick up something for my mother too.

Because I'm a man, you don't have to ask me if I liked the movie.
Chances are, if you're crying at the end of it, I didn't...and if you are
feeling amorous afterwards...then I will certainly at least remember the name
and recommend it to others.

Because I'm a man, I think what you're wearing is fine. I thought what
you were wearing five minutes ago was fine, too. Either pair of shoes is
fine. With the belt or without it, looks fine. Your hair is fine. You look
fine. Can we just go now?

Because I'm a man, and its the year 2007, I will share
equally in the housework. You just do the laundry, the cooking, the
cleaning, the vacuuming, and the dishes, and I'll do the rest,... like
looking for my socks, or wandering around in the garden with a beer
wondering what to do.

This has been a public service message for Women to better understand
Men...the above might seem like a joke. But it's not...........

INTERNATIONAL RULES OF MANHOOD 2007

1. Under no circumstances may two men share an umbrella, unless at
rugby, and your biltong is getting wet, then, for the eating period only, it is
permissible.

2. It is ok for a man to cry under the following circumstances:
a. When a heroic dog dies to save its master.
b. The moment Angelina Jolie starts unbuttoning her blouse.
c. After wrecking your boss' car.
d. One hour, 12 minutes, 37 seconds into "The Crying Game"
e. When she is using her teeth.

3. Any Man who brings a camera to a stag night may be legally killed and
eaten by his mates.

4. Unless he murdered someone in your family, you must bail a friend out
of jail within 12 hours.

5. If you've known a bloke for more than 24 hours, his sister is off
limits forever, unless you actually marry her.

6. Moaning about the brand of free beer in a mate's fridge is forbidden.
However you can complain at will if the temperature is unsuitable.

7. No man shall ever be required to buy a birthday present for another
man. In fact, even remembering your mate's birthday is strictly optional.

8. On a road trip, the strongest bladder determines pit stops, not the
weakest.

9. When stumbling upon other blokes watching a sporting event, you may
ask the score of the game in progress, but you may never ask who's playing.

10. You may flatulate in front of a woman only after you have brought
her to climax. If you intentionally trap her head under the covers for the
purpose of flatulent entertainment, she's officially your girlfriend.

11. It is permissible to quaff a fruity alcohol drink only when you're
sunning on a tropical beach... and it's delivered by a topless
supermodel... and it's free.

12. Only in situations of moral and/or physical peril are you allowed to
kick another bloke in the nuts.

13. Unless you're in prison, never fight naked.

14. Friends don't let friends wear Speedos. Ever. Issue closed.

15. If a man's fly is down, that's his problem, you didn't see anything.

16. Women who claim they "love to watch sports" must be treated as spies
until they demonstrate knowledge of the game (can explain offside or
LBW) and the ability to drink as much as the other sports watchers.

17. A man in the company of a hot, suggestively dressed woman must
remain sober enough to fight.

18. Never hesitate to reach for the last beer or the last slice of
pizza, but not both - that's just greedy.

19. If you compliment a bloke on his six-pack, you'd better be talking
about his choice of beer.

20. Never join your girlfriend or wife in discussing a mate of yours,
except if she's withholding S*x pending your response.

21. Phrases that may NOT be uttered to another man while lifting
weights:
a. Yeah, Baby, Push it!
b. C'mon, give me one more! Harder!
c. Another set and we can hit the showers!

22. Never talk to a man in a bathroom unless you are on equal footing:
i.e. Both urinating, both waiting in line, etc. For all other situations, an
almost imperceptible nod is all the conversation you need.

23. Never allow a telephone conversation with a woman to go on longer
than you are able to have S*x with her . Keep a stopwatch by the phone. Hang up
if necessary.

24. The morning after you and a girl who was formerly "just a friend"
have carnal 'drunken monkey S*x', the fact that you're feeling weird and
guilty is no reason for you not to nail each other again before the
discussion about what a big mistake it was, occurs.

25. It is acceptable for you to drive her car. It is not acceptable for
her to drive yours.

26. Thou shalt not buy a car in the colours of brown, pink, orange or
sky blue.

27. The girl who replies to the question "What do you want for
Christmas?" with "If you loved me, you'd know what I want!" gets a
Play station II.
End of story.

28. There is no reason for guys to watch Ice Skating or Men's
Gymnastics. Ever.

Slim Jannie - Afrikaanse Grapie

Jannie is in Gr.1 en sy Engelsjuffrou het probleme met hom.

Jannie meen hy's te slim vir Gr.1 en wil na Gr.3 oorgeplaas word.

Sy suster is in Gr.3 en Jannie reken hy is baie slimmer as sy.

Die juffrou het genoeg gehad en vat hom na die skoolhoof.

Die hoof sê hy gaan Jannie toets.As hy druip,bly hy in Gr.1.



Hoof:"Wat is 3x3?"

Jannie :"9"

Hoof:"Wat is 6x6?'

Jannie :"36"

So gaan dit aan totdat die juffrou die hoof vra of sy nie

maar vir Jannie `n paar vrae in Engels kan vra nie

Juffrou:"What does a cow have four of that I have only two of?"

Jannie :"Legs"

Juffrou:"What do you have in you pants that I don't have?"

Jannie :"Pockets"

Juffrou:"What starts with a c and ends with a t, is
hairy,oval,delicious and contains a thin,whitish liquid?"

Die hoof vee die sweet van sy voorkop af

Jannie :"Coconut"

Juffrou:"What goes in hard and pink and comes out soft and sticky?"

Jannie :"Bubblegum"

Juffrou:"What does a man do standing up, a woman do sitting downand a dog does on three legs?"

Jannie :"Shake hands"

Juffrou:"Now I'll ask some 'Who am I sort of questions, okay?"

Jannie :"Yup"

Juffrou:You stick your pole inside me. You tie me down to get me up. I get wet before you.

Jannie :"A tent"

Juffrou: A finger goes into me.You fiddle with me when you're bored. The best man always has me first

Die hoof lyk baie gespanne.

Jannie :"wedding ring"

Juffrou: I come in many sizes. When I'm not well I drip. When you blow me you feel good.

Jannie :"Nose"

Juffrou:I have a stiff shaft. My tip penetrates. I come with a quiver.

Jannie :"Arrow"

Juffrou: What starts with a F ends with a K that means a lot of excitement?

Jannie :"firetruck

Die hoof sê: Sit die klein bliksem in Gr.5 Ek het die laaste 10 antwoorde verkeerd gehad!!!!!!!

Direct Male line to me from 1677'ish

Follow the line of bold names

If you believe you are related to me please leave a comment

Stamvader: Pieter Willem van Heerden gedoop 10/123/1677 in Heerde, Nederland –oorlede 1763. Moontlik die seun van Willem Hendrix en Aeltje Hendrix.

Trou 1708 met

Magtilt (Magdalena) van der Merwe. Oorlede 1765

Kinders:

1. Willem ;gebore 1709 oorlede 1767. Trou 1730 Martha van der Merwe gebore 1713 oorlede 1784.
2. Elsie, oorlede 1757 . getroud met Willem van der Merwe
3. Jacob. gebore 1715 en jonk oorlede
4. Hendrik gebore 1712 . Verdwyn van Monsterrolle 1734
5. Aletta. gebore 1718. trou met C.Ernst
6. Jacoba gebore 1720 trou met G van der Merwe
7. Jacobgebore 1720 trou met Anna Jordaan
8. Helena gebore 1722 trou met JH Steenkamp
9. Sophia gebore 1722 trou met J Jordaan
10. Petrus Johannes gebore1727 jonk dood
11. Petronella gebore 1729 trou met JS Müller
12. Maria gebore 1733

Kinders van Willem van Heerden (gebore 1709) en Martha van der Merwe:

1. Pieter Willem gebore 1731 oorlede 1785 trou met Anna Sophia van der Merwe
2. Schalk Willem gebore1722 oorlede 1793 trou 1752 met Louisa van der Merwe
3. Magtilt gedoop 1734 oorlede 1752 getroud a) SW van der Merwe,b) SW du Toit
4. Hendrik gebore 1736 getroud a)A van der Merwe, b) AS van dr Merwe, c) A Lategaan
5. Isaac gebore 1737 getroud a) M Theron, b) GW de Vos
6. Anna Sophia gebore 1739 getroud P van der Merwe
7. Jacobus gebore 1740 trou met S.Theron
8. Carel gebore 1742 trou met M van der Merwe
9. Roelof gebore 1744 trou met MS Pretorius
10. David gebore 1747 trou met Martha Pienaar
11. Elsje gebore 1755
12. Petrus Johannes gebore 1758 trou met MM Myburgh

Kinders van Schalk Willem gebore 1732 en Louisa van der Merwe;

1. Willem Schalk gebore 1757 oorlede 1836 trou 1777Johanna Adriana Vorster gebore 1769?
2. Jacobus (Willem Schalk) gebore 1758 0orlede 1813 trou 1779 Anna Catherina Esterhuyzen gebore 1763 oorlede 1842
3. Catherina Elisabeth gebore 1763 trou IS van der Merwe
4. Schalk Willem gebore 1766
5. Martha Sophia gebore 1772 trou a) B Burger en b) A Smit
6. Anna Magdalena gebore 1773 oorlede 1846 trou met W Burger
7. Schalk Willem gebore 1775 oorlede 1809 trou 1797 Johanna Elisabeth Vorster
8. Elsie Johanna gebore 1778 trou met CA van der Merwe
9. Louisa Maria gebore 1784 trou met JP Meinties

Kinders van Jacobus (1758) en Anna Catherina Esterhuyzen:

1. Jacobus Schalk gebore 1781 oorlede 1840 trou a) MS van Heerden b) AS van Heerden weduwee van der Merwe
2. Engela Louisa gebore 1783
3. Johannes Hendrik gebore 1786 oorlede 1854 trou 1806 AS van Heerden gebore 1788 oorlede 1862
4. Anna Louisa gebore 1790 oorlede 1854 trou met van der Merwe
5. Willem Frederich gebore 1792 trou Martha ? van Heerden
6. Martha Sophia Elisabeth trou met Burger
7. Roelof Erasmus gebore 1797 trou met a)Martha Christina Weideman gebopre 1790 oorlede 1845 b) RJC Erasmus
8. Andries Petrus gebore 1798 trou AMM Esterhuyzen
9. Engela Susanna gebore 1801 trou CS van Heerden
10. Carel Jacobus gebore 1805

Kinders van Roelof Erasmus (1797) en Martha Christina Weideman:

1. Martha Christina
2. Jacobus Schalk gebore 1825 oorlede 1900 trou Susanna Magdalena Weideman gebore 1826 oorlede 1917
3. Anna Catherina gebore 1834

Kinders van Jacobus Scalk (1825) en Susanna Magdalena Weideman:

1. Roelof Erasmus trou met ACM van der Merwe
2. Magtel Susanna gebore 1849
3. Petrus Jacobus trou met Johanna Christina Badenhorst
4. Martha Christina trou met Uys
5. Anna Sophia gebore 1869
6. Willem Johannes Lodewicus
7. Jacob Andreas Cornelius gebore 1855 oorlede 1882 trou Johanna Maria Catherina van der Linden oorlede 1926
8. Jacobus Schalk trou met Wilhelmina Jacoba Badenhorst
9. Sophia trou met Lotz

Kinders van Jacob Andreas Cornelius (1855) en Catherina van der Linden:

1. Elsie Wilhelmina gebore 1873
2. Jacobus Schalk
3. Jacob Andreas Cornelius gebore 1878 oorlede 1968 trou met Mary Jane West gebore 1881 oorlede 1954
4. Susanna Magdalena gebore 1880
5. Gerrit Johannes?? Gert Jaqcobus Alwyn gebore 1877
6. Johanna Maria gebore 1883

Kinders van Jacob Andreas Cornelius (1878) en Mary Jane West:

1. Jacob Andreas Cornelius gebore 1902 oorlede 1970 trou 1933 met Anna Sophia Magdalena van den Berg gebore 1914 oorlede 1999
2. William Claudius West gebore 1905 trou met ? du Plooy
3. Jacobus Schalk gebore 1906 trou Jessie Cawood
4. George John Beattie gebore 1909 trou Martha Maria Botha
5. Gert Johannes Alwyn gebore 1913 trou met Sara Catherina Potgieter


6. Daniel Francis van Heerden - born 04 May 1917 Died 13 January 1998
   married 5 September 1942
   Anwyn Roësch Burger - born 22 October 1921 Died 19 July 1999
7. Christiaan Johan trou met Anna Elisabeth Richter
8. Aangenome dogter Mary Jane West trou met Webb-Stock

Kinders van Daniel Francis gebore 1917 trou met Anwyn

1. Cornelius Andries van Heerden (Corrie) trou Elsa Marie de Villiers in Johannesburg Suid Afrika. 
   Cornelius Andries (Corrie) is skielik oorlede in 1988 in a kar ongeluk waarin die hele gesin betrokke was.
   Elsa de Villiers het toe getrou met Izak Daniel Piek, en het ook 2 ouer sussies aan die gesig geheg (Izanre Piek en Elana Piek). Daar was nou 5 kinders in die gesin.
2. Jakkie van Heerden trou met Annemarie
3. Magda van Heerden trou met Joe Meyer

Kinders van Cornelius Andries van Heerden en Elsa Marie deVilliers

1. Daniel Francis van Heerden ... (ME) married Heather Marguerite Machanick Did a BSC IT at Rand Afrikaans University (Now UJ) and working as a Computer Programmer. Born and grew up in South Africa, and lived most of his 20s in the UK with his wife. (See the rest of the blog).  He moved to Perth Australia in 2013 shortly after the birth of Daniel Cornelius van Heerden.
2. Frank Graham van Heerden. Works for a Christian relief organization and lives in Roodepoort in Johannesburg, Honeydew.
3. Cornelius Andries van Heerden Studying Classical Cultures at Univerity of Johannesburg. Is a guitar player and computer training.

Kinders van Daniel Francis van Heerden en Heather Marguerite Machanick.

1. Daniel Cornelius van Heerden (Named after Cornelius Andries van Heerden and Izak Daniel van Heerden) was born on 31st of May 2012 in the UK at West Middlesex hospital near Twickenham in the UK. His parents were living in Stawberry Hill (11 Roymount Court) at the time, but moved with him to Australia when he was 8 months old.

Capetown Trip

Me, Heather and her Scottish friend decided to do a trip down to Capetown at the end of 2006. It would be my first trip down to Capetown and I was 25 at the time. I know shameless for a South African to see London before Capetown.
Nevertheless off we went to the airport and down to Capetown. We landed and as with most trips in a country with horrific public transport we went in search of the car hire. We had booked the cheapest thing we could and we were half expecting an old crappy car without even a radio in it. Lucky for us those where out of stock. So we got a nice little City Golf with a radio which we could hook up to my iTrip and we were set.

We made our way the long way around from the airport to Kommetjie on the South West coast going past Chapman's peak. The stunning little cliff side road has spectacular views over the ocean alongside the mountain.

We arived at our little chalet in Kommetjie and we were pleasantly surprised with the size of the place. It had a large kitchen, separate lounge and the next morning we discovered we had a sea view just across the rooves of a couple of Cape Dutch style cottages.

The first morning we set out for some tanning on Clifton Beach. As beaches go its a very nice, clean beach. The day we were there a couple of youghts were parked just off shore. Me an Jen went down to the water to attempt a swim. We didn't get in much deeper than the soles of our feet though.

After the beach we all went to la Med for Lunch and even though we took all precautions on the beach to avoid sunburn, we kinda neglected it sitting outside at lunch. So despite knowing better me and Heather both ended up with a sunburn on our first day. Jen escaped this somehow, in fact she escaped getting sun burnt at all.

We decided to go visit Heather's cousin and we ended up going with them to the botanical gardens in Capetown. Apparently there are frequent concerts held there where local bands perform. So we spent the late afternoon sitting listening to "fishbowl" with the great table mountain as a backdrop.













We also had a fantastic day at Table mountain. The sky was fantastically clear and we could see forever. The cable car ride up the mountain was also quite amazing. You just see the rock face of the mountain approaching and if you look down you see people on the trails below like ants scurrying up the mountain manually. I'll try it one day....

Boulders beach was not only a cool place to see penguins but also the only beach we were on where swimming was possible. Well it possible in allot of places but if you wanna go into the water in lots of places the Cape your braver than I am. The penguins weren't as eager as I was to make friends tho.

Project Management Cartoon

To all those software developers out there. I doubt there is a cartoon that better describes the current industry than this one.



PS. I'm also a software developer.

Road tripping through wales. Part 1

It was July 2005 or maybe April and me and some friends decided to go on a road-trip through wales. The group consisted primarily out of me, Jurie, Jo and Jo's brother. Jurie I met at the British embassy where we were applying for our UK Holiday Visa's and we kept in touch and became friends. Me and Heath and him later had a house share together in South Fields in London. Jurie got me into the Hillsong church in London and I went to coffee with a bunch of the people where we met Jo. Jo's brother was living somewhere else in England so we didn't know him before the Holiday. So off we go to Paddington station, which is where we met up with Jo's brother. We were cutting it a bit close and we didn't really know how close until the train started moving just seconds after we boarded. So we paused a second to breathe a sigh of relief and then settled down for the trip to Cardiff. The trip was rather uneventful and not many people like reading about a train trip so... We arrived at Cardiff and now we needed our car. Much to our disgust the car rental place turned out to be quite a walk away from the train station. Over the river under a bridge (or no wait we thought we needed to go under the bridge) back through the station to the other side, over the river across the busy road and down it for a while. And finally the car rental place. On my walk however I noticed something. Now don't laugh but I noticed allot of red dragons. It was only later that I realized their flag actually had the red dragon on it. Something about it being good luck to carry a red dragon into battle. So we got our car, a nice diesel Volkswagen and off we went to... Erm well we didn't really decide that part yet. So I suggested we head West because I'd very much like to see Skomer island and a puffin. Which is as close to a cross between a parrot and a duck you can get. Or rather as close as I've ever seen. So off we went westbound. Our first stop was at the The Gower Peninsula. I'd lie if I said I didn't have to go look that one up on Google. It was rather unimpressive. We arrived there at low tide and the water was way back leaving only a muddy beach behind. So we took pictures and went back to where we illegally parked using a parking ticket we bought further down the coast.

So off we went, our next stop was Mumbles. Which is called that because the sailors back in the day thought it resembled a woman's breasts. I thought they seemed a bit uneven for that but I guess if you've been at sea for a couple of months...
Mumbles was a quite little coastal town with nice little cafes and lots of hills. On the top of the one hill lay Mumbles castle.
We had some lunch and sat on the hill overlooking Mumbles. Before heading off again.

As castles go Wales has got allot of castles. In fact as far as I know it has the most castles per square hectare in the world. We stopped over a bunch of them on our trip. I honestly can't remember the names of all of them. I know one of them was Carmarthen Castle and of coarse the Cardiff Castle. But after seeing about five of them if starts getting a bit much for one trip.




I read that three cliffs bay was a very beautiful place. So after driving up and down the same road about 3 times, with Buttercup Baby playing on the radio we finally found the path that would take us down to the bay. It was quite a walk along a long maze like passage all the way down to the coast with an occasional break in the foliage to get a glimpse of sheep farms down in a valley below. It was quite beautiful.
We eventually came to the end of the path and it was quite spectacular. Mostly for size but beauty was definitely also a factor. We never went down into the bay since it looked like it would take an hour to walk down there but we took a couple of photo's and just admired the view. If you click on the photo below and view it at a larger scale you'll notice someone walking on the beach inside the horse shoe shape of the lagoon, this is just a small indication of the size of the bay.

Wearing the mask

If you ever go through Chemo therapy and you going through it for a substatial amount of time. You will at some point be required to wear a mask. Like one of those little doctors ones you see on ER.

I have to admit that personally I'm not a fan of it. But then I doubt anybody who is required to wear it is. Also considering the fact that without it I will probably have some insignificant little germ hospitalize me, I shouldn't really compain. The worse part about not liking the mask is that you don't wear it very long so its not really that bad.

Saying all the above... I still don't like the mask.

I guess the fact I was diagnosed with Hodgkins over a long weekend, then had my next 6 months worth of "every second" weekend messed up by chemo and now I'm sitting with the bloody mask over the easter weekend doesn't help.
As I'm sitting here at the moment I'm actually not even wearing the mask. I am in a closed room however since the cleaning lady or domestic worker rather, is cleaning in the rest of the house.

BUT

The truth about all of it is; It passes. I've been here before and I'm going to probably be here again in a months time. Next time however I will be hospitalized and even then it will pass.

Me and Heath where sitting on the couch last night discussing how fast time goes by. Though the labourious task of getting through the initial 6 months of chemo felt like an eternity. It passed. And tho we thought the next treatment plan was going to take forever. I'm already a month away of having scans done again to check if the treatment worked again. AND NO TREATMENT TILL THEN - HIPEEE!!! Plus a trip to the Kruger inbetween.

My Hodgkins disease Story Part 2 - 6 months of Chemo

Going on from where the previous posting ended. I was referred to an Oncologist and was told the story. I was going to have to have 6 months of chemo one every 2 weeks, and 12 sessions in all. At this point I still had a kind of bring it on attitude that possibly helped me deal with it better initially.
The first session of Chemo was scheduled for 2 weeks from then so I would have a chance to get my affairs at work in order. The told me that I would not be able to work for about 2 days after the session. I usually had it on the Friday and could be back on the Monday so I'd only miss 1 day of work every 2 weeks.
The first session was nothing, really. I barley felt it. Well almost, I'm not exactly sure what the stuff is that the put under the brown paper bag when they give it to you but I quickly learned to insist of having warm water bags all over my arm when that went into the drip.
I went home feeling fine, I thought "Well it its like this I can go back to work afterwards from now on." And it stayed alright for quite a few sessions. The first 4 was a breeze and I had a marked decrease in my disease bulk it went down from 55mm by 84mm to around 35mm by 54mm for the biggest node, the next 4 I started to feel the effects somewhat and the Monday after my eight session I finally threw up for the first time. Unfortunately it went a little worse from then on. I started throwing up with each treatment, I was constantly tiered and week and my blood counts got so low that I actually had to skip a week once to recover a bit more before my next session.
My girlfriend who is living with me had some particularly bad Friday night when she said I looked like death warmed up. She felt helpless, but she later told me that she realized that she could bring me water and some green tea and just leave me to recover. I got very puffy in my face, esp the day of the chemo and it gradually settled for the first few sessions after.
After what seemed an eternity it was finally time for the last session. The last session was actually okay since we had gone down to Capetown for a holiday that week and I didn't work. Which helped enormously, if I can recommend one thing its that you should try not to work during chemo. You recover much quicker after each session!!
The last chemo was the 8th of December 2006 and I was told to come back for scans the first week of January. The scans revealed that the disease mass was not all gone but the doctor said that it might just be dead tissue. I needed to go for a further PET scan. After finally get this authorized via the medical aid it showed some remaining disease.
The doctor over the phone told me that the remaining stuff seemed to be dead but there might still be some disease left and we needed to do a little more treatment before we could be safe. Another hint! Cancer isn't gone before its gone. Me and my girlfriend had a party because we thought it was over. I'd go for one or 2 more treatments and then it'll all be done with. But it wasn't.
When we eventually went in to the doctor and he explained what needed to be done next we reacted differently. I was struck with a good deal of fear and I thought Heath was going to kill the doctor right where he sat.
Basically it involved 2 more high dose chemo sessions. Each would last a week with me in hospital and then 3 weeks at home to recover. Which was all fine, but we didn't initially get the whole story. Firstly we didn't find out whether the treatment was going to be a full week or just the same Fridays as usual (which we assumed) and secondly we were not aware that the chemo would degrade my immune system to such an extend that I would have to wear a mask and eat very selectively for the week after the chemo until my immune system recovered sufficiently. So another hint: Don't assume anything. Ask for details about how the treatment is administered and what you expect afterwards.
The two high dose chemo's would be followed up with either 2 more high dose chemo's if all was not gone or if it was gone, give it a final death blow with a stem cell transplant. A stem cell transplant involves a high dose of chemo therapy, you loose all your bone marrow and all of your immune system. They harvest some of your stem cells before you start and then give it back to you after. You then need to recover anything from 2 weeks to a month some of it in hospital.
I had my first session and it was surprise after surprise with the fact that I'd need to be hospitalized and then again then again when I had to wear the masks. The hospitalization was a particular problem because I hadn't quite gotten my disability organised. One phone call from Heather to the doctor got that sorted out tho and off I went.
The chemo itself wasn't that bad. Its equivalent of having 2 of the previous sessions in one week. The difference is it is given to you over 5 days instead of 3 or 4 hours. So you don't really have very bad reactions to it. You get your usual tiredness and lack of appetite but nothing to write home about.
The second chemo is going fine so far, I'm now on day 3 of the second session of 5 days. And then I'll have my scans done in about 2 weeks. So holding thumbs! I'm sure it'll be fine.

My Hodgkins desease Story Part 1 - Diagnosis

I think of myself as very fortunate to still be around. So many things could have happened in my story that could have been just a little different and I would have gone undiagnosed.
It all started with a cough that didn't want to go away. I was still staying London when it began and I didn't pay much notice to it. In fact, we went to a club in London and I was not the only one that walked out of there with a cough. There must have been a bad bug doing the rounds.
I was due to go to France the weekend so the cough was particularly annoying since it would mean that my holiday was going to start off sick and I spent allot of time in the hostels where I was staying and on my overnight train journey to Nice from France where I had to stifle my cough.
The cough was basically cleared up by the time I came back from France but a little niggle remained at the back of my thought and I got into a habit of clearing my thought allot with an occasional cough.
After about a month of this not going away I went to the doctor for the first time. I thought this would also be a good time to just highlight a little bump in the back of my neck. I had been told previously that it was a swollen lymph node and that it will sort itself out.
The doctor checked my thought, saw nothing. Very uninterestedly glanced at my neck and told me I was fine and that the irritation would pass and that it was past of a previous viral infection. Content with this I went on my merry way.
The cough didn't go away tho, it got better then worse and better again so after giving it another 2 months I went back to the NHS doctor and it was the same story. He obviously didn't even check my file to see that I had complained about this previously. The doctor was in fact so giggly (male doctor) that I was thinking he was either high or had a crush on me. Again I left and the cough actually went away for a month or so but returned again. By this time I had done a Backpacking trip through Europe in which my stamina was a little lacking and I was going back to South Africa.
When I arrived back I again went to a doctor just to get some antibiotics to get the cough sorted out but I got the same story from the South African doctor. I started my new job, most importantly got on my new medical aid and got on a disability scheme at work.
Two months later I again went in for the Cough. This time I told the doctor that I was really agitated, no one is doing anything about my cough its not going to go away and she referred me to a specialist (so I guess if you want something done...)
The Specialist was a respiratory surgeon and he had me go first for X-rays. I was fairly certain it would be nothing. I didn't smoke, didn't drink more than most outgoing people my age and I was never sick aside from the occasional sniffy nose, I think I had a bad cough a school once to and I stayed home for a week.
The X-Ray revealed the very good news that I didn't have TB. It was also showing "something funny", as the termed it, but I said I probably had it all my life. Just to be safe a sonar was done and then things started getting interesting. The scans showed little from my chest but when the doctor scanned below he had trouble identifying my organs. He kept saying, "this shouldn't be there" or "is this the spleen?".
Meanwhile I asked the doctor if he could not perhaps do something about my fatigue. He said it was probably to do with the infection in my lungs which he did give some antibiotics for that did do the trick and clear up the cough. He sent me to check my iron levels and I guess calcium falls under the same test because I got a rather nervous phone call from the doctor asking me to come back and redo the blood tests because there was an anomaly in my calcium.
I went back and it wasn't a mistake, my calcium was though the roof. I was ordered by the doctor to get myself into the hospital asap. I asked if tomorrow morning would be fine but he said he'd prefer it if I'd be there inside the hour. He said that it pointed to either TB or Cancer and that with the levels as high as they where I could have heart failure at any time. I walked into my bosses office told him I have to go to the hospital because I possibly have cancer and left for the hospital.
The next week was a series of tests, everything from bone marrow (which I wont wish on my worse enemy) to some rather embarrassing tests involving my kidneys and they finally got the diagnosis they wanted with a biopsy. I was scheduled for surgery the next day but they didn't need to go that far since the biopsy was conclusive. It was Hodgkin's lymphoma. Which I was told is a good cancer to have if you have to have cancer.

Sitting in Hospital so I thought I'd write Part 3 (Europe)

For the first month I just had to hand over everything at work to someone. The second month I took my savings and went backpacking through Europe.
Europe was an interesting place and somewhere I probably never would have been if it hadn’t been for Heather. I always thought of it as a giant museum and from Childhood days I hated museums. However after having a bit of culture knocked into me by the plays we went to see, a trip I did up to Scotland with a couple of friends from the Hostel and just generally waking up to the world. I could appreciate it.
I started in Berlin in Germany for a day. I actually got there checked into a hostel, did a walking tour and then checked out the next day on my way to Amsterdam to meet a friend there for the weekend.

The Berlin walking tour was quite interesting tho. Germany built a huge Holocaust monument which basically consists out of a large square full of concrete blocks. In a odd twist of fate these blocks where covered with a chemical to prevent graffiti, which was party supplied by the same company who supplied Hitlers gas chambers. They did eventually catch onto this and changed the supplier tho.
We ended the tour in a large square with Universities where Einstein studied and had to retreat into the library as a blizzard hit.

Amsterdam, well its Amsterdam isn’t it? We took a bus trip out to a small village outside of Amsterdam and I was amazed by the story book character of the place. They actually exist, those perfectly painted little houses standing in a row with the streams and the the willow trees hanging over them.Not to be fooled, I walked into the back roads off the main “touristy” road to see if it actually looks the same back there. AND IT DOES!!
Anyway, we was a windmill they showed us how they made wooden shoes and we off course visited the red light district and the sex museum and even visited a “coffee shop”.

From there I made my way to first Brussels, where I have to say the only interesting things about it was the huge main square with the amazing palace/castle building on it and all the little restaurant. Oh and the Atomium. Which is basically a huge sculpture representing I think uranium's molecule. But it huge, around 7 or 8 stories height. From the top you can enjoy a rather nice few of Brussels in the distance though very dirty windows.

You can also go and see Manetjie Piss. A small statue of a being boy surrounded by chocolate shops.
I eventually made my way down to Munich. Now that was a trip, my first train was cancelled, my second one diverted. The next one cancelled and I had to wait for an hour for the next train and at the end of each leg go to the ticket office to get my ticket modified. But I did in the process stumble onto a little place called Cologne (I think that’s the spelling) in Germany.

It had the most amazing Gothic Style Church that I’ve ever seen. It is gigantic and made to look even bigger since the square on which it is build barely seems big enough to contain it. So I got a few pics and carried on with my Journey to Munich which by this stage I hoped actually existed.
When I eventually arrived in Munich there was snow. Snow everywhere packed up onto the side walks in mounds as the people tried to keep the roads clear enough to drive. It was cold as hell and late. So I did as I usually did when I got to a new city. Asked the closest person I could find if there was an Internet cafe around. Eventually got a place to stay and the next morning set off on another walking tour. This one ended up in a beer house and I and the rest of the walking group got very drunk on the incredible beer. I’m not lying when I say I drank 4 litres. Which in that beer house was the same as having 4 drinks. YES THEY COME BY THE LITRE. You have not tasted beer until you’ve drank in beer in Germany! There is actually a bit of history where the king of Germany had beer that use to be imported made, because of the expense and the general attitude at the time was that a meal was not a meal without a beer. Even breakfast…
I found my way back to the hostel, not sure how I did that and you can image why I can't find any pictures I took there. But I woke the next morning with a hangover and decided that since its Germany. I had a beer with breakfast.

I was then on my way thought the alps to Italy. On a train of course, and after being basically been told to go play by a bunch of Swiss people in Zurich I made my way to Bern. Nice little city, had some Italian food there and their views where amazing.
However by this time I was starting to feel tiered and I had seen all I wanted to see after the walking tour and because it was to cold to walk around everywhere I decided to take the earlier train. I had to catch a connecting train at Brig, a small town in the middle of the alps. I though, well if I had to spend the next 8 hours sitting around I may as well do it somewhere I can go walking around and exploring. I didn’t however bargain in the fact that in a small town on a Saturday, everything would be closed by 8pm. Which mean I had to sit from 8pm to 1am the next morning in the freezing cold waiting for a bloody train. I did however after a bit of exploring find a little bar/cinema where they where showing the German version of Pink Panther. I almost watched it but by the time I wanted to buy the ticket, they had sold out. So I just sat at a table in the corner with a beer.
Eventually time came closer and I went and sat in a very crowded little waiting booth on the platform for the last hour.

Needless to say I slept like the dead most of my way to Venice and woke just as the train was crossing the long bridge into the city. I must admit Venice was a surprise to me in allot of ways. I knew it was built on water but I didn’t realize how close it came to going into the sea. The water highways was also interesting, complete with lamppost.
Its really admirable how the Europeans can make bad situations into good ones. I mean there is pigeon problem so you can get pigeon crap on you everyday. But it Europe that’s good luck, people fling buckets of water out of their doors and catch unsuspecting walkers by with a morning shower, but that too is good luck. Same way as in Venice, if the St Marks Square floods every now and again its also good luck.

I did buy a packet of corn in the square and had about 50 pigeons trying to get to it at once however, I am glad to announce, that luckily I wasn’t lucky.
I also had the privilege of getting lost in Venice. Just so you’d know there is no way of walking in a straight line in Venice. I walked around for about 2 hours, even had lunch on the way and when I finally gave up and went to the nearest station, it was the one I started from. My goal was to talk a straight line away from it towards the station on the other side of the wind of the winding river. No suck luck. It was a nice walk tho. But I was really getting to the point where I counted off the amount of cities I still needed to go. By this time I was nearing the end of my second week on tour, and I still wanted to see 4 cities. So I pushed on.
Florence was interesting, from the initial let down at the station where I saw a guy wee against the wall of the station and the dodgee little Internet cafe that wanted my Passport, to the stunning little city with all its beautiful bridges. Michelangelo’s Park has a stunning view over the city with the river winding its way through it and the Big Chapels/Cathedrals sticking out here and there. I had arrived in Florence around 6pm and gone straight to bed in my very dilapidated room. It was the cheapest one in Florence after all. I was up the next morning at 5am walking down towards the bridge with all the jewelry on it. By the time I got there is was still closed, so I walked up Michelangelo’s Park without really knowing where I was going. I was the bronze statue of David up there and the other one outside the art gallery but was only fortunate enough to see the feet of the real one before I was encouraged to leave the museum because it was closed on that day. My pleas to the woman at the door of how this was going to be my last trip to Florence possibly ever fell on deaf ears, she possibly didn't understand a word I was saying. So by lunchtime I was back on the train.
I stopped over in Pisa, and even though I only spent around 3 hours there, it was a very nice little city. My feet by this stage had started to blister so I kind a limped my way down the little streets of Pisa towards the tower.I never really wondered about the physics of how the building was leaning over. I was always more amazed by the fact that the masonry could hold the weight of the tower at that angle. So I was rather surprised to discover that actually the entire foundation of the tower is leaning.
I finally stopped at Rome. And saying my feet where blistered no longer fully explained the situation. Every step was an effort. I had a blister on almost all of my toes, to top it off I was tiered and gatvol.So the first day I decided that the red buss tour was perfect. Seeing as I only had to sit, but I did get off at the Colosseum. Was not as interesting as I hoped, and the size of it is nothing like they had it in gladiator. But it was impressive non the less, if only for its reputation and age.
St Peters Square was stunning, especially at night with its fountains. It was raining at times when I was there and the reflection off the wet stone floor combined with the lights of the fountains made for a beautiful sight.
I was rather unimpressed with Michelangelo’s Chapel. Especially after they had me walking though a maze of small museum and rooms some much more interesting than others. I finally emerged into a room. And after a few moments figured out this room was in fact Michelangelo’s Chapel. I also did not know that the two touching hands where life sized. I always thought it was a big thing. It was nonetheless very well done I have to say. Looks more like sculptures on the roof than only a painting.

Sitting in Hospital So I thought I'd Write Part 2 (London)

For three months I carried on. Went out with friends and carried on working. I was still in constant contact with Heather over seas via SMS. I was considering going over but had trouble deciding to actually go for it. After all, I had a job and a life that I had to leave behind.
I got to work one morning and after a meeting I could only describe as being ridiculous I went home fuming. The next morning on my way to work I took the wrong off ramp, heading towards Head Office instead of to the client. Walked in, typed, printed and signed my resignation and a month later I was on a plane on my way to London.

I got work fairly quickly, I didn’t always like the content they were selling with the systems I was writing but the pay was decent and my new boss agreed to pay me weekly for the first six weeks during a probation period. This was especially a help since I landed in UK with little under 400 pounds on my name. Considering I was planning to stay 2 years and that the average cost per week for cheap accommodation is 70 to 80 pounds. I had to find something quick or get back on the plane.
Heather at the time did not want to get back together straight away. So my first couple of weeks there I spent in the city not really knowing anybody. Going out with the people in the hostel who Heather instroduced me to, clubing every now and then and working. I made some good friends however, 2 of which I had actually met in the british embassy in South Africa while applying for my visa.
After a month or two me and Heather started talking again and one thing led to another. We started out as “friends” but after breaking that off, getting back together like that again, breaking it off again, and again. We eventually got together as a couple around 6 months after I landed in London.
We started slow, moved in together eventually and all went well. We had quite a social life in London, helped on by that fact that Heather, after a couple of bad temp jobs, got a very nice position at Ticket Master and with that. Free tickets to shows in London.

We saw everything from We Will Rock you to Lion King and unfortunately a Tribute to George Dilan. Last would forever be our gauge when we saw a bad play. It was worse the Tribute to George Dilan or it was better than Tribute to George Dilan.
The restaurants in London are quite interesting. You never really got good meat tho. It was mostly bearable to alright, however Browns in Canary wharf graced us with a fantastic 150g steak that knocked us back 20 pounds each.
Heather had a very interesting talent for Picking weird and wonderful house mates. From an ex soup star to an verbally abusive Durbanite and the very next house a manic depressive one. It made life interesting at least.


I stayed with 3 Aussies. Now if anybody ever told you that the only thing wrong with Australia are the Aussies. I wouldn’t fight them to hard. The one guy we nicknamed Hamish the Horrible, because we could always see at least 15cm of his but crack stick out was the worse of the 3. Aside from him was a quite’ish guy who was actually the best of the bunch and then there was the tall typically Aussie guy who made for a good house mate but a not so good dosser. When he left the house share and then came back to sleep on the floor for 3 months, he deemed himself a more authorise housemate than Heather who had been dossing with me at the time.

Most of the Aussies got replaced eventually and 2 Cape Town girls moved in, one who was not very shy about her body at all. The other was always looking for some fun. Hell of a step up from the Aussies.
I always ended up knowing Heathers house mates better than my own tho, I think it was mostly because I didn’t like talking to people just as I got home. I would go into my room and unwind or sit on the couch not really trying to make conversation with anybody. Later at night when I loosened up a little and felt more sociable everybody had already pegged me about being in a bad mood. I don’t think they realized that they would probably have a much worse opinion of me had a talked to them just as I got home.
The house was in Canada Water (97 Redriff Road), in the docklands in London zone 2. the biggest problem I had with the house was that I could see the Gherkin building in central London out my window at home and at work.
After my first year I used my return ticket to South Africa and went home for a visit. When I left I also gave my room up at the Aussies and apparently a drunk durbanite took it over from me. (You getting the impression that we don’t think to highly of Durbanites)
Actually one of my friends in London also turned out to be a Durbanite (I know their everywhere!)
When I got back I moved in with Heather in South-Fields just up from Wimbledon in zone 3. It was supposed to be a temporary arrangement but we eventually decided we liked each others company allot more than any house mate we could find, so we moved into a halfway house for a month while we waiting for a room one of my best friends in London offered us.

The last 3 months in London where the best and I think had we gotten to that point earlier, we might still be there now. But as it where Heather surprised me one morning in December with the announcement that she is going home at the end of January, and wanted me to come back with her. The choice was mine to make and made it without a second thought however I did stay behind for three months after she left.