Andre Delport
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I really must apologise @IBEX, I somehow missed the comments on this chapter. A halfway house, here in South Africa and in this context, is where golfers would have a meal after the first nine holes had been played - hence halfway house. It is also where they would gather after the round had been completed to have drinks and socialise.
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Arriving home, they drove the two vehicles straight into the garage. Yvonne opened the connecting door and the children clustered around her to greet her. It pleased their dads immensely to see how fond their children were of the their housekeeper. Of course, Rascal had to get in on the act as well! Andrew sniffed appreciatively as he took the stairs to the lounge level. The comforting aroma of curry hung in the air, but he could not decide if it was breyani or bobotie he was smelling. What
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Thanks for all the great comments guys. I won't lie - this chapter was a mission to get written and published. I had absolutely zero motivation to do anything when I went on vacation, especially after a rather busy year. My tech problems played a part as well but the good news is that I have bitten the bullet and got myself a new device to work on. So hopefully the troubles are a thing of the past.
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They were given the same suite of rooms that they had occupied when they had come to bury Beth and Nicky, although the rooms had been redecorated in the interim, or rather, refreshed. The decor remained almost exactly the same, but it was obvious that it was all fairly new.The family quickly settled in and then all made their way downstairs for a late lunch consisting of freshly baked seed bread open sandwiches topped with cream cheese and smoked salmon accompanied by a selection of extras as pr
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Thank you for the comment and for taking the time to read my literary efforts. Trying to get the next chapter out but we are in what we call 'silly season' in our office at the moment and things are a bit crazy. The edit is almost done - hoping it will be ready for publication is weekend.
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Thanks for all the understanding and encouragement. I must admit when my tablet crashed I was so disheartened and demotivated - that's the main reason this chapter was so long in appearing. It took a while for me to become motivated enough to continue, and to be honest I'm still working through it.
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The Devlin-Majors disembarked the aircraft at Changi International, all slightly tired and jet - lagged - especially the children who were all grumpy at being awake before sparrowfart. Jamie had been very restless and had eventually snuggled with Andrew, which meant that his daddys rest had also been disturbed. As they stumbled into the arrivals concourse, Jamie was weepy and insisted on being carried. Cameron, Elizabeth and Fiona all stuck close, although they stared in amazement at the wonder
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I see Ryan and Andrew's discussion with Mr Scott has elicited some reaction. Ryan's comments were indicative of just how concerned they were. It certainly was not out of a sense of entitlement. If it came across that way then I must take the blame for lack of literacy skills and I apologise for any offence.
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CHAPTER 44 Life settled back into a semblance of normal routine. Andrew made his monthly trip to Johannesburg, Kwazulu Natal and Port Elizabeth to visit the lodges, while Ryan did the rounds of the two Cape Town properties for their monthly financial reviews. They had decided that the upcountry trips would alternate between them to keep the lodges on their toes and not get accusstomed to only one owner. A fresh pair of eyes never did any harm! Discussions had taken place regarding the ext
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CHAPTER 71 Paul, Marie and their boys flew back to Canada the following Friday. Andrew still found it difficult to say goodbye to them, even though they had been there almost 10 years. He loved having them around and he missed their presence a great deal. The one small glimmer of light was that, with the right deal, they would be willing to come home to work with him again. On the Tuesday after they left, Andrew and Ryan went back to the office full time, the twins started Grade 2 at scho
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No offence taken , I can assure you. I fully agree about it being a great stress reliever.
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Thank you. As I have said before, it comes from previous observations and experiences.
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Hi @Summerabbacat, thanks for the comment. As a rule, Andrew does not swear (a lot), unless he is really agitated or is caught by surprise. I try not to use any curse words - only if I deem it to be absolutely necessary to the context.
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I was very fortunate to work for a company that had a very similar philosophy to Devlin-Major. The staff morale was through the roof and it definitely carried over to the guests.
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You'll just have to wait and see,😊
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Will try not to keep you waiting too long
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It's amazing just how quickly the world moves on.
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The first order of business was to give everyone a ride on the inflatable tube. With a compliment of only three people, everyone was aware that it would take a bit of time to accomplish. Andrew had insisted that the family, including the Mason's, who agreed wholeheartedly with the decision, wait until all the guests had had an oppor-tunity to take a spin. A sweetner was that two children would be allowed on the tender with Ryan and Paul on a few rides before giving the other two their turn. Fion
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CHAPTER 41 The remainder of the week was spent just chilling, either on the veranda of their tent or on the patio of the main building, punctuated by the daily game drives. For everyone it was a supremely relaxing week, especially with no mobile coverage at the lodge itself. To get signal meant taking a drive to the top of the plateau to the airfield where it was high enough to receive mobile signal from the nearest tower. Internet service was available via the land line, although it was qu
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Once the new arrivals had all settled in their tents, they all met on the patio of the main building for a delayed lunch - a cold buffet which included pickled fish, smoked snoek sambal and tea-smoked Drakensberg trout, as well as a selection of cold cuts, salads, condiments and breads. Dessert was ice cream with fresh fruit salad, chocolate sauce or butters-cotch sauce. The adults all finished with coffee before the entire party boarded the Landrovers for the drive to the breeding program cam
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Hi @pvtguy and @Flip-Flop. It is a world that I lived and worked in for 25 years before I retired. I was privileged to be able to work in some of the top hospitality properties at that time in South Africa, in Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, as well as at Sun City when it opened and loved every second of it. It opened up an entirely new world to me for which I remain eternally grateful. I met some incredible people and I still have contact with some of my favourite guests to this day, all over the world, most of them very wealthy in varying degrees. It is on these people and experiences that 'Never walk alone' is based.
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Thank you all for your fantastic and encouraging comments. I will admit, the journey has not been perfect or easy, and made all the more difficult by my computer problems and health issues. The books themselves, have been a labour of love that I, in all my wildest dreams. did not realise I would enjoy as much as I have. At school, writing essays were a major chore in my opinion and actually found it quite difficult. So to write what I have written now has been a bit of a revelation to me. And then to get the reactions that I have got from all of you has been the cherry on top. Once again - THANK YOU
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Thank you. Fixed it.
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Thank you. The next chapter is all but reconstructed. Hoping to publish this week sometime
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Andrew surfaced from his deep post sex slumber as a soft hand patted his face repeatedly. Dimly, he became aware of Jamie's anxious little voice. "Daddy, daddy! Wake up!. Daddy! Wake up!" He was immediately wide awake when he finally registered his little boys voice. He lifted himself up on on elbow and gazed at his son in the half darkness, the only light coming from a dim lamp on one of the pillars of the veranda. Ryan stirred but did not wake up. He squinted at the flashing light of
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