We are in Fancourt and it is raining and raining. The busy Bunster wants to run outside on the never-ending manicured golf lawns but everything is wet and we got our hands full for sure. Jane had to leave us yesterday late afternoon to return to Johannesburg. We met Jane about 6 weeks ago through our friend David. Jane had worked with David’s family for 4 years as a night nurse and came highly recommended. When it was suggested that we try find a night nurse, when we arrived in Johannesburg, we weren’t sure how long it would take us to find someone we liked. But we got lucky – Jane was available pretty much right away, as she had just finished with David’s family, and we met her and voila.

Jane is very good at what she does and the Bunster took a big liking to her. We had a nanny in Kyiv called Tanya, and when the war started Tanya went to Western Ukraine, and we came to SA. Bunster liked Tanya too. She is also a very cool person, like Jane. Bunster has had quite a few people come and go in a short space of time and he does act a bit confused, but he is good. So when Jane left us yesterday we were all pretty sad.

Jane has been living in SA for over 23 years. She is from Malawi. She is married and she lives in Bryanston with her husband. When I met Jane I asked her for her bank details so I could pay her each month and she told me she did not have a bank account. She asked me if I can pay her part in cash and the rest to pay into her husband’s account. I was curious as to why she did not have a bank account and she told me it is impossible to open an account as a non-South African.

One day in JHB, Jane asked if I could get her an Uber early the next morning after a night with the Bunster, so she could go to Kempton Park to get her visa sorted out. Again, I was curious. I guessed Jane did this every 5 or 10 years or something like that. I was wrong. She has to go there every 30 days. WTF ?!

I have a very close friend Akin, a humble, high energy artist, who has been in SA for 30 years, and he sometimes shares his frustration about the nonsense that is taking place in SA. Akin pays taxes and is a wholesome member of the land, so what is the problem. Xenophobia is a real issue and listening to Jane’s stories since we met her has been very disturbing.

I paid Jane well, and we are kind and warm people. I could see Jane was very happy helping us with Bunster and we were all getting to know each other. She met a few of my friends when they came to visit us in JHB, at Alon’s house, when we first got settled in after arriving from Kyiv. And now she is gone. We are not sure what the challenge is exactly that she had to go back to JHB to deal with. We are concerned now and hope that she is going to be ok, and we wonder if she will be able to fly back to George soon to come be with the Bunster again. He already looked a bit confused this morning.

I love South Africa, and it has been good to me, and my family. But I am embarrassed about many things that go on. What is with the xenophobia. Why did Jane have such a struggle on her hands. She looked so stressed this week. While Bunster napped in the afternoons, she was on the phone, and she seemed so anxious all the time. She is smart, she has money, she had good people around her to to try and help. So what then is the problem. Why can’t she even open a bank account in SA, for example? And that is just the start of the rant …

A must see documentary film – masterful storytelling !!!

This film was brilliant – I was blown away. It also illustrates the mafia state that is Russia. Ukraine is under threat because it has grown up and wants out, and the mafia boss Godfather says “no”.

The entire business and political system in Russia is criminal. And the greedy West just saw the money and ignored that they where dealing with criminals from politics to business. Now we face the consequences. It will take Russia decades to untangle a criminal system this is present at every level of society.

Mornings that start off with the Bunster are better than mornings that don’t.

There are are so many expressions and playful phrases using the word “stuff”. Get stuffed. Stuff it. I am stuffed. Stuffing. There is even a magazine with this word in the title. Jerry Seinfeld did a comedy bit once about collecting stuff. This is what many of us do with our lives. We are always looking for stuff, buying stuff, storing stuff.

I am sentimental person. I have been collecting stuff ever since I was a kid. I think I am a still a kid. An overgrown kid. And now I have a kid. I have been called a hoarder. I think that is fair. Most of the stuff I have has no material value, but to me, it makes sense. There is paraphernalia from IS, movie things (from our indie film projects), Canary swag, magic stuff, quirky gadgets, high tech toys, stand-up comedy DVDs, rare funny books, gizmos, pranks, Atari t-shirts (a small but cool collection), and the list goes on. A lot of it is geeky stuff. Yes, I am a bit of a nerd. My home office in the The Nest is overflowing with stuff, and now, I am not sure when will ever see this stuff again. The vast majority of my favourite stuff is in The Nest.

The pandemic showed the world that you don’t need a lot to live. Yes, to live, and to live well, does not require a dozen holiday homes and a fleet of luxury cars. We can only sleep in one bed, and as long as that bed is comfortable, and the house is clean and warm, and the fridge full of food, you are living pretty well. And we certainly don’t need all that stuff to live comfortable lives. I may never be able to see this stuff again and I will survive. But it does upset me. For some reason that stuff was dear to me. That stuff made me feel peaceful. I know it may sound a bit odd, as it is to most people, just worthless stuff, but to me it meant something.

The rockets striking Kyiv on Thursday made everyone more anxious. We have friends in Kyiv. The Nest is in Kyiv. All that stuff is in Kyiv. And this morning, the Bunster made a mess with a yogurt drink and got us both covered in stuff. Yes, stuff is everywhere. And from my perspective, the world is looking pretty stuffed. Ok ok, I was trying to play with words there. But you know what I mean.

The other thing about stuff is that we not only collect it, but then sometimes we put stuff in storage. I have never done that, but I know that self-storage facilities are a big industry. When we die what happens to all this stuff? And if you go away for the weekend and come back to discover your house burned down, then all your stuff is gone. Talk about a stuffing reset.

The thing about collecting is that a lot of people, I think the vast majority, collect things that have a perceived value, like art. Some just collect rent. A lot try and hoard cash. Money collecting is a popular past time. Everyone is collecting something. Most collect something that has a monetary value. Asset management could be referred to as asset collecting. And then you get those people who collect stories. The bible is the ultimate collection of stories. I love a good story. I am always writing down and capturing stories.

I should start thinking about collecting things that have value. Perhaps the war has made me aware of financial vulnerability. The stuff I collect is mostly stuff that makes people smile. Seeing people smile makes me happy.

This spider in a box prank is one of my favourites. The Bunster likes it too. I can’t wait to show it to him one day when we are back in The Nest. By then he will be a bit older and will find it even funnier.

Absolutely nothing.