Will 1, Inefficient SA Parastatal 0

My first ever court experience went well - I took SA Airways to the small claims court, after a load of camera equipment and data on CD's was stolen while my luggage was at their mercy, and they paid me back for only a bottle of rum. It was a small victory - the money for the flash I'd bought for my sister's wedding - but it was a victory. And I found the experience of going through the courts really interesting. My sue threshold has been lowered; it's the American Way.

Teaching an Entry-Level Photo Course

Took 3 hours off work today to teach a beginner's class in photography at the Ikamva Winter School. The kids have never touched a camera before. We went over the basics of a camera and some composition tips. It was huge fun, I'm hoping some good stuff will come out of it.

Climbing in Bronkies

For the first time in about 9 months, I went climbing today near the Bronkhorstspruit Dam with the Mountain Club of SA. Great people, beautiful location, superb climbing and many, many sore muscles. Man, I'm out of shape!

The photograph is of Andrew Porter, from Manchester, who led the meet and belayed with me. He's really good - all the climbs at my level, he just did in his sneakers.

Becoming a Globalized God Father

This is Meo, the son of my friend Nils in Hamburg, and my god son. I flew to Hamburg for the christening, for one weekend. It was crazy but worth it. I also got to celebrate Nil's birthday with him on the summer solstice, then rounded off the visit with an 18 hour commute straight back to work.

Young Soloists Competition

My mother is a trombone player; currently she's active both in the administration and as a musician of the Johannesburg Symphony Orchestra, which is an amateur orchestra with a lot of young people of all races. I'd been to a rehearsal before, which was a lot of fun, but today I got to see the orchestra live for the 2009 Young Soloists Competition. The concert had gotten a lot of media attention, including a feature on Radio 702, so there was a really strong turn out; at one stage both my parents, my brother and I were all working alongside each other at the ticket desk together, desperately trying to keep up with the constant stream of people coming through the doors. Many of them brought their children with.

The concert was really enjoyable for me, not just for the great music and the sight of the children competing being so nervous and then composed and performing really well (some of them were about 8 years old) but also as an opportunity to take a lot of photos in challenging, low-light conditions.