Next year's a big year on the corporate front: I am currently in the employ of a parastatal with a deep history, a history that has developed over a century. Yes, Kirstenbosch National Botanical Gardens was founded in 1913, and now we're gearing up for recognition of that fact. For me, personally, there are things linked to that that are redolent with echoes of nostalgia, apprehension, and even optimism about opportunity. But that's another story for later. Right now I'd like to report that, in anticipation of the big 100, a group of people of +25 years standing gathered in the Conservatory at Kirstenbosch on 15 August and had a memories and stories session, which we video-taped. (I was behind the camera, so my involvement was indirect, and my verbal contribution restricted to interjections like "rolling", or "was jy nie bang vir die slange?")
My purpose now, at half-past four on a friday afternoon, is to provide access to a very roughly cut introduction to that meeting, and to introduce you briefly to some of the wonderful people that have helped to build this organization. The stories they shared that day will come a bit later.
You can find that 2 and a half minute clip on YouTube at:
