When my dad sent me to Grey in St 9, I was excited as this would give me the opportunity to play schoolboy cricket. Never imagined just how good the guys like Ray le Roux, Allan André, André Barends, Lindsay Mould and Allen van der Merwe were. To be coached by the late Ewie Cronje, was unique.
But best of all, I never imagined the “gees” that existed at Grey, both on and off the sports fields.
The best teacher I ever had, both at school and university, was Dawie Marquard. He made such an impression by the way he respected and treated his students (and the respect the boys had for him). Without a word, he could silence the main hall by simply glancing at the boys. Being a provincial selector, he always had a word of encouragement. One Monday morning after batting for most of the innings against St John’s and saving Grey from certain defeat, so I thought, he chirped: “That was a poor batting effort, you should have won the game for Grey.” Right back to earth for me.
My wife, Nulda, and I live on a smallholding outside Somerset West. We both deregistered as paediatricians the moment we walked out of the Faculty of Medicine. We purposefully did this so that we would be forced to build a new life outside medicine. Nulda now has the most lovely indigenous bulb, orchid and disa collection. She is a mini-expert in the field with contacts all over SA. We also have 120 olive trees, 28 bee hives, a small vineyard and a large vegetable garden. We press our own olive oil, collect our honey and press verjus ( green grape juice).
I have developed wood working and wood turning skills, have a nice bonsai collection and still ride my bike ( more or less every day). I love riding 100 km gravel races, although I come last or second last in all the races. My 21st “Argus cycle tour” will be in March 2025. I still love sport and as we do not have a TV in the house, my TV is in the workshop on sports channels all the time.
We also have two granddaughters, both born in 2019. As their mothers work, we help looking after them. We are busy, but have a wonderful and enjoyable life. Such a wonderful change from medicine.