Oh yes, we’ve had our wet and windy days. There are days the sea has been whipped by the wind, creamy white tips flecking a turbulent steel blue sea. Birds fly in one spot, barely seeming to move and high, high in the sky, pelicans soar and swoop catching the raging streams of wind scudding clouds across a bright blue sky. Today it seems like that old man Van Hunks, sitting on top of Table Mountain, has taken a HUGE breath and is holding it. It is hot and still. There doesn’t seem to be a cloud in sight. The glowing sun sparkles on the still blue sea, the bees buzz lazily and cats and dogs everywhere lie panting in the shade. It is really hot!!
Christmas is getting closer and it seems so strange to be in the heat with the sun rising early in the morning, the chorus of birds start their greetings at 4am, getting louder and more musical as golden sun rays spread swiftly across the garden. The evenings stretch like sleepy cats, sun setting about 8pm and often leaving a footprint of flushed violet and burnt orange splayed over the sky. The shopping centres and supermarkets have been adorned with glittering Christmas decorations, and it seems so odd. It’s HOT!
It seems so distant from the early evenings, chilly streets of London, where the smoke of wood fires waft from chimneys across that enormous sprawling, busy city. Spectacular Christmas lights on Oxford Street blaze and twinkle in frosty air, Christmas tunes blare from shops covered in waterfalls of twinkling lights, and I’m sure Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park must be making a fortune on the delicious hot chocolate. I miss the Christmassy feeling that exudes from practically every house, because night crawls in so early in winter, many houses are ablaze with colourful Christmas lights. Reindeers nod in gardens and huge snowmen (the artificial kind if there’s no snow) bob around in small front gardens. It’s as far removed from going for a surf on Christmas day, having a braai with “lekker” boerewors and chilling with an ice cold beer in the jacuzzi!
Two very different countries celebrating Christmas, we are so fortunate to have had the opportunity to experience both. I know which one I am happiest with and I am really enjoying my surfing!
Here at Virtual Concierge Services we have been really busy recently, more so than normal. Everyone appears to be in a rush as Christmas and the end of the year approaches. As you know, I am in partnership with Rachel and Dawn at Virtual Concierge Services. We assist our clients by providing virtual assistance to take care of all the daily, time-consuming tasks and chores which distract our clients from their more important purposes… whether it’s family or career.
Recently we’ve been able to assist some of our clients with their Christmas shopping (hehe I think one of them is still in shock that task is already done, no need to rush around two days before Christmas!) and now that we’ve taken a load off their shoulders, their time can be spent concentrating on their businesses in order to get ready for their vacation over Christmas.
We also have some clients going on long holiday. This is the beauty of utilising our services. One of our clients has purchased a fair amount of hours of our time for “peace of mind”. This is so we can assist his mother with any chores and/or emergencies that may arise whilst he is away on holiday. The last time our client was away on a much needed family holiday, his mum’s electricity blew and her fridge broke down. Our client’s mum panicked as normally our client is around to sort things out, so she called her son across the world, and he had to try and organise and sort out the problems from afar. Not an easy task when everyone seems to be on holiday and everything seems to shut over Christmas here in Africa. However, by using VCS, he appreciates that his mum is in good hands and he can enjoy his holiday with the knowledge that we are here to assist should his mum need any tasks doing that she cannot cope with.
That’s what we do here at Virtual Concierge Services. We help organise your life by offering services such as lifestyle management, business services, travel logistics (yes we can assist with booking a dream holiday too!) and our “ship to shore” services, so you can have a stress free life whilst on away on business or your holiday (ship) and we look after things at home (shore).
I am off to collect my daughter from school and take her to the beach. A dip in that icy blue ocean will soon have us cooling down. We had a wonderful board meeting on Friday and are look forward to telling you about the next one.
If you need some assistance, give us a call – we can help you.