Green Mountain

Love Letters

My Bestie, You Need To Book, And Elgin Open Gardens

When the daily grind gets too much, a fun “pick me up” distraction can be a life saver. Iko Iko (My Bestie) by Justin Wellington will get you dancing on the bluest morning. It caught my attention on the radio recently, and on looking it up, I discovered that this original New Orleans song was written under the title “Jock -A-Mo” by James Crawford back in 1953! Crawford explained that Iko Iko was a victory chant that Indians would shout and Jock-A-Mo, a chant when going into battle.

Pan co’ Santi

Central Italy’s region of Tuscany is filled with hilltop villages. Lecchi is our most visited, being only two kilometers from the borgho of Adine, home to Casa di Simonetta.

That’s How The Light Gets In

Italians live a different life. A simpler one, passed through generations, and lived with great purpose yet seemingly without great worries.

Shine On You Crazy Diamond

Audun Alvestad’s Tan Lines, currently at the Kristin Hjellegjerde Gallery, London, explores the season as a feeling rather than a specific place or moment in time.

Many moons have risen and fallen long, long before you came

Investec’s Daily Views & News comes to me every weekday morning between eight and nine. A quick and easy update, most recently concerning the Chinese regulation of the tech and […]

Fresh Air Is The New Luxury

Fresh air is the new luxury said The Monocle Minute three weeks back, while making a point about the necessity of ventilation and “five star” hotels with non openable windows.

Walking With Thuli

Prof Thuli Madonsela will summit Kilimanjaro for the second time in July this year. She, together with three of the Walk4Mandela team, trained with us this last week.

The most sensible thing to do

When walking earlyish one morning ten days back, the trail group were not alone. “As we crossed the wetland, I spotted the tracks of the Cape Mountain Leopard…

Hold on to the afterglow

French billionaire, Francois Pinault, opened his contemporary art collection in Paris this weekend. Speaking on the opening of his private museum, Bourse de Commerce, he said “I want the museum to be a place where people feel better at the exit than they did at the entrance.”

For the birds

What is it about Johannesburg that delivers so many beautiful women? Many couples and mixed friends walk our trails but we are also frequented by girl hiking groups. When a delightful girl group departs we feel huge gratitude and remain conscious that we cannot expect to be blessed with yet another energetic, happy and generous spirited gaggle of gals. And then we are. Thank you Jozi for being a happy home to this seemingly never ending abundant stream.