More About Me

Cape Town-based Personal Change Practitioner. That means coach, counsellor, mentor, trainer and consultant. Owner (and entire staff) of/at Chrysalis Counselling, MentorIT and (concept)Coaching.

Father of the AmzMonsta (in the real world a smart and beautiful young lady living and working in Auckland, New Zealand. I miss her every minute of every day. Ok, maybe not every minute, but definitely a lot!

I love books, music, movies, food, computers, art, poetry, photography and nature: the Cederberg, the Karoo, the Cape Coast and Namibia. And my Land Rover, Jane. Update: Jane has been put out to pasture, and my current truck is Barbara, a Toyota Land Cruiser Prado 3.4L 6-cylinder petrol monster. I love her!

My favourite food is watermelon, pomegranate, boerewors, sourdough bread, avocado, goat's milk cheese, roast rack of lamb, chicken curry with basmati rice, sultana seedless grapes, milk, salami, zoo biscuits and deep-fried, beer-battered hake and chips. Yes, I eat meat, although many of the people I love are vegetarian. We show each other respect and peacefully co-exist.

I have traveled in South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Namibia, Angola, Egypt, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Also Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Mauritius, Bahrain, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Then almost every country in Western Europe except Portugal (must go there soon!) as well as every country in Scandinavia except Lapland. (Is Lapland in Scandinavia?).

My three favourite cities in the world are Cape Town, Sydney and London. And Paris. Ok, so make that four favourite cities. Three favourite countries in the world are South Africa, Italy and Namibia. I have never been to the US of A (am I missing anything?).

I love pens, particularly fountain pens. Favourites are my Waterman and my Cross, with brown ink (Parker Mocha). My daughter once said to me: "Dad, I think it is great that we both love stationery"! She does, too. And I love that she does. Now if I can only get her to read more. Oh, and I am still hugely upset about the Mont Blanc Meisterstück I lost a while ago.

I also love watches and clocks. Unfortunately my Rolex was stolen in the same robbery as my Meisterstück (and many other items). I also love churches (from the outside) and libraries (from the inside).

I dabble on the internet and with social media. I am brimming with web-based (and other) business ideas ... watch this space!

I sometimes do woodwork and a bit of woodturning (Rockwell and Myford lathes) and do genealogical research when the mood takes me.

I also restore old turntables and valve amplifiers - my favourites are Quad and Leak. l love listening to music - on any media - but probably mostly on vinyl. Classical, Pop, Jazz, Rock, Country, Folk... you name it, and I have it and listen to it. My turntables include Linn, Thorens, Garrard, Lenco, AR, Systemdek, Micro Seiki and Technics. Look for @musicman_za on Instagram and FaceBook!

I am an Amateur Radio operator (HAM) and my call-sign is ZS1ZYL. I listen much more than I talk, and am usually on 2m, 40m and the air bands, listening to the planes coming in to Cape Town International. My radios are ICOM, Kenwood, Midland and Yaesu, and I have a wonderful old Heathkit SB200 amplifier. Antennas are all home brew and this is where the most fun is, for me.