Alright folks, bit of an interesting week this last week. You know how it goes—sometimes life just decides to throw a couple of curveballs at you and see how you juggle.

So, on Friday, Connor found out he’d lost his electrician’s apprentice job, which was obviously a bit of a bummer. But to be honest, he actually seems a little happier now. The poor guy was really struggling with the early mornings—having to be on site by 6:30 wasn’t exactly his cup of tea. And maybe it’s all worked out for the best, because I’ve been secretly hoping he’d get involved in the tire business with me anyway. So now he’s agreed to jump in and help me get that off the ground.

That said, he’s still on the lookout for some side gigs to bring in a bit of extra cash while we build things up. So if you know of anything—especially in security or even something in the service industry or even some Handyman work—give us a shout. That’s kind of the point of a gap year, right? To figure out what you actually like doing. And in the meantime, he’s helping me out, so I’m not complaining.

And then there’s Angelique’s grand camping misadventure. She and a couple of mates went camping in Squamish and, as luck would have it, got caught slap bang in the middle of an atmospheric river. Proper chaos. They ended up having to move camp in the middle of the night as everything started flooding. By the time she got home, she was down for the count—fever, coughing, the works. Poor Belinda’s birthday on Sunday got completely hijacked because we had to rush Angelique to urgent care instead.

The urgent care shuffle, for those who haven’t done it, goes like this: get there at 9 a.m. sharp, find out you’re 19th in line, get triaged, go back home, wait for the magical “come back” text, then wait some more. It pretty much took the whole day, but hey, she got sorted out in the end and we got through it.

So yeah—bit of a wild week. But honestly? Still a good one. Got to spend time with the kids, got a teammate in the tire biz, and we’re all still standing. That counts for something.

In This Week’s Newsletter

• 🇿🇦 Upcoming Events

• 🇿🇦 Saffa Thought of the Week: You’ve Gotta Have Some Fun

• 🤖 AI Thought of the Week: From Storybooks to Songs

• 🏁 That’s a Wrap, Folks

🇿🇦 Upcoming Events

Vancouver crew — tonight’s Pub Night!
Come pull in for a couple of cold ones, some laughs, and a bit of pool and darts with fellow Saffas. We’ll be at the usual spot, Sailor Hagar’s, from 6 p.m. in North Van. It’s now officially a unisex event, so that’s cool.

Here’s what’s coming up:

• South African Pub Night – August 18, North Vancouver

• Disney’s The Lion King – August 20, Vancouver

• Hemingway’s SAFFA Pub Night – August 20, Toronto

• South Africans in New Brunswick – August 30, Fredericton

• Netvleish Boere Fees – August 30, Dawson Creek

🧠 I Need Your Help with September Events!

We’ve got three big events coming up in September and all of them need planning. So I need to know if you’re considering coming to any of them. Just hit reply and let me know — otherwise I won’t know how much food to organise, and things can go sideways fast.

South African Shop Boerewors Roll Day – It’s our annual Boerewors Roll Day on September 13th at John Lawson Park in West Van. You’ve got two options: pre-order a boerie roll from us for $12, or bring your own. We’ll set up picnic-style and hang out for the day. Hopefully no rain this year! Just a lekker day out, so let me know if you’re keen.

South African Okanagan Outdoor Market – September 20th in the Okanagan. Free entry, about 20 vendors, a proper market day. Bring the family, buy some treats, have a picnic and enjoy the vibe. But again — let me know if you’re coming so I’ve got an idea of numbers.

Heritage Day Braai at Hume Park – This one’s a proper sit-down feast. Only 120 seats available. $36 per adult, $15 per kid. The meal includes steak, boerewors, lamb chop, corn on the cob, chakalaka, sides, and dessert — all catered. This isn’t just a braai, it’s a feast. If you’re planning on joining, I really need to know.

🇿🇦 Saffa Thought of the Week: You’ve Gotta Have Some Fun

Life can be a bit of a mess, eh? Work is hectic, the kids are demanding, the laundry pile never goes down, and let’s not even talk about the daily drama of, “What are we cooking for dinner that everyone’s actually going to eat without complaining?” That question alone can break a person.

But if there’s one thing that helps hold it all together, it’s having a proper laugh. Especially with your partner.

I read something this week that really hit home. A happy marriage isn’t about fancy date nights or those picture-perfect holiday selfies. It’s about the small, silly stuff. The weird little inside jokes. The tickles that make you laugh even though you pretend to be annoyed. The quiet chats on the stoep with a coffee in hand, just talking rubbish and forgetting the chaos for a minute.

And the best part? You don’t need big plans to have fun. Sometimes it’s just pulling a face across the kitchen. Or sending your partner a ridiculous meme. Or cracking up over something dumb the dog did. That stuff counts.

Fun is glue. It holds things together when everything else is threatening to fall apart.

There’s actually a study where they got people to bite a pencil sideways between their teeth, just to force their face into a sort of smile shape. And guess what? Even that made people feel a bit happier. Apparently your brain sees your face smiling and goes, “Oh, cool, I guess we’re happy now!”

So if a fake pencil smile can do that, imagine what a real laugh can do. Even if it’s just at a stupid cat video.

Whether you’re married, dating, or living with your bestie, make space for a bit of fun. Laugh on purpose. Tease each other. Tell dumb jokes. Tickle someone if you must (but don’t say I told you to). When you’re smiling, it’s just harder for the small stuff to get you down.

And at the end of the day, laughter’s cheaper than therapy and a hell of a lot more fun.

🤖 AI Thought of the Week: From Storybooks to Songs

So when I first started messing around with AI, I went to this event where one of the startups had this pretty cool idea — you could create personalized storybooks for your kids. You’d give them the kid’s name, a photo, maybe some favourite animals or whatever they’re into, and it would generate a full story with their name and face in it. Lekker idea, right?

Well… fast forward a few months and Google Gemini just launched their Storybook feature — and it basically does the same thing. You type in a few things, maybe upload a picture or a doodle, and boom: 10-page illustrated story in your choice of style, voice, and even language. It’s pretty amazing. Not always perfect — sometimes the pictures don’t line up or the story goes a bit weird — but it’s free, fun, and the kids love it.

But here’s the thing that hit me — all those clever startups working on this exact idea? Google’s just swallowed them. The model itself now is the product. That’s the crazy part about AI… it’s moving so fast that you might build something really cool, and before you even launch it properly, the tech just leapfrogs right over you and does it better, faster, and cheaper.

So yeah, if you’re building with AI — move fast. Like, really fast.

Anyway, in the meantime, go give the Gemini Storybook thing a try. Just Google “Gemini Storybook” and have some fun with it. It’s seriously cool.

And while we’re at it…

If you want something extra personal — like a custom song for a birthday, anniversary, wedding, party, or even a funeral — I’ve started offering that too. I made one for Belinda’s birthday the other day and let’s just say, it went down a treat. I’m setting up a little side gig where I’ll do them for $25 a pop.

Here’s the one I made for Belinda (trust me, she cried happy tears):

👉 Belinda’s Birthday Song

So if you want a song with someone’s name in it, maybe some in-jokes or special memories, give me a shout. They’re flipping awesome, and it’s the kind of gift that actually means something.

🏁 That’s a Wrap, Folks

Alright, that’s it for this week. Thanks for reading all my ramblings — always appreciated.

I’m off to grab an early dinner: lekker lamb shoulder chops with potatoes, rice, and salad. You know, like proper boerekos. Can’t go wrong.

Before I go — I made a little song about summer in Vancouver. It’s a short one, but I reckon you’ll enjoy it. Go check it out here:

👉 Summer in Canada – YouTube Short

And while you’re there, hit subscribe! I’ll be posting more fun music on that channel — especially about moving to Canada, South African-style.

If anything in this newsletter made you smile, or you’ve got something to share, just hit reply and say howzit. I read every response.

P.S. Seriously, just hit reply and tell me if you’re coming to any of those September events. It really helps. A Lot!

Chat soon!

– Callie