Summer is officially here—trust me, I’ve got the sunburn to show for it! But before we get into that, let me share a bit about this weekend’s adventure…

On Friday and Saturday, Angelique and I hit the road on an epic biltong-delivery mission for our tasting contest. When I say epic, I mean it: we basically covered every corner of Greater Vancouver—four hours on Friday, another five on Saturday—and poor Angelique was completely done by the end of it. Shame, she did so well! The good news? Almost all the biltong is now safely with our tasters. (There’s just one parcel left, heading out to Abbotsford today, because ja… that one was just a little too far for us!)

After all that running around, Sunday was pure summer magic. We got up early, joined Brian & Dries for a lekker hike around the Lynn Canyon and Rice Lake loops. My top tip: get there early, or you’re stuck in chaos. Afterwards, we cruised down to Deep Cove for some of those famous honey doughnuts and coffee by the beach. Absolute bliss!

To top it all off - one of our amazing founding members, Sal Moonsamy, had asked me to drop off her biltong package on Sunday. And when I got there, Sal surprised me with the most incredible homemade Durban chicken curry and basmati rice for our lunch. Sal, if you’re reading this—you are a legend. That curry was exactly what we needed after a busy weekend. Thank you!

With all this sunshine, I reckon I’m going to commit to at least one early-morning hike per week. With the sun up at 4:30 already, there’s really no excuse not to. That’s my summer sorted, how about you?

Speaking of being out and about, here’s what’s in store for today’s newsletter:

• 📅 Upcoming Events

• 🌟 Founding Member Spotlight: Sal and Raj Moonsamy.

• 🥩 Biltong Tasting Update: Quick update on where we’re at.

• 📝 Practical Tips: How important is having a will in Canada?

• 🤖 AI Tip of the Week (NEW!)

• That’s a Wrap

📅 Upcoming Events

• MMC Canada 2025 (Harvest Time Canada) | Central Kootenay, BC | July 11–13

• Hemingway’s SAFFA Pub Night | Toronto, ON | July 16

• South African Pub Night (Monthly) | North Vancouver, BC | July 21

• Afrikaans is Lekker Toronto (Jo Black & Appel) | Oakville, ON | July 25

• Saffella Festival 2025 | Oakville, ON | July 25

• South African Market | Saskatoon, SK | July 26

• Afrikaans is Lekker Saskatoon (Jo Black & Appel) | Saskatoon, SK | July 26

• Potjiekos Competition (Saffella & Bokkie’s Biltong) | Oakville, ON | July 26

• Afrikaans is Lekker Calgary (Jo Black & Appel) | Calgary, AB | July 27

Oh, and before I forget—we’ve got the Southern African Okanagan Market coming up in August. If you’re a South African (or you’ve got some lekker South African goodies you’d love to sell), make sure you sign up here to grab your booth—it’s only 50 bucks, so why not?

And even though visiting is completely free, it’s always a good idea to reserve your tickets here so we know you’re coming. See you there!

🌟 Founding Member Spotlight: Sal, Raj & Skye Moonsamy

This week we’re celebrating some truly awesome founding members—Sal and Raj Moonsamy, along with their daughter, Skye. They’ve lived across five continents over the past 30 years, but have now chosen Canada (and Vancouver specifically!) as their home.

Sal and Raj have been incredibly supportive of our community, with Sal always ready to lend a hand or offer friendly advice. (And yes, this is the same Sal behind the epic Durban chicken curry I mentioned earlier!)

Their daughter, Skye, studies down in L.A. but loves staying connected through the newsletter.

Keep an eye out—we’ll soon be filming some lekker cooking videos with Sal, featuring some favourite South African recipes.

In their words:

Sal, Raj, and Skye—welcome to the family, and thanks for all you do

Quick Biltong Tasting Update

Like I said earlier, we’ve delivered just about all the biltong, except for one lonely packet heading out to Abbotsford today. If yours hasn’t shown up yet and you’re not in Abbotsford, please give me a shout—chances are I accidentally dropped it at the wrong house!

Also, because it took a bit longer to get all the stock sorted, we’re giving everyone a few extra days to taste and pick their favourites. So if you haven’t sent me your top three yet, you have until Sunday, July 6th. Just pop an email to [email protected], and I’ll announce the results right here in the newsletter on Monday, July 7th.

Oh—and remember, it’s not just one vote per pack. If your family can’t agree (trust me, you’re definitely not the only ones!), everyone can send in their own favourites.

📝 Practical Tips: How important is having a will in Canada?

Okay, look—I know nobody really wants to talk about this, but we probably should. And trust me, I get it: I’ve been here almost five years and I still haven’t sorted out my own will. But as the saying goes, “Don’t do what I do—just do what I say!”

The thing is, having a will here in Canada is really important. If you’ve still got stuff back in SA, you need two separate wills—one for South Africa, and another one for Canada. Definitely don’t try to combine them into one; that’s just asking for trouble.

Yes, you can absolutely write your own will here in Canada (it’s not that complicated), as long as you get two people who aren’t named in it to sign as witnesses. There are a few very clear rules to follow, though, and if you skip those, your will won’t be valid—and that’s a whole other kind of nightmare.

If you’ve got specific things you want to leave to specific people, it’s probably smarter to have it professionally done.

We’ve put together two helpful articles on the SAIC website to help make sense of it all:

• What Happens If You Die Without a Will in BC? A Guide for Immigrants

• Estate Planning for South African Immigrants

And hey—if there’s enough interest, I can set up a quick webinar with Veronica, a wills attorney, where she can answer everyone’s questions in plain, easy-to-understand language. Let me know if that’s something you’d find helpful.

So go grab a coffee, check out the articles, and let’s make this the year we all stop procrastinating about our wills—myself included!

🤖 AI Tip of the Week (NEW!)

So every week from now on, I’m gonna share a quick “AI tip” here in the newsletter. Why? Honestly, because I really like you guys, and this AI stuff is about to change everything—how we live, how we work–a fundamental shift in everything we thought we knew. It’s happening right now, and we should all probably start making friends with it sooner rather than later.

Here’s two easy ways to jump right in this week:

1. ChatGPT as your personal cooking coach

ChatGPT is totally free—just download it onto your phone. My mate Brian Naylor does this cool little trick: he snaps a photo of the recipe he wants to make, opens ChatGPT in voice mode, and says something like this:

It’s seriously like having your own cooking coach right there in the kitchen. And if you’re feeling adventurous, ask ChatGPT to talk to you like Gordon Ramsay while you cook. Ja, really—it’ll even yell at you if that’s your vibe! Even crazier—you can do the whole thing in Afrikaans if you want.

It’s properly freaky hearing AI speak fluent Afrikaans!

2. Manus AI—a proper AI assistant

Another cool AI tool I’ve been playing around with lately is called Manus AI. It’s an AI agent, meaning you can literally tell it, “Hey, I’ve got a business idea—please research it and write me a business plan,” or, “I need a website for my idea, can you build one for me?” or even, “Make me a quick marketing plan.” Manus can also sort out your travel plans and other random tasks. It goes online, does all the legwork, and neatly packages it all together. Honestly, it’s scary how smart this thing is.

You get free credits to start, and if you use this special link, you’ll get an extra 500 free credits. (No strings attached, just free stuff.)

Give it a go—I promise you’ll be properly impressed.

Bottom line: AI’s here to stay, so let’s all start making friends with it!

🙌 That’s a Wrap!

Thanks for sticking with me all the way to the end—I really appreciate it! As always, I love hearing from you, so hit reply and let me know your thoughts, ideas, or just say howzit. I personally read every reply, and it genuinely makes my day.

Enjoy the sunshine, have a lekker week, and catch you again next Monday with The Biltong results!

Cheers,

Callie