Really sad news...

Craig Bainbridge passed away on Friday the 8th of April after a massive battle with cancer.
His spirit was strong, but his body was not.

The following is a message from his mum, Heather:

As promised here is a summary of Tuesday, the service to Celebrate the Life of Craig.


I believe Craig would have loved everything that took place on Tuesday, it was very appropriate for the person he was. In front of the church there were six vases of loose bright yellow sunflowers with yellow ribbons. I must admit they were not standing tall, looking up, but rather looked a little downcast and perhaps respectful of the occasion, but they were beautiful. In amongst the flowers we had Craig's Liverpool shirt hanging. It was specially made for him and on the back are the words Legend, which is what Craig was.

The service was conducted by Steve Pohlmann, Craig's friend and the pastor who married Craig and Kate. The church was almost full, I estimate in excess of 300 people, and at least half of them were dressed in Believe t/shirts, including Kate, the family and the pastor.
My sister and her husband created the most beautiful pamphlet for the service with a wedding photo of Craig on the front, and the scripture "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." Very pertinent for Craig.

The service started with Amazing Grace and Steve gave a short but very appropriate message on "where God was" when Craig was sick and dying, and he explained so clearly that God was there, present and that Jesus wept. It was beautiful and very understandable. He also spoke beautifully about Craig and where he is now, healed and complete.

There was then a time of tributes and as Steve said we could have stayed there for days. Craig's impact on people, friends, family and strangers reached far and wide and we've had dozen's of messages from people Craig didn't even know but who were inspired by his facebook messages. His brother Les then played a piece on his guitar that he had composed especially for Craig and during that time there was silent reflection on all that had been said about Craig.

Listening to his friends and family talk about him made us all very proud.

We then sang the very moving and emotional Liverpool song, "you'll never walk alone." There were many comments about Craig having a laugh at all his non-Liverpool friends singing His team's song.

After a brief tea at the church we went to the Sportsclub where Craig spent a large part of his life. Everyone was given a piece of paper to write a message on and these were attached to balloons.

We all went onto the middle of the soccer field and 120 red and white balloons were realsed together. Seeing them soar up to the heavens with messages of love for Craig attached was extremely moving.
Charlie had ordered a beautiful cake with the Liverpool emblem on and once again non supporters got to eat a cake they normally wouldn't have touched, and I'm sure Craig would have been delighted.

During the remainder of the day, the Parletones CD was played over and over again. The two main band members who had played at Craig and Kate's wedding had tried to get flights out of Germany to be there but were unable to. I'm glad they couldn't make it, that would have been far too emotional for everyone especially Kate, but what a tribute to Craig!
"You'll never walk alone" was also played over and over again, and you can only imagine the emotion it provoked in everyone, especially after a series of shooters!

Craig will be creamated and very fittingly Kate chose for him to be dressed in a favourite pair of shorts with his Superman T/Shirt, underneath a BelieveT/shirt. He really was a superman in the way he fought this fight. Marc and his friend Chris had written a beautiful message on a Liverpool shirt, which also went with Craig.
I got a very moving letter from Craig's oncologist today. He told me that the fact that Craig had lived these past 18 months, and that he'd been able to get married, cycle races and so on was in no way due to the doctor or to chemotherapy, but rather due to some higher power, as Craig had been incredibly diseased and sick from day one 18 months ago when he was given 6 months to live.

We know without a doubt that God graciously gave Craig more time to live and inspire others, and he was given to us for a little longer than we should have had him, and for that we are truly grateful.

He will be missed more than words can say, but we will continue to honour him and his desire to serve others and 'give back' by continuing with the Believe Project and supporting CHOC.

I find it quite significant that as Craig lay in ICU in his last half hour, a little girl with cancer, pushing her chemo drip, skipped along in the garden behind the window where Craig lay. I do believe because of Craig we can all make a difference in the lives of little ones with cancer.

Thank you again for your prayers, love and support over the past months.

Love Heather

8 Miles...done and dusted!!!

Body is battered...but very proud.
All of the 8 Mile swimmers together, raised a total of nearly R1.5 million for various charities!





Kudos to everyone!

Statistical swimming...

Yes, I have been thinking about this weekend way too much...can you blame me?
Check this out:


Hmmmmmmm?!?!?!?!

 8 MILES is equivalent to:

• 12.874752 kilometres
• 506 880 inches
• 1 287 475.2 centimetres

It takes me about 17 strokes to swim 25m at a comfortable pace so:

8 MILES is equivalent to:

• 512 lengths in a 25m pool
• 8704 strokes
• 4352 breaths

I will burn about 10 000 calories over the 8 MILES, so

8 MILES is equivalent to:

• 42 000 kilojoules
• 16.3185 Big Mac burgers with cheese

8 MILES is also the same as nearly R20 000 for CHOC, so bring on the burgers.
See you on the other side!

Midmar swim looms...

I have often stood at the side of the pool and thought that I should really be snuggling under the covers rather...
Well, with 9 days to go, I am doing the shuffel towards the pool with eager arms!
I have been off for the last ten days with a ridiculous chest infection. Have coughed so hard I nearly dislocated my spine!  That would have been a good chuckle?!? I can see the headlines now:
MAN COMPLETES MAMMOTH SWIM LIKE SPINELESS EEL!
Well, jokes asideI am crapping myself. But my greatest supporter is quietly confident in my abilities.
I do love the GoodWife!

I will be swimming alongside the Human Polar Bear! Yes, Lewis Gordon Pugh is one of the 50 8-Mile swimmers! I say I will be swimming alongside him, but really, it won't be for very long. Perhaps we can enjoy a chat on the boat ride back to the start??

Later Y'all

Exhausted - What a swim!

Yes, the 25km swim is done and my body is rather worse for wear...
Man, it was long...

Honestly, the swim was really, really good. It is amazing how you learn about the capabilities of your body during an event like this. Something that you are sure that you will need to bail out of after the first stretch, seems efforless now that it and so much more has been completed. The first leg of day one was a monster 3.5km in water that really felt like the Engish Channel at the height of a North Sea storm surge! The waves were massive. The rest of the legs were really not that bad. Like I said, after the first and longest stage I told myself: "For the rest of the swim, there is nothing longer that needs to be swum."
99% of an event like this is the mental battle.

As I was swimming, thinking about what I would write on my Blog, it occurred to me that this mental battle was similar to what Craig would have dealt with (only on a seriously minor scale).
Hats off to you my friend. My battle was tough enough and with yours, you have simply kept your chin high...

You have my ultimate respect my friend!
You are a TROOPER!!!!

Capital 3 K!!!

Greetings from a rather stiff and sore Braddles to you my avid readers!

Yip, the Capital K was swum on Sunday and much to my delight the sun shone for the first time since I was six! I did the Three kilometre even, nice and early and thank goodness. Between 1.5km and about 2.5 km the wind picked up and it was like swimming in a blender.  Every breath was met with a flurry of chocolate dam water...YUMMY!!! Finished in 1:01.27, sot not too disappointed about that.  The one thing that played through my mind as I chugged ever so slowly towards the finish line was how tired I was - and that this was just shorter than one of the legs of the "Lap of Midmar" swim - and there are 8 legs!!!!!

5, V, Five, 5 days to go until the "Lap of Midmar" event starts and i am making funny squeaky noises in anticipation. Yes this is only a training swim towards my 8 Mile, CHOC, Craig Bainbridge swim in Feb, but I am really looking forward to it.

Craig has also been writing, he may have been misdiagnosed!!!! HECTIC!
Check out the details on the link below! He is a real machine, cycled the 94.7 Cycle challenge this weekend!
http://www.facebook.com/#!/?sk=messages&tid=1351201198464

Have an awesome day y'all

B-Dog!

First swim in sight...

Ah, lookee... The weathe has finally broken enough for me to walk down to the pool and dive in without losing bits and pieces to frostbite.
Speedo's really don't offer as much insulation as one would think!

First "pre-swim swim" is on Sunday and i feel like... OK, not quite comfortable with the word 'confident'...comfortable? Yes, I am confident about comfortable!
It's the Capital K at Midmar Dam.  The letter K, implying one Kilometre. Well, I'm doing 3...
The 3km race starts at 7:30 and I'll be off.
I'm taking it easy though, a training swim.  Remember I'm confidently comfortable, not comfo.....you get the point.

This is how I felt this morning in the pool...phew.  Wish me luck!

Donations galore!

To all of you who have donated to my swim and inevitably, CHOC: THANK YOU!!!!!
The donations are rolling in thick and fast and the kitty is steadily growing.

I am astounded by all of the positive responses to my call for support of this worthy cause. 
Thank you, thank you thank you!

Short, sweet and to the point.
You guys rock!!!

Training swims…underrated!

Swimming is probably the most unnatural thing that the human body could do, other than attempt to copy Daedalus by jumping out of plane from 10 000 feet with nothing but an oversized shopping bag strapped to your back…but we do it anyway. There seems to be a certain serenity as our bodies glide through the water like a misshapen log. Well, I love it!

Training is going pretty well so far and I am managing to haul myself out from beneath the covers at 5am most mornings. The whimsical tunes of the boys boarding-house wakeup call gives a little company in an otherwise lonely Clifton pool. I am doing a 3km training swim with the Howick Prep swim team at Midmar dam on Friday. That should be fun…no walls to push off every 25 yards shouldn’t pose too much of a challenge…I hope. I will be accompanying them on their annual Midmar Dam Swim Tour from the 27th till the 30th of November. One lap of Midmar in four days – EPIC!!! Did it last year and it was AWESOME! The only really freaky bit was swimming across the dam wall…the concrete really dug into my chest *joke*! But really, I could stop thinking about those giant catfish called Vundu that exist in Lake Kariba; could there be one in Midmar? Lurking in the inky depths at the foot of the wall?

Maybe I’ll drag a line from my toe with a chunk of bait on the end and find out…

For a worthy cause...CANCER...

I will be swimming all 8 events at the 2011 Midmar Mile to raise money for charity. My charity of choice is CHOC, a foundation dedicated to research and the support of children with cancer. I would like to raise upwards of R20 000, and you can help me get there! There are some of you who may be wondering : “Why CHOC?”… Well, here’s why: Craig Bainbridge is a really good friend of mine, now living in Johannesburg. Written by his brother, Marc…

My brother, Craig Bainbridge, aged 29, was diagnosed with Gastro/Oesophegual Cancer in Nov 2009. At the time Craig was residing in Dubai, working as a teacher. Due to some complications with his School’s Medical Aid in Dubai, and his desire to return to his family for is chemotherapy, Craig has been left without any medical aid cover.

In Oct 09, prior to being diagnosed with Cancer, Craig was rushed into the Dubai Neuro/Spinal Hospital to remove a Brain Tumor that had formed over the front left quadrant of his brain. Fortunately Craig was at this point still covered by his medical aid, and his school then paid privately for the 14 Radiation Treatments that were required to ensure that the Brain Tumor would not return, as the Schools Medical Aid policies had now lapsed and Craig was no longer covered by any policy. The School was then unable to get Craig back onto his previous Medical Aid policy, as during this period he was diagnosed with the Cancer.


Through private fundraising activities we have been able to cover some of the additional expenditures and some private treatments, as well as covering any additional costs caused due to other illness, not yet covered by Discovery. Although we have already joined Craig to Discovery, his treatments will only be covered from 2011 and there is also a 3 month exclusion period on any Dr’s appointments, even if unrelated to his Cancer. As the Chemo weakens Craig he is more susceptible to illness and this is causing a great burden on him financially. During the Christmas period, he was diagnosed with 3 Deep Vein Thrombosis’s that prevented him from leaving the house, as the clots could cause a Heart Attack or Stroke, this is caused from the Chemo thickening his blood. The treatment for his DVT’s we covered through our private fundraising as well as the PET scan he need before he started his first round of Chemo, however we are constantly in need of additional funds to keep this option available to Craig.


Although Craig was originally diagnosed with Gastro/Oesophegual Cancer, the PET scan performed prior to his first Chemo treatment, revealed that Craig’s Cancer was moving very aggressively and had now begun to spread into his Lungs, Liver & Spleen. This means Craig’s course of Chemo is very aggressive to combat the Cancer, but this obviously brings about its own problems, in terms of Craig’s susceptibility to illness.

Since this was written, Craig has completed another round of Chemo and an aggressive set of Radio treatments. He also got married to Kate! Through all of these massive hardships, Craig, with the support of his friends and family has managed to stay incredibly positive. Never letting a day get him down, believing that the power of prayer and positive thought will see him safely through to health. He really is an inspiration! Marc, his brother, cycled from Nelspruit to Cape Town to raise awareness and funds for ‘The Bainbridge Believe Project’. There are “Believe” riders doing the 94.7 cycle challenge, and I am swimming 8 Midmar Miles!

For more info and to follow my training: www.bradsblendedbrain.blogspot.com And for the donation form, e-mail me at bradr@cliftonnr.co.za or call +2783 415 5139

Please, if Cancer has affected you or someone near to you, you will understand the strain it puts on the individual and everyone around them. Every cent counts, so please feel free to donate to your heart’s content. In advance…THANK YOU!!!!!!!

This is rediculous!

Yes, Garfield, everyone’s favorite cat, once said: “I’ll procrastinate tomorrow…” I am now seriously wondering why I have done that for the past two months?!?!?

Remember that 25km lap of Midmar Dam that I swam with Howick Prep last year? It shouldn’t be that difficult, I think it was my last post…Sorry… Well, I am doing it again.

My training started out well, with one swim about two months ago and another one about four weeks ago. Yes, you counted right. But you will be happy to hear that I have since placed my ‘A’ firmly into ‘G’ and have started the training in earnest.

I am also back on the airwaves!

I’ll tell you a quick story as to why I am swimming so furiously though: My dear friend Craig Bainbridge is 30, and riddled with cancer. He has kept going with the most inspiring positive thought and the support of friends and family. He even took a break from CHEMO and RADIO to get married to Kate! He and his friends (self included) have taken it upon themselves to raise as much money for CHOC as possible.

His brother cycled from Nelspruit to Cape Town. “Believe Rider”
Craig is cycling the 94.7 cycle challenge. “THE Believe Rider”
Some of us are swimming 8 Midmar Miles in 2011. (this is what I am doing) “Believe Swimmers”

Craig “Believes” in himself, why shouldn’t we?

If you would like to know how to donate, contact me for donation forms.
Zero Eight Three, Four One Double Five One Three Nine. Or brad r at cliftonnr dot co dot za!

More bonsai...lucky me!

Got a call from a friend of mine the other day.  He had just moved onto a new farm and the previous owners had left a little bonsai...this is what he told me.  When I arrived at the shed, I was greeted by a monster tree in a crappy pot that was totally overgrown with grass and weeds!  No idea what it is tho... my forrester father-in-law can't even ID it... here it is anyways. Anyone who can help identify it will recieve a complimentary e-kiss or e-handshake depending on what you prefer! 

And here is my display table that i made in my garage...really!

Have a groovy day now!

The Root

Bonsai delux...or so I think

These are my latest bonsais...having such an awesome time doing them, I thought I might share them with the world.

Thanks to the GoodWife for being so patient as I have tended my trees more than I have tended her lately...Love you!   Check me out on Flickr...

The End of the Dream...or is it?

Have you ever been in that fantastic wash of a warm sleep, and the dream-strip (my version of a film-strip in the subconscious) has you smiling a stupid grin of contentment?  Has it ever been so good that you are sure that this is what heaven is made of...all the feelings that are coursing through your veins and finding lush comfort on your minds sofa? 

Has it ever been so good that when it is brought to such an abrupt end by a dog's frantic bark that you are sure your heart will seek shelter somewhere around your belly button while the rest of you is left to find oxygen elsewhere?

Welcome to the start of the school term!  A baptism of fire, brimstone and a swimming gala!

Having come from a high school, I was used to being the delegator-style-teacher.  Giving children instructions to complete a task and then leaving them to carry on with it was my 'thing'...and it worked well.  That is, it worked well until I decided to teach at a Prep School.  These children demand a much larger pound of flesh than any high school student could dream of taking.  Every ounce of energy is poured into every minute of every day and there is never any letting up.  I did, as did many other people I have spoken to, think that teaching in a prep school environment would be less stressful...HA HAA he he HAAAA HAAAAAAAAA he he HahahahahahahahahHHHHHAAAA!  HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!!!!!!! Oooooooh!...sorry bit carried away there!

But I will admit something that is true:  There is and old saying that states that the relationship between effort and reward is directly proportional.  Too true!
The smiles that you get from a child that has done something right for the first time, or has succeeded beyond his or her expectations are priceless.

This is a fantastic job!

Something missing...

Have you ever woken up in the morning and got that feeling that you had something important to do, but cannot for the life of you remember what it was?   What was I saying again?  Ah yes...I just had a cookie and that helped remind me....THE BLOOOOOOOOOG!!!!!!!!!

I really feel a bit ashamed and rather empty that I haven't blogged in the last month and a half...sorry all my adoring fans, but I have had the most hectic December since the beginning of time...  And not hectic bad...hectic good!  It's a new year, and the goodwife and I are in new jobs, living in a new house with a new TV, new couch, new fridge, new stove and an ever growing new hole in my pocket...I must get that mended.

We had a phenomenal holiday in Mozambique, and I will say that if you are ever keen to spend some money on a truly awesome holiday, go and spend it Dugong Lodge in Inhassoro.  It is about 1000km from the South African Border post, but if the 2 day drive doesn't sound that appealing, Pelican air fly a daily flight from Johannesburg via Skukuza to Vilanculo.  The drive is then only an hour to Dugong.  It is Idyllic...that's all I can say...

L8R

Big swim at Midmar - Part 3 - The conclusion

Last night was crazy!  We had all had a fantastic supper of pootjie and rice and were relaxing comfortably by the now dying fire and admiring the beautiful lightning over the hill when the wind began to blow.  And did it blow!!!  We all ended up using our bodies as sandbags trying to keep our main tent from becoming the next and cheapest weather satellite as the wind pounded us...that settled, now for the rain!

Needless to say, we all woke somewhat bleary eyed and not in the mood for the last day of swimming.  After all the rain, the water was a lot colder than that of the previous three days, but once the skin goes a little numb, it seems to insulate rather well!

We completed the day by swimming across the front of the dam wall (a seriously unnerving experience) and were then met by the thunderous applause of the camping grade 5's on the slipway.
Well, I have to say: well done to me!  I took the average number of strokes that I usually take in a 25m length of the pool, and did some sums and came to the following conclusion: I took around 18000 strokes over the four days...and my shoulders seem to remember every last one this evening...OW!!!

One lap under the belt...
How many big laps have you done?

Big swim at Midmar - Part 2

Days 1 and 2 down and we are half way.  Little bits of me are strating to peel off and I am losing kilograms as fast as the kilometres tick by.  I must say that the children from grade 6 and 7 at Howick prep are swimming out of their socks.  They really are soldiering on despite the rather nippy water.  Anyways, 13km down, twelve to go.

The day's swim, just a hair under 7km.

Day three...things should have completely fallen apart by the end of this day with there being little more left of me but my spirit...this sort of thing wasn't made for people like me!

Big swim at Midmar!

Tomorrow is the day that my complete lack of training has set me up for. 
About a month and a half ago I agreed with a collegue of the GoodWife's that I would accompany him and some of his school pupils for a marathon swim.  As the days have drawn nearer, I have been more and more convinced that this decision was not one of my better ones. There is a large dam not too far from here called Midmar.  It is the home of the Capital K and Midmar Mile swims.  Incidentally, the Midmar Mile won a Guinness last year for being the largest inland, open water swimming event.  It saw very close to fourteen thouand swimmers last year!

Well, to complete the Midmar Mile, you swim across one of the bays, which is ...yes, a mile wide... we, the brave are going to swim around it in four days.  It is not a massive feat, but it's not easy...

Here is a map of the dam,

Compliments of Google-third-rock, this is day one.  We start at the big red square and finish 7km (4.3miles) later.  Yes I am sure I will have enough energy at the end of the day to keep you updated, so follow along.  If you are in the area, stop by, the kids and I would love your support!

What challenges do you have for the week?

Christmas cheer...are we doing it right?

If ever there was a time to feel jolly, it would be now. December is in it’s first few days and the festive season is in full swing. The ornaments and decorations that people have been making all year finally hit the shelves and go flying off just as fast as they can be price-tagged. “Christmas Specials” in red, white and green letters adorns every shop window in sight and the masses flock to their attention.


Sundays used to be the day for church, family brunch or lunch and a relaxing afternoon walk with the dogs. For tea and cake and a snooze in the shade of a big oak tree. Shops weren’t open on this day, because it was holy. Then the demigod of consumerism began to grow and the time in the week was simply not enough to possibly find a gap for church and family in between the shopping and malling. The retail clerk and his menagerie of things to buy became more popular than the creator of all things…ALL things. Should we not be going to church to thank God for that sales clerk and rather visit the store during the week? Should we not be spending that Sunday with those we love, to secretly find out what it is that they really want for Christmas?

I will must say that the spirit of Christmas has not hit me yet. I think it has been smothered by all the wrapping paper that society is so obsessed with at this time of the year. I should actually mention, and it is quite obvious, that it is not really the paper that most people are worried about, but the size and worth of the package contents. “I hope this is more expensive than the gift I got her last year…”, “If I get socks again…”, “This better be what I asked for…”


Please, we need to remember that the score was settled around 2000 years ago, we have no need to keep it. We need to choose what type of Christmas we are going to have this year…are we going to worry about the little gifts we are going to get, or are we going to give thanks for the one big gif that we have already got? Yes, the gift of our Lord Jesus.

At the end of the day, this is why we celebrate…

Message from the stars...

Greetings fellow bloggers.


It has been a difficult week or so. As I wrote before, my great granddad passed away on Saturday the 21st of November, two days before my birthday (Mon 23rd) . The stubborn old fart wrote in his will that there was to be no service, no memorial, no funeral. This really bothered be because I really wanted to just say goodbye and have some form of closure.

People say that seeing the coffin at a funeral is probably one of the hardest things to do. Many have been reduced to puddles of tears at the sight of the casket of a loved one, but I really feel that that is what is necessary. You, as a person, need to break down and have a really good cry in order to have that finality of a real farewell. With his will in place, that seemed bound not to happen.

We gathered at the Botanical Gardens in Durban, a place where Pops and so many people had spent hours mooching around, searching for that giant snap-dragon flower that would respond to a careful squeeze by opening its ‘mouth’. We had tea and a snack and then left…


I battled with that, big time.


That evening as the GoodWife and I were doing the last bits of packing in prep to move house on Sunday I cam across some items in my bedside drawer.

Nana had given Pops a watch for their 25th wedding anniversary, which he had in turn given to me on my 21st birthday. It is a Seiko Automatic, one of those watches that has a pendulum thingy that winds the spring as you move. Obviously, if you don’t wear it, the spring will eventually unwind and the watch will stop. On the silver dial of the watch are two little windows, one that displays the day of the week and the other the date. I hadn’t worn the watch since our wedding day, over a year ago. When I picked up the watch and looked at it, I fell apart, sobbing. It was exactly what I needed, that last and final goodbye, now knowing that Pops is in the good hands of our Lord.

The watch had stopped, and the day and date on it stood: MON 23.



Pops had wished me a happy birthday for the last time.