Dear Safreans,

Last year, when Covid-19 hit us, one of the results for me was that a big conference I was working on was postponed to December, and then eventually went totally online. It was just one of the impacts that the pandemic had on my work, and this was the only conference that wasn’t cancelled completely.

We had planned a holiday in the Kruger National Park to coincide with the original conference date and were able to get credit and to postpone our booking until later. Now, at last, that later date has arrived and as you read this I will be in the Park somewhere. You won’t even notice that I’m gone, with Exco, our vice-chair Lesiba Tshehla, and our administrator Thea Aboud making sure – as they always do – that Safrea keeps running smoothly.

It will be a bittersweet time because it will also be my farewell to one of the places I love the most in South Africa. When I was a child my father decided that we needed to see the Kruger National Park in every season of the year. So for one week each month for an entire year I was taken out of school and we headed off to the Park. These were precious memories, and far more valuable to me than the extra time in school would have been.

The reason for the farewell is that I will be moving to the UK at the end of March, with my mother and husband joining me later in the year. Because I will still be working with all my South African clients, I am able to stay on as your Chair until my term is up.

Our photographer

This month we feature photographer Roger Bull. He likes to keep to architectural and interior photography but dabbles in corporate portraits as well. He does not specialise but will shoot what he enjoys. You can see more of Roger’s work on his website: www.rogerbullphotography.com

Stay safe and I’ll see you next month.

Yours in freelancing,

Lynne Smit – Safrea Chair