New year, new directions

I spoke with my mom this week, who was gearing up for another Northern Hemisphere holiday season. The weather was cold and grey, her mood a bit blue. Back problems were keeping her temporarily grounded. “I’d love to hop on a plane with your dad and visit South Africa again,” she sighed, referring to their 2008/2009 high summer holiday. It was my parents’ second visit to my adopted country, and South Africa was on its best behaviour. We travelled from Mpumalanga to the Garden Route, stopping here and there as the moods blew, throughout the Karoo, North West, Northern Cape and Gauteng. People were friendly, roads were in great nick, flights were on time and service was (mostly) up-to-speed. And, not surprisingly, the weather was perfect. A lot of faces, places and spaces vied for our attention. One face, however, stood out – that of an elegant blonde woman we met at a crafts market on the Garden Route. She was friendly, but not overbearing. Proud, but not overconfident. Chic, but not intimidating. She was gracious, graceful and all things sunny. “Well, I trust you’re enjoying our beautiful, magnificent country,”  he chirped to my folks without a hint of arrogance or coming off as an overly-sunny character from The Truman Show. Quite simply, she was decidedly content in her part of the world, and very happy to be sharing it with international visitors. The Garden Route blonde’s perky can-do attitude weighs on my mind as the country gears up to host the FIFA World Cup just five short months from now. We’ll literally welcome the world – if not in person, then in televised spirit – strutting our stuff and showcasing our capabilities. But, pause for a moment: what  personal message will you amplify? We have, over the past 15 years, made great strides reintegrating into the African continent and global community – with both pros and cons. The end-result is that we all share a conscious choice to look up, or down. That ol’ half-full or half-empty scenario. We can choose to celebrate the arrival of global clothing brands into the South African market. Or we can despair over hundreds of thousands of lost local textile jobs, ignoring the South African textile companies that have, against all odds, succeeded in the global marketplace. The latter’s key to success? Flexibility, and the ability to keep up the game on an ever-changing and increasingly difficult playing field. The field’s the same – it’s just the game that changes. As we toast the arrival of 2010, Sandton magazine will be implementing a number of editorial changes in the coming months – bringing you even more local faces and stories, while delivering a larger Radar section providing you with an even bigger hot-list of where to go and what to do in Africa’s greatest city. A new publisher, Samantha Stevens, also joins us this month, arriving back in Johannesburg after more than a decade of working in London’s cut-throat publishing industry. Sam’s appointment is perfectly timed for our next phase of growth, just in time for our second birthday in June. It marks a turning point for Sandton magazine – and one for the better as we, and the country, gear up for 2010 and beyond. Likewise, I have no doubt that 2010 will also be South Africa’s turning point for the better as we take our rightful place on the world stage. It’s a mind-shift, with a large part of the world watching. If you’re gonna shine, you may as well shine bright! With that in mind, we’re certainly putting our plans into place for 2010 – and beyond – at Sandton magazine. What’s your story?