Three high school friends recently reunited for the first time in forty years at AfrikaBurn for their 60th birthdays! Their adventures at the festival (as more mature festival goers) reminded us why reunions, no matter how long-overdue, are a must!

Tankwa Karoo (14 May 2025) — As thousands of people recount their recent adventures from AfrikaBurn, Helen Patricia’s stood out in a big way. It wasn’t just because Helen’s story focused on the reunion of three high school friends who hadn’t been together in some forty years or because the three women were celebrating their 60th in the most iconic way (at one heck of a festival).

It wasn’t just for the humour intertwined in Helen’s recounting either. Instead, it was the sum of all these unique parts that made for a dazzling reminder (for anyone who might need it) to act on reunion plans, no matter how long they’re overdue or how far out of your comfort zone they might lead you!

From preschool teachers’ failed campsite jollifications that required exchanging massages for assistance to grooving with one’s hearing aid in tow, the adventure had us giggling and missing our long-lost friends!

As Helen writes:

“Three high school friends reunited at AfrikaBurn 2025 to celebrate turning 60. The one from New Zealand hadn’t seen the 2 others for 40 years. Another came from Switzerland.

The South African hired the Bushy Kamper Trailer. With her long-suffering husband, all tried in vain to force the flimsy tent pegs into the desert soil with a rubber mallet, after the gruelling ascent up the Katbakkies Pass, rattling across the corrugated dust, dredging up memories from 80’s discos at the Southern Suburbs’ Werdmuller Centre.

One wore a hearing aid but the ones who didn’t, couldn’t hear anything anyway, with all the shuddering.

The South African preschool teacher’s attempts at jollifying their campsite with bunting from last year’s school concert was underwhelming and blown away with the first strong winds on the 2nd day! This complete fail was redeemed by one of the group gifting osteopathic sessions to nearby campers on the massage table brought along.

Afrikaburn is a bit like the parable of the six blind men and the elephant, all having their own unique sensorial experience of a mammoth animal.

The 3 old, almost-deaf women got their own satisfying experience.

The Oasis of the Crone became their place, starting with a charming baptism into the Oasis Way by the beautiful Aimee, followed by a 2 and-a-half-hour Grounding Mirror Journey with a Dutch Sorceress…

…Their last evening ended where it started, at the Oasis, with Silent Disco Headphones and Dancing in the Desert with the sun setting and the Tetrahedon burning on the horizon, setting intentions within. It felt good to be a Crone.”

So, if you’re looking for a sign to connect with old friends, consider this it!

Sources: Helen Patricia via AfrikaBurn(Group)/Facebook 

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post 3 High School Friends Reunite at AfrikaBurn for the First Time in Decades appeared first on Good Things Guy.

A voice that captures the heart of South Africa: Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp joins the Good Things conversation.

Johannesburg, South Africa (30 April 2025) – Every so often, you meet someone whose energy feels like it could light up a thousand rooms. This week on Good Things with Brent Lindeque, I had the absolute joy of sitting down with Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp… one of South Africa’s brightest voices, storytellers and changemakers.

Friends, she is such an amazing, beautiful dazzling light.

Elana is more than just a familiar voice on the radio or a celebrated face on our screens. She is the very spirit of vibrant South Africa, blending warmth, wisdom, wit and an unwavering commitment to uplift others in everything she does. From midmorning radio on Jacaranda FM, to her ground-breaking podcast work, to giving back through sport and education, Elana’s journey is layered with good things worth shouting about.

We spoke about her passion for podcasting… a medium where she truly shines. Her Parent & Baby Brunch has touched the lives of thousands of families, offering comfort, advice and laughter through the chaos of parenthood. Between hosting one of the country’s most-loved radio shows, managing ballet lessons, hockey practice and bedtime stories at home, Elana found the time to sit down for a very candid interview. And what makes Elana’s story such a good thing is not just the accolades or the achievements (although they are pretty phenomenal), it’s the way she carries it all… with authenticity, humility and a heart so deeply rooted in giving back. She reminded me that success means more when you lift others as you rise and that our voices, no matter how big or small, have the power to connect, heal and inspire.

If you haven’t yet, go give our full conversation a listen (or a watch below). It’s packed with laughter, life lessons and all the good things that make you believe in the beauty of this country.

Watch and listen to the episode on all our social platforms (like all of them)
New episodes drop weekly.
Powered by Nando’s. Filmed at FLAME Studios.
Stories that matter. Conversations that count.

Sources: Good Things with Brent Lindeque 

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post Good Things with Elana Afrika-Bredenkamp: Connection Through Conversation appeared first on Good Things Guy.

Who would’ve thought that a Christmas ad could visualise one of the world’s biggest problems so beautifully? In a thoughtful take on breaking barriers, loneliness, unlikely friendships and being brave, this Christmas ad has us well in our feels and ready to break out of our comfort bubbles.

Global (19 November 2024) — On a snowy winter’s day somewhere in a mystical version of the Northern Hemisphere, children take to play outside with glee and delight.

Swept up in the familiar fun, one little girl finds herself running away from incoming snowballs. However, she’s stopped in her tracks by something most strange indeed—a glass barrier.

Startled, she looks up and around her. To her surprise, she sees another face with features contrasting her own blonde hair, blue eyes and pointed ears, staring back at her. Her onlooker has dark features, rosey cheeks and a pointed nose.

With an excited jolt of curiosity, the two elves from different worlds gaze at each other, knowing what must happen next. A game is to unfold!

They begin to hurl snowballs in each other’s directions, squealing with glee despite the knowledge that neither snowball will actually land in the other’s world. It doesn’t matter. There’s a new friend ahead!

But gazes from other elves in their respective worlds are harsh and stern. How dare they attempt a game when they live in such different bubbles?

The girls each decide to return to the same spot by nightfall; relieved that the other returned too at a time when no one will see them.

Day after day, they attempt to connect. Snowmen, snow angels, silly faces and sweet treats bring them as close to the edges of their worlds as possible. But, it can only take them so far.

One night, they decide to give each other Christmas gifts in what might be the only instance where receiving a brick is acceptable.

Why a brick? Well, how else are you going to break out of a snow globe?

The Deutsche Telekom advert does not just speak to the determination of children.

In one way or another, we all live in our own version of a snow globe. For some, it is a globe of familiarity. For others, it’s a globe of belief. Or privilege. Or circumstance. Or something that we’re so used to, we have forgotten that we have the power to explore outside of it—if we so choose.

In a thoughtful take on life in a bubble, this Christmas ad is reminding us all that real connection begins the moment we decide to break barriers.

Sources: GTG

Don’t ever miss the Good Things. Download the Good Things Guy App now on Apple or Google. 

Do you have something to add to this story? Please share it in the comments or follow GoodThingsGuy on Facebook & Twitter to keep up to date with good news as it happens, or share your good news with us by clicking here or click the link below to listen to the Good Things Guy Podcast with Brent Lindeque – South Africa’s very own Good Things Guy. He’s on a mission to change what the world pays attention to, and he truly believes there’s good news around us. In the Good Things Guy podcast, you’ll meet these everyday heroes & hear their incredible stories:

Or watch an episode of Good Things TV below, a show created to offer South Africans balance in a world with what feels like constant bad news. We’re here to remind you that there are still so many good things happening in South Africa & we’ll leave you feeling a little more proudly South African.

The post Christmas Ad Offers a Most Thoughtful Take on Breaking Barriers! appeared first on Good Things Guy.