The Weighty Question

© J. Francois Barnard – 2 August 2025

I had a terrible encounter with Britain’s biggest liar last night.

Back home in South Africa, I’ve spent years rehabilitating our bathroom scale. It was a difficult relationship at first — full of denial, emotional outbursts, and silent treatments — but after much counselling (and some selective recalibration), we reached an understanding. These days, it only tells truths I can live with. We were happy.

The Vision of a Blind Man

© J. Francois Barnard - 26 July 2023

I have been in the computer industry for more than 36 years now, and had it not been for the vision of a blind man, it would never have happened.

The Dad-Void

© J. Francois Barnard – 7 April 2018

In you, and in me, is a void. This is the void that we can fill with many things, but nothing fits well in there except for a dad. He fits perfectly into this void because it was made just for him. It is what I call the Dad-Void.

The Long, Short, and Tall of Narcissism

© J. Francois Barnard – 23 December 2024

I encountered narcissistic personality disorder early in my life but had no name for it. So, by the early 2000s, when my sister-in-law told me to google the topic, I was surprised, relieved, and intrigued. "So this is what has been going on all my life!" I had been battered and bruised by a narcissist, but suddenly, life handed me a handle on the situation, and I could manage it.

The Holy Scrum

© Simeon Barnard – 19 February 2023

As you are reading this, a holy rugby match occurs. No, this is not the Currie Cup or even the World Cup, for that matter. This match is much more important. You see, the winner of this rugby match will have a lasting impact on not only the teams involved but also the referee and his friends and family.

The Saddest Spectacles

© J. Francois Barnard – 1 November 2019

I recently had my eyes tested again. The optician tried her best to get me to use new multifocal “computer glasses”, but it was a bad experience. I reverted to glasses with a fixed distance, and it actually works for me.

Business in the Body

© J. Francois Barnard – 21 December 2024

In the late 1990s, I wrote an article with this same title when I saw how business people and the church collaborated. I noticed myths and false perceptions about a dividing line between Christianity and Business that should not exist. As if Christianity is holy and Business is unholy. As if the ordained are “in the ministry” and the businesspeople are “secular”.

Nothing can be further from the truth.

Uncertainty

© J. Francois Barnard - 19 February 2023

Uncertainty, unreliability, precariousness, doubt, apprehension, dilemma - all words describing the world we live in today. Apart from a failing economy, South Africa has so many load-shedding stages that we never know what will happen tomorrow. Ukraine is still fighting for survival, Taiwan looks at their neighbour across the Strait with apprehension, and Turkey mourns the death of 40,000 people.

All those T-shirts

© J. Francois Barnard – 1 November 2019

Yes, it happens. Hopes and dreams get scattered. Try as you might, you could not prevent it. And there you are: devastated and degraded; broken and tearful.

The Two Jims

© J. Francois Barnard - 9 February 2024

Jim woke at his usual time, around 5 am. He got dressed to go for his usual 5-kilometre walk. And as usual, he walked past Nette's room, now empty. He leaned against the doorframe and stared at the empty bed, neatly made.

The Safe Place

© J. Francois Barnard - 22 July 2018

Who I am
only You will know
Who to be
I cannot see
Where to go
I cannot know

To Bleed, or not to Bleed: That is the Question!

© J. Francois Barnard – 5 April 2014

I have been a blood donor for the last 16 years. Just the other day, April 2, 2014, I donated my 92nd pint of blood. By 2015, somewhere in the winter, I should reach number 100. Won't it be great if I can take as many new donors as possible with me that day?

May 1945

© J. Francois Barnard - 5 February 2024

As dawn broke, Siegfried emerged from the trench that served as his uneasy refuge through the night. Casting a wary glance around to ensure solitude, he carefully moved westward, steadfast in his journey homeward to the Fatherland. The landscape before him bore the scars of recent battles with the Russians; the timeline of those encounters blurred in his weary mind—was it yesterday or the day before?

In Other Words

© J. Francois Barnard - 3 January 2023

And there was light. Neither suddenly, nor blindingly. A subtle light warming up and getting brighter, and I accepted it.

Other Mother’s Children

© J. Francois Barnard – 11 April 2014

Why it always worked like that, I do not know. As if it was not enough for me to bring up my offspring, I also had to raise other mothers’ children too! At times, I felt like sticking a label on a forehead, sending the kid back to mommy with the words: “Job incomplete!”

The Gulag

© J. Francois Barnard - 1 February 2024

Tatiana shouted for help as they dragged her away from her aunt's house. Nobody dared to help her and stand up against the militsiya. That she acted in self-defence did not matter. She shot an officer who assaulted her, and her destiny was the Gulag Camp, Perm 36.

The Attitude of Jonah

© J. Francois Barnard – 4 April 2020

Yes, Jonah. The same biblical prophet who took a detour through the belly of a fish. Jonah had an attitude, and amid the worldwide Coronavirus crisis, I am reminded of Jonah.

The Sad Case of Twak

© J. Francois Barnard – 1 April 2010

In 1993, I built my first house. I could not afford anything fancy, and when the architect told me about timber construction at below R500 per square meter, I fell for it. My grandfather once lived in a timber house in Stanfieldhill, Standerton, so why not me?

The Dearly Departing

© J. Francois Barnard - 22 December 2023

It was a hot December night in Johannesburg at our year-end function. All the speeches were over, and I took Mr Agbani by the arm. "Let's go outside. It's getting too hot inside here."

Paint the Canvas, my Son!

© J. Francois Barnard – 16 January 2020

The year is 2020, and the month is January. Ahead of you lies the blank canvas of your life. For the last 22 years, you, your mother and I have been preparing you to make those first strokes of the brush. It is with great anticipation that we look forward to what you and your Heavenly Father plan to create!

My Peculiar Master

© J. Francois Barnard – 7 July 2011

It was quite cold this morning, and with the overcast weather, it slowed us all down. I have already served the Master his breakfast and was in the kitchen preparing my own when I noticed him heading for the door. I dropped everything immediately and rushed there to open it for him. He just brushed past me without a word.

Dorothy

When I planned a business trip to Jeffreys Bay, I warned Dorothy well in advance that I would visit her. She was my late mother's best friend, and in my teens, I saw her almost every day. I had not seen her for decades since then, but I had some contact with her since I notified her of my mother's passing. The resident nurse at the retirement village told me about Dorothy's dementia and strongly encouraged me to come, citing loneliness as one of Dorothy's significant problems.

The Buffer and the Bad Blood

More than 22 years ago, I held my baby boy on my lap and looked at his sweet face. Absolute perfection! A perfect baby born into an imperfect world. As I reminisced about my childhood, I wondered about what my boy would face in his life. What impact would this imperfect world have on a boy born so perfectly?

My Weekend Child

You were about three years old when I remarried. It was such an intense time for both of us. We both had to make adjustments. But we were young and handled it well.

The Party Balloon

Jurgen patiently bided his time in the barbershop, scrolling through an email on his phone. Despite recognising the offer as reasonable, the hefty price tag of $50,000 gave him pause. Lost in contemplation, he was roused when the person next to him gently touched his arm, signalling his turn.

The Oil, the Ozone and the Odour

Entrepreneurial Pivot: From IT to Ozone Therapy

Ben and the Bomb

A Tale about Pious People

It is with reluctance that I am telling this tale. It is both comic and tragic. Comic in the sheer audacity of it all, and tragic as it ruined a family. I do not tell this from mere hearsay. It was a personal experience for me. Quite unbelievable, you might think, and I would agree. Yet I was there, feeling the shockwaves and the pain. But let me not get ahead of myself.

The Traveller

Berndt Östhaven, a farmhand hailing from Stattegg, Austria, glances up at the familiar sound of a scooter echoing through Stattegger Strasse. An intense desire for adventure surges within him, yet his sole means of transportation remains confined to the farmer's tractor resting in the barn. As a young girl cruises past on her Vespa, Berndt raises his hand in a gesture of greeting, only to retract it as a poignant memory floods back. In his hand, he clutches a carrot reminiscent of an encounter three months prior.

The Legacy of the Builders: Why Advancement is Under Siege in South Africa

Three hundred years ago, my ancestors travelled from Germany to Rotterdam, in the Netherlands, to set sail for Africa. With them, they brought their Christian Faith and their dreams for a better life.

Wising up Mr Ginger

I love cats. I still miss our old Jeremiah dearly today, even though he has been gone several years now. His absence has left a void in our hearts and home.

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