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130 entries.
wrote on February 12, 2017
at
7:39 pm
Dear Alan, I cannot express my gratitude for you or the home that you have provided for me. From the very minute of arriving a Swanage I knew that I was in the right place. I started off quite tentative about the Bara experience and the city, but now I can truly call Johannesburg a city that I love and adore. I even grew the balls to go out drinking on my last night. Even though it was in one of the safest areas....I just want to say that you are one extraordinary man and that you have taught ma a whole lot in a short 5 weeks. Thank you so much for setting up Swanage and giving me the chance to make life-long friends from all around the world. For any future Swans reading this, you are in for a real treat and your time will fly by. I will definitely be back my friend, and I will definitely be staying at Swanage with 100 of my family members for their three free nights accommodation::)) Thanks for everything Alan. James (Editor: Once you have stayed at Swanage you get three free nights whenever you return).
wrote on February 12, 2017
at
7:33 pm
Dear Alan, Thanks for providing a home that I felt like part of a family. I have made some great friends and had wonderful experiences. your incredibly knowledgeable guide through the Pilanesberg game reserve is an experience I shall never forget.. Thanks also for the great group of guys that I met while here at Swanage. Most of all, thank you for making me feel welcome. i can only imagine how hard it may be to make people from different nationalities and backgrounds feel at home, yet somehow it seems easy here. My stay at Swanage has made me a better person, which is all I could have hoped for. Cheers Sam.
wrote on February 12, 2017
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3:21 pm
Dear Alan, when I was planning my trip to Jhb one year a ago and I asked around for good accommodation I got to hear tons of stories about this strange multi-talented doctor-priest and his student home (thanks to Eva Roels who came to Swanage earleir) I was so unsure what to expect. After 3 months I can say that Swanage has been a big and unforgettable part of my South African experience. To start the day with a cup of coffe in your lovely garden listening to your waterfalls into the koi pond watching the koi fish jump made the days at bara much easier and enjoyable. Thanks for showing me around Joburg, the Pilanesberg and providing me with such helpful advice to plan our weekend trip and to survive in general. You have such an amazing ability to welcome people of different nationalities, ages and interests at you house and make them feel comfortable. I'm glad and a bit proud that I have been one of them. Cheers Oliver.
wrote on November 10, 2016
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3:15 pm
Dear Alan I came to Swanage as a Cygnet in 2007 (before the web site and guestbook). In these nine years I have been to many other lakes since then, but more than that when I came into Swanage, I felt so instantly at home. Best wishes to Swanage and all who continue to sail in her. (Editor: Tim returned for a short visit, now as a consultant in internal medicine on holiday in South Africa).
wrote on October 10, 2016
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2:57 pm
Dear Abuna Alan, a month ago when I arrived to The Swanage you realized that I am a Palastinian Catholic with Israeli Passport. I got the warmest hug from you and I realized this month will be better than I expected. Thank you for your local knowledge, your help and for being so positive. You made our stay so comfortable. Hopefully I will come back to Swanage in some years and you're welcomed to visit me in Israel or Hungary. Thank you very much my Albi
wrote on October 1, 2016
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3:08 pm
Dear Alan before we got here we heard all the rumours about the Swanage Experience, and it did fill all expectations. You are probably one of the most welcoming and fascinating person we have ever met. Few people would open their home to seven Norwegian strangers and let them drink liters of Amarula and eat kilo's of pizza without as much as one complaint. Thank you so much for your hospitality and not to mention our amazing safari gastronomic adventure in Pilanesberg. We hope you will continue to open your house to strangers and make them feel like they are at home. Never stop air frying food and good luck with the piano playing on the grand piano. We hope to see you on you tube next year. Love and Kisses
wrote on September 10, 2016
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3:00 pm
Dear Fr Dr Alan I can't believe that the time is over already, it was seriously a pleasure to stay here and to have interesting conversations with you. You are such a happy, joyful and positive person, what makes it so comfortable to stay here and to spend time with you. I am not a man of big words. looking forward to see you again you are welcome in Germany
wrote on August 27, 2016
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9:41 pm
Dearest Alan. It has been an absolute pleasure to stay in you home and share your company. For you to have had so many people stay at Swanage and to still make such an effort to make each and every one feel so welcome and so special to you is....well adjectives fail me, but the generosity you show in sharing your house with total strangers and including them in so much of your life is truly amazing. Keep up the piano and making sure people get to hear you play; it's too much of a gift to not share it and the emotion with which you play.In the Pilanesberg, you told the teacher we met who had adopted one of her students that "a special place in heaven was reserved for her, well far be it from me to prescribe to such a place existing, but in your own way you do similar; not with one but with the hundreds of people you have welcomed into your home, making each feel like Swanage is as much their home as it is yours, is truly inspiring. the generosity you show to all you meet is a greater lesson than any that can be found in a hospital, and one that I hope to be able to emulate in part one day. i look forward to returning Home to Swanage some day. With Love Daniel Jackman, King's College London
wrote on August 12, 2016
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9:45 pm
Al, what an adventure it has been! From the first bear hug we shared I knew I had arrived in a good place. Thank you for being so incredibly welcoming. It is so nice to come back from a call at Bara to a HOME rather than a house. I have to mention the Pilanesburg- MAGICAL. I remember shrieking with excitement when I saw my first warthog so seeing lions, elephants, giraffes was just FANTASTIC. thank you for sharing your passion with us all - eternally grateful. I have had an amazing time in such a short 4 week stay. Thank you for taking us to delicious restaurants and allowing us to share meals with you and your closest. Your enthusiasm for medicine and life itself is infectious. You have shown me where my passion for medicine and patients can take me --a gift. Love, light and lemons. Eleanor Jarvis, UEA,
wrote on July 31, 2016
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9:50 pm
Dear Alan, I can't quite believe how quickly these past four weeks have flown by, and I can safely say I have absolutely loved every single second of time here at Swanage. I arrived full of apprehension, but from the moment I stepped inside your wonderful house I knew I was going to have an amazing time here. It is truly extraordinary that you welcome us into your home and crate such a special atmosphere. Swanage is a family, and it is your huge heart and welcoming arms that make this house such a fantastic place to stay. the trip the the Pilansberg was utterly magical. The food, the company, that lion sighting-I can see why you cannot wait to get back to the bush! I will always remember Swanage as a place of fantastic company, fabulous food and friends for life. Thank you so much for everything I can't wait to be back. Love Anna Bickerdike Liverpool, UK
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