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123 entries.
wrote on March 29, 2024
at
1:40 pm
Dear Alan. It has been an amazing time for me at Swanage. We are so grateful for your warm hospitality. For the last four weeks, you have provided us not only with shelter, but also a home. I really enjoyed exploring the city and catching glimpses into life in Johannesburg, and I wish I could have had more time to do so. Thank you for sharing your secrete cafe with us and that wonderful star gazing spot and the all-you-can-eat shushi. Next time you are in Vancouver, I must take you to one as well. I loved hearing your stories and experiences and I wish I had gotten to know you even better. You do so many great things for the community and are truly a saint. Please keep in touch and we must meet again next time I am in South Africa. I wish you and the other Swnas all the best.
wrote on March 29, 2024
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6:47 am
Dear Alan, I've had a wonderful time staying at Swanage. Thank you for your warm hospitality. We've felt so welcomed and safe here. And thank you for all the times you gave me rides to Bara, listening to your stories and experiences is truly eye-opening and I've leaned so much ! (including financial planning).
I really appreciate you introducing us to the awesome restaurants Joburg has to offer. Overall, we've had a really amazing time here in the city. I also learned so much from my elective and gained a lot of skills, I wouldn't have a chance to learn back home. It's exceeded all my expectations !
Let's definitely stay in touch Alan! I hope you can visit Vancouver again some time. Wishing you all the best, Judy.
wrote on March 10, 2024
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5:55 am
Dear ALan. It has been a pleasure to stay in your wonderful home. You are truly an amazing man with unwavering patience, compassion and insight that you give to all your swans. Just looking back through this guestbook is enough evidence to show how many young lives you have impacted and inspired. I have had a fantastic time here in Joburg and it has been an experience that I will never forget. A large part of it has been the community around Swanage where I have met many amazing people and shared some wonderful experieces with them. It felt really easy to get invovled and make friends as soon as I arrived, and I can only thank you for having established this community. Lastly (and possibly the hardest part of leaving) - an ode to the C7 (Yamaha grand piano). Little did I know when I arrived that this beautiful instrument would be waiting for me, hearing you play gave me such joy and has inspired to to continue learning and most importantly, to make enough money so that I too one day could own such a fine piano. I am sure that I will return one day, and perhaps you will have even upgraded to the C9! (Do it !) Thanks again, and wishing you all the best for the future, Luca (Oxford England).
wrote on March 2, 2024
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7:09 am
Dear Alan It's been incredible how we have traversed contients from Orchard Road in Singapore where I met you to Sandringham here in Johannesburg. The Lord provides, absolutely and more importantly, I see His ways and His Spirit in you. You shared about a colleague who once said, "what is it that you cannot do" and Your reply was nothing short of wit and very apt, "I cannot have a son like you", Your warmth in nurturing the future generation of doctors would surely be an inspiration for many, and it is my personal hope to learn your ways and be inspired by the way you live out your life. Interestingly, I appreciate the oil-flavoured ralic and thai flavours on the last (and only the second) night and thank you for the incredible amount of help that you've provided and in convincing me that Joburg cannot compare with Sudan, so let me keep that in mind the next time I am back. I will try to ensure that this message will not be the last in this book and be back in May 2024, so let's see !. Till then, since I cannot repay you in earthly means (or even through camels and and oraganes and giraffes, allow me to continue to pray for you and your intentions. Let the Korean Music (Sundial Dreams) contine to ring through Swanage and it's It was beautiful experience to hear you play Chopins Nocturne in Eflat and the Rachmnaninov and the other peices you performed, And to the others I have met here, Jan, Lindo, Micahel, Ari and Luca, let's keep in touch and always know that your'e most welcome to SG, but please make sure don't bring along any chewing gum. Christen Teo, 2 March before going on a medical mission to Sudan
wrote on August 23, 2023
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10:30 am
I stayed with Alan in his lovely home this July (‘23) whilst undergoing my elective at Bara hospital. From the moment I stepped into the door and recieved the biggest embrace from Alan, I knew I had a place to call home for the next 4 weeks. During my time at Swanage Alan provided anything I needed to make my stay as comfortable as possible, from a coffee machine in the morning to make the long shifts more doable, to lifts in to placement and most incredibly taking us to Pilensberg national park where Alan is a game ranger and game driving with us for over 10 hours - Alan truly had it all - in his own words it was never a case of “do you have it” but rather “where is it”. Not only did swanage provide a home for 4 weeks, Swanage is also a lovely place to meet other medical elective students and create some lifelong bonds. Whilst Alan will never surprise you with a room share, the house at Swanage is set up perfectly to enjoy communal meals after shift, but no fear when you need time to yourself there is enough space for that as well.
Whilst this does all sound too perfect to be true it really is not - if you are looking for a place you can call home to return to after you have had a long day at placement Swanage is exactly that.
PS a helpful tip for staying at swanage: if you are placed at Bara, a hire car can be extremely useful. whilst Alan does sometimes give lifts to placement if he is also on shift there, it can be really useful to have a car hired as Bara is a 20/30 minute drive away from Swanage
wrote on August 8, 2022
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3:47 pm
I stayed two months with Alan and I could not have wished for a more perfect accommodation for my stay in South Africa. Sandringham is a pretty and safe suburb where I could go for runs before or after work. It's not far from Johannesburg Town and the 25min drive to Bara didn't bother me at all as I usually used it to listen to my favorite podcasts.
But all of this is not the main reason why you should stay at Swanage: It's the wonderful host, Alan, that took me and some other students to an unforgettable safari, organized wonderful braais and made us feel at home from day one.
Thank you for this beautiful two months and I am looking forward to coming back to Johannesburg.
Sophia from Switzerland
Btw: Alan has got everything in his kitchen, except for a hair dryer. Everything includes a bread baking machine 😉
wrote on October 27, 2018
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7:03 pm
Dear Alan. Thank you for being the best host two Norwegians could ever hope for. We are grateful for your opening your home and heart to us students. We are now proud to be part of the greater Swanage family. Despite our short time here we leave with a lot of wonderful memories. The family dinners, lively and engaging discussions recharging our batteries by the pool, ordering lots of wine, the Koi Pond, and last but not least the Pilanesburg birthday Safari. It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you and the Swanage family, and there is no other place we sould stay when we return to Joburtg. Til vi sees igjen. Anders Nordal and Petter Schjoldager.
wrote on October 18, 2018
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6:57 pm
Dear Alan. Thank you so much for your kindness and hospitality. It/s been almost 4 weeks but it feels like we came yesterday. We have had a really great time at Swanage. Although Bara Trauma and Johannesburg was good, the highlight of our whole elective was the Pilanesberg Safari. Some of us had been on Safari's before and some of us were safari virgins. I think all of us had an amazing experience. To see the big five with two leopard sightings a lion and leopard kill, with black rhino as well, made this the best safari ever. We are grateful that you have opened your house to us students. Thanks for your hospitality. Staying at Swanage was for us 77777 JACKPOT. We will be back, that's all we know. Hugs from us all. Steinar, Ingeborg, Victoria, Suzanna, Gabriel, Ole, and Herman
wrote on September 29, 2018
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6:45 pm
Dear Alan and all future Swans.
It was the greatest pleasure to meet you and all the other guys at Swanage. As we reaslised that we forgot to write in this book and just have 5 minutes left to go to the Airport, this will be short and sharp. So just some impressions. Pilansberg Safari a huge and great event. Great food, warm family, crazy Norwegians, lovely English people, table tennis, cold winter pool, braai. All these we have loved. The 3 Austrians from Graz
wrote on August 21, 2018
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6:37 pm
Dear Alan We cannot thank you enough for having us at Swanage for the last five weeks. you have made us feel so welcome and it has truly felt like home. We've loved everything about the house, from the electric blankets to the most equipped kitchen I've ever cooked in! But having you as the host is what makes Swanage so special. Who knew stumbling over the Swanage Trip Advisor page all those months ago would lead to the most incredible adventure we have ever had. I need not mention (but will anyway) how fantastic Pilansberg Safari was and made better still by your tuna terrine and egg bombay. We've so enjoyed the many fascinating topics of conversation around the dinner table with yourself, Jordan and Jonathan. Who we're sure with your wisdom and guidance will become even greater gents. As another set of students, fortunate enough to become Swans, it's difficult to articular an original parting message. To try to summarize the past 5 weeks at Swanage would not do justice to the experience, memories and friends we have made here. I suppose the message that we would like to en on is that our time here has been nothing short of perfect and an absolute priviledge! It goes without saying that we are already thinking about our next opportunity visit yourself and your wonderful family. Love and best wishes from Lady Elizabeth and Sir Richard.
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