Finding oneself in Betty’s Bay

Writer Elaine Davie

In December 2018, retired Cape Town businessman, Hugh Winter, was thrilled at last to take transfer of the property he had bought in Betty’s Bay. It had belonged to the family of his son-in-law since the 1930s, one of the earliest homes in the village, and consequently held special significance for them all.

During the first week in January 2019, before he had even moved in, it was burnt to the ground. Not only was the house reduced to ashes, along with approximately 40 other properties in the Kogelberg fire storm, but also the pristine indigenous garden straddling 6 stands, from Clarence Drive to the ocean. The family was devastated. All Hugh’s plans for a peaceful retirement had literally gone up in smoke.

This was not the first occasion within a relatively short space of time that he had been faced with the challenge of starting over. When his wife of 40 years passed away after a protracted illness, it had felt as if the entire structure of his life had collapsed. He neither knew exactly who he was or where he was going; he was completely out of touch with his feelings.

Accepting an invitation from friends in India, he struggled to find a new path to the future. During his professional life, he had lived in Shanghai and Hong Kong and had therefore been exposed to a non-Western way of life. Yogic philosophies, developed over centuries, introduced him to the importance of self-awareness and achieving balance between the physical, cognitive and spiritual aspects of life.

“Amongst other things that I learned from the ancient sages,” he says, “was that events don’t happen randomly and no matter what crises might befall us, the core of who we are is unique and enduring. In fact, there are many ways of living, and the best path is the one where the choices we make achieve the greatest balance in our lives.”

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