Whether they stayed on the continent or travelled home, the Atterbury Europe team made the most of the festive season despite all the challenges presented by Covid-19 and its second wave… They shared their experiences and their hopes for the new year.

What did the past festive season look like for you and yours and how was it different to previous years, if at all?

Henk Deist: This was the first Christmas in 25 years that my family and I weren’t in the coastal town of Struisbaai, South Africa, for Christmas. With the second Covid-19 lockdown in the Netherlands and my kids writing exams soon after the Christmas break, we could not make our way back to South Africa.
Martin Olivier: We were able to still fly to South Africa from the Netherlands and spend the festive season with family in Vleesbaai and Boggomsbaai. Travelling involved Covid-19 testing in the Netherlands (and in South Africa before returning), and restrictions such as curfews in SA and certain beaches being closed were all changes we had to adapt to. However, it still felt very much like any other December holiday with an abundance of family time, playing golf in the beautiful Garden Route, wonderful sunny South African summer weather and lots of great braais.

Ansu Kretzmann: This year we were unable to travel home for Christmas and spent it in Doha, Qatar. Luckily it is winter here now, which meant a welcome change from the normal heat!

Roux Gerber: For the Gerbers the past festive season was surely a unique one, to say the least. It was our second year of experiencing a white Xmas, but this time with a Covid-19 spin – alone and locked down!

David Downes: I managed to fly out to South Africa a little earlier than anticipated and worked from there until mid-December. I usually spend the festive season with family between Joburg and Knysna – this year was no different. So, apart from beach restrictions (luckily there is plenty else to do in Knysna) I had a fantastic few weeks of great summer weather and was able to touch base with friends and family along the Garden Route.

Vlad Valcea: Around Christmas Romania was pretty much like previous years, and it felt great to get back a sense of normality, joy and familiarity. New Year’s Eve though, was definitely strange, having to spend it inside the home in the Netherlands, confined by the national restrictions and curfews due to the pandemic.

Who did you spend it with?

Henk: We ended up doing a Zoom Christmas Eve with the rest of the family in South Africa, played lots of family board games and card games and New Year’s Eve was spent making a “potjie” with other South Africans trapped here.

Ansu: Although Christmas is not traditionally celebrated in the Middle East, we celebrated Christmas with expat families from all over the world and made it as traditional and festive as possible.

Martin: Time was mostly spent with our parents, as well as brothers and sister on both sides of the family.

Roux Gerber: Due to travel restrictions and constant changes to the Covid-19 situation in Eastern Europe, we were confined to home in Bucharest and spent lovely family time together.

Vlad: Family, loved ones and friends.

What was the highlight of your holiday?

Martin: There was lots of uncertainty during 2020 around whether we’d still be able to go to South Africa during December, and then also further rumours that provincial borders in South Africa might be closed. So just having the opportunity to enjoy the usual (lunch and) evening braais, as well as golf with friends and family were just so much more special and appreciated than in times gone by.

Roux Gerber: After we dealt with the disappointment of not been able to “go away on holiday” we had the most amazing snow “braais” and family evenings in front of the fireplace. We rediscovered old basic card games, the beauty of listening to music, and the joy of good health and children’s laughter.

David Downes: If I have to choose one highlight it would undoubtedly be the early morning kayaking or SUPing on the Knysna lagoon!

Vlad: It was the few days of skiing in Sinaia, in the Romanian Carpathian mountains. We got really lucky with the weather and literally skied above the clouds.

What has been your first order of business in the new working year?

Henk: As a “property fund” doing business in partnership in different countries and reporting to shareholders, we have a number of communication forums, meetings and reporting duties. First order of business was to set these all up and do the planning for the new year.

Martin: I mostly stayed up-to-date throughout the holiday, so fortunately had not too much administrative catch-up to do. We did however, have further lockdowns that were announced during the festive season in countries we operate in, so assessing the impact of these restrictions on our budgets and cash flow and taking further action from there is of high priority now early in the new year.

Roux Gerber: The business year unfortunately started as we left it in 2020, with the second and third waves of Covid-19 claiming further casualties with more restrictive trade regulations. Planning for the uncertain can only deliver disappointment, therefore our CEO came up with a good solution – keep expectations realistic; that way it will minimise disappointment.

David Downes: Between board packs and the banks, there is plenty on the go!

Vlad: It was to assess the impact of various partial or full lockdown restrictions across the three countries during the festive season, while trying to forecast the recovery and challenges of our projects during 2021.

Do you have any personal goal that you would like to achieve in 2021?

Henk: My last marathon was the 2019 Berlin one and I would like to do the 2021 Three Countries Marathon this year (as in actual running – over and above the work at Atterbury Europe, which is also a marathon!)

Martin: We always use the December break to write down what our goals are the new year. On a lighter personal note, we are moving to a new home in April, so a lot of planning is currently going into the renovations and work that needs to be done in creating a new home for ourselves.

Ansu: We are welcoming a new addition to the family at the end of March, so I will be focused on trying to balance a newborn, a toddler and my responsibilities at Atterbury Europe!

Roux Gerber: Although languages are not my strong point, I would really like to become more fluent in the Romanian language.

David Downes: I’d like to improve my conversational Dutch (and hopefully get some travelling in)!

Vlad: I want my loved ones and colleagues to keep healthy. I wish to get a comfortable sense that by this year’s end our assets are well on the recovery path to pre-pandemic levels. And, with a bit luck, maybe to have the chance to experience a European summer vacation on the Mediterranean too.