Rob and I have been married for five years, but it is ten years since we met, on 25th July 2006, and started dating. We know the date, because I had to look it up in my diary for my application for permanent residence.

We haven’t, as a rule, made much of this – perhaps noted it in passing, raised a glass or two, exchanged glances and a few words – but this year, ten years on, we felt warranted some sort of celebration. So off we went for a short getaway to Niagara-on-the-Lake, dinner and the theatre – nothing too exceptional or expensive, but a celebration nonetheless.

It’s been a good ten years, overall, and it keeps getting better. If the science is to be believed, nothing is as good for your health and overall wellbeing as good relationships, and on that score alone, we look forward to many more years of companionship and laughter.

Who knew, when we first met at that restaurant in Sandton Square in Johannesburg, ten years ago, that life was about to take off in a whole new direction?

Here are two photos of Rob, taken on the lakeshore, opposite Fort Niagara on the US side of the river.