Growing Up in Orkney - Funds and Galore

Growing Up in Orkney has been a blessing in disguise.

What we residents call O-Town is a quiet town that shaped far more than most people realise.

If you’ve been following my work from The Evolution of a Consistent Trader, your conscious and subconscious might have already connected the dots. That small town I sometimes mention… the place representing 018… is Orkney.

A quiet town.

A town people often overlook.

But sometimes the quiet places are the ones that build the loudest characters.

My journey from humble beginnings until now has shaped the man I am today… and it is still shaping the man I want to become tomorrow.

Like many young boys growing up in a small town, I didn’t always walk a straight path. There were moments where I drifted, moments where I had to figure myself out, moments where I had to sit with myself and ask serious questions about the direction of my life.

But the beautiful thing about a town like Orkney is that even when you drift a little… the right people somehow appear at the right time.

People who remind you who you really are.

Growing Up In Orkney: The Small Moments That Shape a Man

Growing Up in Orkney – Ous Thato smiling in a sunny park moment that represents the small everyday experiences that shape life in a South African town.

One of those moments came through someone many people would probably overlook.

Ous Thato and the Joy of Small Wins

Ous Thato… Sizz’s older sister.

After I had quit smoking, something interesting happened. My appetite came back like I had just discovered food for the first time in my life. I remember laughing with myself thinking… “So this is what it feels like to actually enjoy food again.”

It might sound small to someone reading this.

What made that moment even more meaningful was something Ous Thato probably never realised she was teaching me.

Around that time she started selling kota’s.

Simple food… a kota packed with rations, eggs, lettuce. Nothing fancy.

But my my… those kota’s were something else.

After quitting smoking my appetite had returned, and for the first time in a long time I realised something surprising. Food actually tasted better than I remembered… far better than the life I had been living before.

Those kota’s became my small reward.

Sometimes I would wash my mother’s car.

Sometimes I would do chores around the house.

Just to earn that R25 or R30 so I could go buy a kota.

And something interesting happened inside my mind.

In the past I used to hustle for money so I could smoke.

Now I was hustling for food.

For something that actually made me stronger.

Without realising it, Ous Thato helped me see something important about myself. For a long time I had been telling myself a lie… that smoking was part of enjoying life.

But those small moments proved the opposite.

Life actually tasted better without it.

Those kota’s slowly brought my body back.

My appetite came back.

My strength came back.

Even my glow returned.

And looking back now, I realise something beautiful about that season of my life.

Sometimes the people who influence us the most are not giving speeches or trying to mentor us.

Sometimes they are simply creating small moments that remind us how good life can be when we choose the healthier path.

But those moments matter.

Because when you are rebuilding yourself, even simple things like enjoying a meal again remind you that life is still beautiful.

That moment came about a month after I stopped smoking… almost eight months before what I now call “the room where I met myself.”

Looking back, I realise those small experiences were already preparing my mind for the bigger internal battle that was coming.

Growing Up In Orkney: Lessons From the Elders

Growing Up in Orkney – a mentor figure known as Sargent sharing business wisdom at his car wash, showing how elders shape discipline and thinking in small-town South Africa.

Another man who shaped my thinking without even knowing it is someone the town knows well.

Sargent and the Discipline of Business

Sargent.

A man who runs real estate here in town and owns one of the hottest car washes around.

But what stayed with me was not the business itself.

It was the discipline.

Sargent once took the time to explain a few tricks behind how real estate deals work. He didn’t have to. I wasn’t paying him for mentorship. There was no contract.

He simply shared knowledge.

That kind of generosity stays with you.

And something else always stood out to me… I have never seen him drunk, never seen him smoking, never seen him moving reckless.

That kind of discipline stores itself somewhere deep inside your subconscious.

When I was fighting my own battles later in life, I realised those examples were already sitting inside my mind… waiting for the right moment to wake up.

Sometimes leadership doesn’t come from speeches.

Sometimes it comes from quiet examples.

Growing Up In Orkney: The Boys From the Town

young men laughing and drinking Coca-Cola at the local taxi rank while taxi drivers share street wisdom in a small South African town.

To my town boys… my family… the people I grew up with.

You taught me how to stand up for myself.

You taught me how to carry myself when life becomes rough.

And our town is still full of talent that the world hasn’t discovered yet.

Bryan and the Sound of Orkney

Bryan focused with his internal dragon flaming ....Funds & Galore: At Orkney North West

One of those talents is Bryan.

His sound has evolved beautifully over time. Watching someone refine their craft like that is inspiring… you can hear that growth in his music on Spotify.

And thanks to him, I was able to use his music on my YouTube channel.

He’s still going strong today… and honestly, I believe it’s only a matter of time before the world hears what we already hear here in Orkney.

Growing Up In Orkney: The Church That Reconnected Me

Growing up in Orkney – a woman named Maggie connected to the local church on Chaucer Avenue, symbolising faith, mentorship and spiritual reconnection in the community.

And then there is a place that surprised me the most.

Maggie and the Power of Faith

My new church… the Methodist Church.

The first person who really touched something deep in my subconscious there was Maggie.

A dedicated and good-spirited woman who welcomed me warmly.

When she preaches the word of the Lord… my my.

You should hear it.

There is a confidence and passion in her voice that fills the room. It’s the kind of presence that makes you sit up and listen.

That kind of speaking… that kind of conviction… is a skill I would love to master one day.

Through Maggie I was invited to a youth gathering.

And for the first time in a long time… I felt part of something bigger than myself.

Spending time with the young ones there reminded me of something very important.

How much I look forward to becoming a father.

To Nomhle, who I jokingly call the future FBI agent, I wish you great fortune as you continue your Grade 8 journey.

To Thazell, the creative young mind who is still discovering what she wants to become one day… may your curiosity never fade.

To Leah, who shocked me when she confidently wrote both her name and surname while still in Grade R… something I couldn’t even do in Grade 1… keep shining.

And to the two young gentlemen, Amogelang and Neo Lethabo, free-spirited boys with bright journeys ahead… keep growing.

None of these moments would have happened without Maggie and the church leaders creating that space.

Growing Up In Orkney: The Town That Built Me

a glowing hand-drawn life map with the words “Love Yours,” faith, purpose, discipline and mindset illuminated, symbolising the deeper lessons learned in a small South African town.

When people talk about success stories, they often focus on the individual.

But the truth is… nobody builds themselves alone.

Towns build people.

Communities build people.

Small conversations build people.

Examples build people.

Orkney may look like a quiet town to outsiders.

But for me… it is the place that shaped my thinking, sharpened my character, and prepared me for the road ahead.

And for that…

I will always be grateful.

Conclusion: Growing Up In Orkney

Growing up in Orkney – diverse locals sharing conversation outside SPAR supermarket, capturing the unity and everyday wisdom of a small South African town.

There is something else about Orkney that I’ve come to appreciate more as I’ve grown older.

Our town may be small… but it quietly shows what the new South Africa can look like.

In the same streets you will find black families, white families, coloured families… people running businesses, raising children, greeting each other in the morning, sharing the same spaces and the same future.

It’s not perfect.

No town is.

But every day you see small reminders that unity is possible when people focus on building rather than dividing.

You see it in local businesses.

You see it in schools.

You see it in churches.

You see it in the way people from different backgrounds still greet each other with respect in the streets.

For me, that is the real lesson of growing up in Orkney.

The future of South Africa will not be built by fighting over the past.

It will be built by people who decide to build something together today.

And if a small town like ours can quietly practice that kind of unity…

Then maybe the rest of the country can learn from it too.

Post Views: 220