Thank you and congratulations on an incredible run of 17 Abe Bailey tours, The Tour is a unique institution in South Africa and its prolonged success would never have been possible without the incredibly hard work that you have devoted to it over so many years. The connections you have diligently built both in the United Kingdom and South Africa are what makes the tour such a culturally enriching and stimulating experience. It would quite simply be impossible for an ordinary visitor to access the places and meet the people whom the Abe Bailey scholars interact with, in particular, thank you for the lengthy newsletters which you have prepared every year. Each one of them is packed full of detail and I imagine they take hundreds of hours of work.

The Abe Bailey Tour was the absolute highlight of my university career. It led directly to me applying to Oxford and Cambridge and being able to study at both of these institutions. Every one of the recipients of this remarkable award has won a lottery and their lives have been immeasurably enriched. I feel very lucky to have been part of it.