![Durban 130812 Eagerly anticipating this week’s Mercury Wine Week by unpacking the cases and raising a glass to the wines on show are, from left, Mercury editor Philani Mgwaba, Conker Exhibitions show manager Darryl Wood, |Conker Exhibitions director Andy Kin and Suncoast event producer Slungile Msweli. Now in its 34th year, the event will again be held at Durban’s Suncoast from tomorrow\[arafah.fakier\] (Wednesday) to Friday. Hundreds of wines will be available for tasting, ensuring there are styles to suit every palate. Wine lovers can whet their appetite by checking out some titbits on www.mercurywineweek.co.za Tickets, which cost R100 each, can be bought at the door |or from Computicket with a portion of sales going to raise funds for the Hibberdene Children’s Home. Doors open for the three-hour show at 5.30pm. Picture: Terry Haywood Pic terry haywood](https://image-prod.iol.co.za/16x9/1600/Durban-130812-Eagerly-anticipating-this-week-s-Mercury-Wine-Week-by-unpacking-the-cases-and-raising-a-glass-to-the-wines-on-show-are-from-left-Mercury-editor-Philani-Mgwaba-Conker-Exhibitions-show-manager-Darryl-Wood-Conker-Exhibitions-director-Andy-Kin-and-Suncoast-event-producer-Slungile-Msweli-Now-in-its-34th-year-the-event-will-again-be-held-at-Durban-s-Suncoast-from-tomorrow-arafah-fakier-Wednesday-to-Friday-Hundreds-of-wines-will-be-available-for-tasting-ensuring-there-are-styles-to-suit-every-palate-Wine-lovers-can-whet-their-appetite-by-checking-out-some-titbits-on-www-mercurywineweek-co-za-Tickets-which-cost-R100-each-can-be-bought-at-the-door-or-from-Computicket-with-a-portion-of-sales-going-to-raise-funds-for-the-Hibberdene-Children-s-Home-Doors-open-for-the-three-hour-show-at-5-30pm-Picture-Terry-Haywood-Pic-terry-haywood?source=https://xlibris.public.prod.oc.inl.infomaker.io:8443/opencontent/objects/0b8836c3-c22a-5f37-b128-cdff1841323f)
Durban - The partner of a Durban man, one of 12 people killed in a suicide bombing in Kabul on Tuesday, said she was angry at the senseless act.
Commercial pilot Brandon Booth and seven other South Africans died after a suicide bomber drove her vehicle into their minibus.
Darryl Wood, Booth’s partner of 14 years, said his death came as a huge shock to family and friends.
“I have a feeling of anger because everything seems so senseless. I am just trying to figure out how I am going to cope as a family and how we are going to cope without a dad,” she said.
The couple’s second daughter was born two months ago.
They also have a five-year-old daughter.
“He was a very passionate man, passionate about his family and friends and everything he loved. He has left a huge hole in our lives,” sobbed Wood in a telephone interview.
“This is something that you would never expect to happen to you,” she said.
Wood said the company was in contact with the family and had told her that they would bring the bodies home.
Family and friends of the victims, who according to the Facebook group, South Africans Working in Afghanistan, are four engineers, three pilots and a female operations employee, are in state of shock.
The South Africans worked for aviation company, Balmoral Central Contracts, also known as Aircraft Charter Solutions. The Johannesburg-based company said in a statement on Tuesday it was “deeply saddened” by the loss of the lives of some of its staff.
“We are in the process of notifying the next of kin and our main focus now remains with the families of the innocent victims, who tragically lost their lives,” Balmoral said. “Our prayers and thoughts are with them, and all our staff remaining in Kabul. It’s a sad and difficult time we face …”
An aviation source said the company had 20 South Africans working in Afghanistan, on six-week fly-in stints.
The charter operator has 17 aircraft in Afghanistan, based at Kabul International Airport.
According to international media reports, a van carrying the South Africans was on a road leading to the airport when a female suicide bomber drove her Toyota Corolla into it. Three Afghan civilians and a citizen of Kyrgyzstan were also killed in the attack.
At the time of going to press, the Department of International Relations still had not released the names of the SA victims.
This is the second tragic blow for the Booth family, as his eldest child Vincent, a seven-year-old son, died of cancer a few years ago.
After accusations and turmoil about the anti-Islam film, CNN reported that “the United States has made it clear that it did not sanction the low-budget, amateurish 14-minute movie trailer posted on YouTube and produced privately in the United States.” It said the clipmocks the Prophet Mohammed “as a womaniser, child molester and killer”. - Daily News