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Piet-my-vrou
Piet-my-vrou
by Jill Adams

Francois Greeff*

Francois Greeff

Author of The Hidden Code of Cryptic Crosswords

was born on 19 May 1959, at Klerksdorp. When he was fifteen years old he took art lessons with Timo Smuts at the Hugo Naudé Art Centre in Worcester. At Stellenbosh University he studied Afrikaans and Latin. Fancois was a keen black and white photographer and his portrait studies include Reino Otterman, Sampie Terreblanche and Nataniel Le Roux.
He has two children: Belinda and Francois (the youngest, Maria, died a few days after she was born, in 1989)

The Hidden Code of Cryptic CrosswordsMy book was published in Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, USA, Canada, Europe and Great Britain.
I started writing it while I lived in Nelmapius Street, Stellenbosch, and finished it while I was sleeping in the rain on the pavements of London. I became homeless mainly because of being a disabled person, disabled by a severe and enduring mental illness, Bipolar Disorder. I know of no other Mensa member who has been homeless!
I've had severely advanced Cancer (they told me I'd be dead by Christmas) throughout my whole body, testicles, lungs, the lot.
I have been expelled from university, but I went to the ombudsman who told them to take me back, because they were wrong.
I have researched my ancestors and put the result on the internet at www.Greeff.info. I used to own a house and a business in Stellenbosch and I studied at Stellenbosch University, Pretoria University, Wits Technikon, Hammersmith University (London), Westminster University, London Guildhall University (Night school, where I won a prize for the best paper, in a global exam - while homeless and sleeping in the rain) and Kingston University, who expelled me.
I was a member of the Theewaterskloof yacht club where I often camped for weekends. I kept a boat there and did a great deal of sailing.
Now I live in London where I run a small charity for disabled people who are homeless - more than half of all homeless people in London are also disabled. Disability is still the prime cause of homelessness.

The genealogical alpha-number, Ab1c1d2e4f7g?h?i2j1k2, maps out my position in the Greeff clan of South Africa.

020 8543 6966
079 6372 2345
Skype: Greefffrancois


*This photo was taken on 28 July 2003, for the Sunday Times Magazine, London.

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