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WRITING the news is one thing. Being the news is something entirely different.

Looking at something from a distance, as is often the case in journalism, is in fact miles apart than living the moment yourself.

And yet here I am: On the front page of my own newspaper. Being a celebrity in this country is definitely not what it's wrapped up to be.

Firstly, the news has to happen. So, this Thursday I was robbed while on the job in Hout Bay.

I wouldn't say I am a stranger to crime; our family home in Pretoria has been broken into numerous times and many of my friends have been victims of robberies, theft, highjacking and even abduction.

But experiencing what, at the time I very much thought was soon to be a ticket onto the next plane, is indeed something very, very different.

Nobody can quite pinpoint that feeling of raw fear when you're in the situation, even though it is one that most South Africans have probably rehearsed in their minds many times.

I thought I would be a fighter, but as it turned out I?m more of a runner ? which I would gladly have done if he gave me the chance sooner.

Secondly, I thought I would be braver, not bawling like a mad woman in the presence of anybody who I came in contact with for the rest of the day.

Unfortunately, crime does not only rob you of your earthly possessions, but most probably some basic personality traits as well.

In fact, you might be, however slightly, altered forever. Just two days prior to the "incident" I climbed Lion's Head to have a good look at the evening's full moon.

It was indeed beautiful. Even more so because it was shared with many good spirited Capetonians who mastered the hefty climb for the unexpected social occasion.

The next day I started typing my week's column about the good experience and how, when people stuck together, it was possible to have a good time without any incidents, outside, on a mountain, after sunset ? even in a city in South Africa.

The photos included are not only some memories from a good night, but now also officially an ode to my "travelling camera".

I wish I could end this with a nice moral lesson to make it all seem better, but the fact is, it just plain sucks.

I am yet to see the method behind this madness, but one thing is for certain: for better or worse, the view from atop the mountain will never quite be the same again.

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