It is only those harrowed to the SAffer psyche who will chortle and enjoy the music in such tense times. Who will mow the lawn, feed the cats, fetch the mail. On the porch, they will daydream of the mom who went too soon, the nameless cats goosing down beneath the marijuana and the nephew …
Before the controversy had degenerated into seed, Wanatu must’ve known that they faced an uphill. In the labour courts they would’ve been seriously up against it. In the immediate court of public opinion, their PR would’ve been viewed as a page straight from the dark ages. By the time the promotional pictures of a lily-white …
On 13 September 2024 president Cyril Ramaphosa unilaterally signed the Basic Education Laws Amendment Act (BELA) despite on-going consultations and seemingly paying scant consideration to members of the GNU. This quickly saw a displeased Democratic Alliance (DA) staging a protest march in November. In no time it also had Afriforum, Solidarity and the Solidarity School …
Whilst the twitterati were bogged down on Wanatu, the controversial ‘Afrikaans uber’, I had a dinner to prepare for a friend from another mother and culture, who was – thankfully and with no offence intended – not vegan. His request was, on first thought, pretty base: ‘Just something from your culture, preferably with a dead …
African fine dining and the hunt for a kasi chef Read More »
As the class of 2024 embark on a post-Matric future, a new generation of Grade Rs sets off into the maw of South Africa’s education system. On the 15th of January, some tens of thousand of them – some kicking, screaming or just nervous – will leave the guardian’s bossom and enter the classroom for …
It seems only yesterday I was scouring the internet hoping for something – anything – remotely political to tide the readership over whilst the honchos were away on holiday. It would hopefully serve as a token of gratitude for their invaluable support of our modest cause. But I just couldn’t find squat. At one point …
My doofus move was to squander pennies I didn’t have on a Blink 182 album that would be doing no favours for my street cred. Not exactly the sort of music you blasted out on the stoep in the townships of South Africa if you hoped to be in with how things worked around here. …
If I am to take several missives I’ve come across this year at their word, I might as well swap these new year’s resolutions for toilet paper. Toss them to the trash or fire because, trust me, you don’t need them. It comes with the territory, these pundits wax lyrical, to feel invigorated and inspired …
In early 2024 the small-time ex political science student in me was looking forward to a year that would so drastically change the country’s political landscape as to breath fresh life into it. Indeed that turned out to be the case albeit not in the manner I’d envisioned. Leading up to the election, uncharacteristic, vibrant …
A sea of red golfers, military styled caps and a mix of scowling and jubilant faces greet me as the cameras take me through the National People’s Assembly at the Nasrec Expo Centre. Dirges and the one-leg-up toi toi thunder at every nook, although it seems this is just more procedure than a party genuinely …
