I sit here alone wondering what my future holds. Wondering about my days as a grandparent when I’m 70 or so, no longer working. The picture looks like this: I will be an old lump and probably still writing articles, opinion pieces for newspapers (in those days online will have overtaken print). My wife and […]
Lifestyle
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
Lindfield House – the place to pause
The beauty of some of the genuine treasures of life, is that they are hidden. They have managed to live out their entire existence quietly, unself-consciously and often quite obscurely, away from the bright lights and polished packaging of the modern media. So rare are they, that we tend to assume they aren’t there. But […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
Naming, shaming and drug policy in Cape Town
Approximately six months ago, the City of Cape Town began a poster campaign, explicitly aimed at highlighting the prevalence and social consequences of drug use in the city. The posters all feature a stern-looking local celebrity – most often Chester Williams, Patricia de Lille, and Ian Bredenkamp – with the following bold words: I am […]
Posted inLifestyle
Amazing how a year can change a story
It’s August 15. I’m enjoying the Joburg spring weather at a table at one of my favourite haunts, Doppio Zero in Rosebank, typing up copy changes on a client newsletter in between forkfuls of salmon fishcake. On this day a year ago I spoke at TEDxJohannesburg. You can watch the video here. “In the end, […]
Posted inEquality, Lifestyle
African women, we’re not exotic, just hot
Last month I had the pleasure of attending an African Women’s Development Fund and Femrite creative non-fiction writing workshop for African women writers in Entebbe, Uganda. The women I met there were amazing for two main reasons. Their passion, intelligence and drive made me question mine (apparently watching Come Dine With Me is not a […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
Tanya Poole and the paradox of ‘being-human’
The psychologist William James, brother of Henry James, the well-known novelist, once exhorted people to “Begin to be now what you will be hereafter”. In similar vein, Friedrich Nietzsche proclaimed that one should “Become who you are” — a formulation that drives the paradox of being-human home even more clearly than James’s words. At least, […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
JAG: How to leave an impression in Johannesburg
Over a hundred years ago, a visionary couple founded an art museum in Johannesburg that was so ahead of its time, that a century later, its public beneficiaries still haven’t quite woken up to the world-class treasure it contains. For this is neither a private collection nor a visiting exhibition, and never has been. It […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
512 Hours with Marina Abramovic, the Serbian goddess of the Serpentine
It seemed we had picked a good time to visit performance artist Marina Abramovic’s 512 Hours at The Serpentine Gallery in London. It was a bright sunny day, in the early morning and the crowds were sparse. We had been anticipating long and winding queues. Not today. We went straight in. To what exactly? We […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle
How much money is enough?
A R12 500 a month salary, much discussed in business, economic and political circles at present, is the wage fought for by striking platinum miners in the longest and most damaging strike in our country’s history. The recent agreement puts that figure within sight. I couldn’t live on R12 500, and I’m sure most readers on this […]
Posted inLifestyle
A lesson from the zoo biscuit in declining quality creep
Do you still remember the zoo biscuits of your childhood, as I do? These were special treats, handed out as rewards for good behaviour or on special occasions. There was a ritual around their consumption, first a delicate negotiation among siblings as to who got the lion and who the ostrich. Then there was the […]
Posted inEnvironment, General, Lifestyle
Litter, a social ill with big implications
I cannot count the amount of times I have walked around either at university, at work, or even in shopping malls and have seen people callously, without thought, chuck a piece of paper on the floor. There is not even a hint of resignation. The wrapper comes off the chocolate, cigarettes, or other random item […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
Finding nirvana in the bosom of the mountain spirit
It is our second visit to Korea, less than two years after the first, and my initial (favourable) impressions of the country have been confirmed on more than one occasion already. I have been invited here by a colleague to present a paper at a conference on science fiction, but because we wanted to investigate […]