The past few months have demonstrated how much misery can be avoided with better hygiene habits — and that it is entirely possible to work from bed
Sarah Britten
During the day Sarah Britten is a communication strategist; by night she writes books and blog entries. And sometimes paints. With lipstick. It helps to have insomnia.
Posted inMedia
10 things that happen to you when you quit Twitter
This is what happens to you after you quit Twitter
Posted inLifestyle
The Magic of Yo-Yo Ma
I know that I am about to witness something magical, Yo-Yo Ma in concert at Kirstenbosch on February 8, 2020. I have been anticipating this evening, holding onto it like a talisman, ever since I decided to hell with it and booked crazily expensive tickets to see my musical hero. Things to look forward to […]
Posted inGender violence, News/Politics
A brave, brave little boy
When I was a little girl, the thing I was most afraid of, more than anything, was something bad happening to my mother. Once, I answered the phone and heard a voice I thought was my mother shrieking “He’s hurting me! He’s hurting me!” It turned out that it was not her, it was a […]
Posted inLifestyle
Boob envy and Jamie Oliver
I remember it with startling clarity: the first time I experienced boob envy. Not in the aesthetic sense (many’s the time I’ve seen a shapely pair and thought, idly, that it would be nice if mine were more like those). No, this sort of envy was much more functional. At the time, I sitting with […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
Zapiro, monkeys and red herrings
Editorial cartooning must be one of the most difficult jobs out there. Not only must the cartoonist be technically adept when it comes to caricature, he or she also has to find the humour in situations that often, on the surface, aren’t especially funny. Day in and day out, cartoonists have to generate ideas and […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
What it feels like to be a mother
“Sorry, you can’t pick her up. She vomited up her feed so it’s better to leave her.” The nurse in the neonatal intensive-care unit is polite but firm. I nod numbly as I look at my daughter, lying in her incubator and waving her arms like a sea anemone in a tank. Three days before, […]
Posted inHealth, Lifestyle
February 26 2016
February 26. Not a day I’ve ever associated with anything significant. It’s my niece’s birthday and it’s the day that Thriller first hit number one on the charts, but that’s all. February 26 this year seems no different from all the others. I wake up, scroll listlessly through Twitter, check my mails and think about […]
Posted inHealth, Lifestyle
A non-Valentine’s post
Love doesn’t get much of a look-in on Thought Leader. Politics, race and power interest the readers here. But Valentine’s Day is upon us, and the shops are full of heart shaped chocolates and glutinous messages, so I hope you will indulge me. I used to write a lot about love here – the absence […]
Posted inEquality, News/Politics
Malema, curry and casual bigotry
Two weeks ago, a journalist sent me a list of questions about racism and parenting. “Do you often think about how to protect your child from racism?” was one of them. “Is it important in your parenting approach?” This is still a theoretical question for me right now, though in years to come I will […]
Posted inHealth, Lifestyle
27 Weeks
The gestation period of the human being is conventionally held to be 280 days. Nine months to get used to the idea, which is a good thing, because some of us, like me, have a lot to get our heads around. Those of you who’ve read my previous musings on the subject of children will […]
Posted inEquality, General, News/Politics
Thank you Penny
A preamble: just as Penny Sparrow does not speak for me, I do not speak for any of you. But I am hoping that some of you will at least listen, and think, and reflect. As a white South African, I’d like to say thank you to Penny Sparrow. Without her, we wouldn’t be having […]