I have a confession to make. I don’t listen to voicemail. Ever. No, wait: that’s an exaggeration, I do listen to it from time to time, usually weeks later, when I’ve long since communicated with you anyway or you’ve given up trying to get hold of me. I decided to come clean after reading this […]
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 inLifestyle
Would you like to have coffee with me?
So I had a brief chat to someone on Facebook the other day. I’d met him once a couple of months ago and we’d never got around to following up. During the course of our exchange, he suggested we “go for a coffee some time”. I found this interesting. Coffee is quite clearly intended to […]
Posted inLifestyle
Mud, Alchaholic drinks and money (sometimes)
This weekend I laughed more than I have laughed in a very long time. My mother was tidying out drawers and found my Std 2 Guidance schoolbook. It’s a slim A5 drawing book, and it makes for fascinating reading. For me, at least, because it’s a telescope through 26 years to an earlier version of […]
Posted inGeneral
If only I wasn’t afraid of maths
I have a recurring nightmare, and it’s not the possibility that Patricia de Lille might pose for Playboy as part of some sort of commemorative election edition. No, this nightmare always involves something quite different: waking up to discover that I have a maths exam to write — and I haven’t studied for it. Maths […]
Posted inMedia
How do we change a culture?
There’s been a significant culture shift in Joburg over the past year or so. Perhaps you’ve noticed it too. For the first time in my experience, Joburgers are taking drunk driving seriously. Suddenly, behaviour is changing and people who used to drive blotto without thinking twice are now signing up for taxi services. Why? This […]
Posted inMedia, News/Politics
When is it OK to be offensive?
So I’m finally getting around to weighing in on the Kuli Roberts thing. I’ll go ahead and say right upfront: I don’t have the answers, don’t even have an answer. Just a lot of questions, mainly. Also, plenty of others have already offered opinions, so my adding my two cents’ worth won’t add much to […]
Posted inLifestyle
What is the mood of your city today?
Frustrated? Stressed? Like chilled hey china? I’ve been asked to tackle the question of: “What is the mood of your city today?” and like “What makes you smile about your city?” it’s a challenging one. How do you pin Joburg down to a single mood? On a single day? Which day do you choose anyway? […]
Posted inBusiness, Lifestyle, Media
21 activities missing from your timesheets
In the course of the jobs we do, a lot of us have to fill in timesheets. Billable hours are important, and HR needs to be able to track what you’re up to every day. Most timesheet systems require that eight hours be filled every day or they are considered incomplete, and, while it’s possible […]
Posted inLifestyle
In praise of the perfect fruit
Yeah, yeah, I know some of you will have seen that title and assumed that I was making some sort of satirical reference to some of our more flamboyant celebrities, but I really am talking about fresh produce. In this case, I am choosing to honour the humble apple. For the past week, I’ve been […]
Posted inLifestyle
Do you give to beggars?
To give or not to give. That is the question that many of us are confronted with every single day, though we usually avoid it by pretending that the man standing at the robots — nine times out of ten it’s a man — staring at you with a bin bag in his hands and […]
Posted inMedia
Spare us from the tyranny of lists
Oh, spare us from the tyranny of lists. Is this what the sum of human knowledge has been reduced to? Is sorting what we have to say into discrete packets of information the only way ensure that you will be read? Quite possibly; after all, that’s why I’m guilty of doing the same thing myself. […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
I want to fit into a box
I want to fit into a box. Kugels get to be in boxes. So do boytjies and tenderpreneurs, cougars and sugar daddies and yummy mummies. So why not me? I want to be able to describe who I am in a sentence. Life is perplexing, and I’d feel better were I to fit into the […]