An alternative title to this entry could just as well have been Vladimir and Estragon in Ikea, but it wouldn’t have had quite the same ring to it. And technically, neither Sisyphus nor Waiting for Godot are perfectly analogous to my situation. But I feel like Sisyphus, so that’s the one that will stay. That […]
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, News/Politics
South African sjamboks Sydney gatecrashers!
My Sunday morning — the highlight of which otherwise was the purchase of a laundry basket — was considerably enlivened by the sight of this story in the Sun-Herald. I’ll bet that every South African in Sydney is talking about Dion Driman, an electrical contractor who fended off 30 youths who invaded a party at […]
Posted inLifestyle
‘If you have children in Australia, they will be obese’
This week I was faced with the knowledge that I needed to get the prescriptions for my chronic medication renewed. Finding a doctor was a little daunting, especially given that my GP back in Joburg is a woman who has treated me since I was seven years old. Where would I find a relationship like […]
Posted inGeneral
The wonderful, horrible world of spiders
Comments by readers of my entry on urban wildlife got me thinking more about spiders. Why do they inspire such horror? Why is it that humans generally agree on the notion of two legs good, four legs good, six legs bearable, eight legs bad (and no legs also bad, for that matter)? There are all […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
Would you miss TV?
This weekend, I moved from my zhoozh fully furnished apartment with jaw-droppingly amazing view of the Sydney harbour (to go with discounted R4 500 weekly rent) to a slightly less expensive, less zhoozh apartment with a slightly less spectacular view of Mosman Bay marina. It was a painful experience, largely because I moved my worldly goods […]
Posted inNews/Politics, Sport
SA Olympic outfits panned by Ozzie fashion police!
South Africa failed at the first hurdle of the Olympics, if the assessment of two Australian fashionistas is anything to go by. They gave South Africa 2/10 and 6/10 for their uniforms at the opening ceremony in Beijing on Friday night. The first judge felt that the South Africans fell down because a) they looked […]
Posted inLifestyle
The magic of urban wildlife
There’s something magical about wild things in the midst of the concrete jungle. A couple of years ago, at a party at a house in Parktown North, somebody spotted something interesting up a tree. A torch was fetched and there, in the beam of light, was a genet. It seemed utterly unconcerned by the gawking […]
Posted inBusiness, Media
Starbucks, immigration and national identity
The news last week that Starbucks was to close 61 of its Australian stores with immediate effect — leaving just 23 stores in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane — was greeted with considerable interest beyond the business pages. The American interloper taught a lesson about what it takes to succeed in the land down under: this […]
Posted inLifestyle
Where the bloody hell is my credit card?
These bloody Australians won’t give me a credit card. I am most aggrieved. Last week, I applied again, online, on the off chance, and got an automated rejection with the reassurance that the bank would explain all in a letter to follow. Last week the promised letter arrived (it cast no light on the reason […]
Posted inNews/Politics
The affirmative-action Kevin Bacon game
Back in the 1990s, the internet phenomenon du jour, the lolcat or Rickrolling of its day, was the Kevin Bacon game. Invented by a pair of college students, it was based on the premise of six degrees of separation: Kevin Bacon could be linked to anyone in Hollywood on the basis of films in which […]
Posted inMedia, Sport
New Zealand exacts revenge on Australia
In a week in which New Zealanders are still smarting from the defeat of the All Blacks in the Bledisloe Cup (during which a South African referee officiated), they do get to at least enjoy something approaching revenge. The Gruen Transfer is a popular TV show about advertising, featured, somewhat ironically, on the entirely ad-free […]
Posted inNews/Politics
South African criminals have so much to teach the world
This weekend, news in Australia was enlivened by