Jon Qwelane and Richard Catto have at least three things in common. For a start, they’re great at generating insults. So I’m quite fond of both of them from a purely selfish point of view; the more material the merrier. Secondly, they’re both good at pissing people off, and thirdly, neither of them sets much […]
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 inBusiness
Now here’s something I don’t miss about South Africa
Those readers who always keep a spare pair of undies handy, should they find it necessary to get their knickers in a knot, will no doubt find this post deliciously offensive. I want to state at the outset that this is not an argument, or a justification, or an excuse. It is merely an observation, […]
Posted inMedia
South Africa’s best PR resource
Living outside of South Africa and reading the local media, it’s always interesting to see what kind of coverage we get. Not a whole lot of news about South Africa reaches Australia; that much is obvious. The only time South African news did make it into the headlines was during the xenophobic violence that wracked […]
Posted inLifestyle
When your cellphone stops being your lifeline
I don’t know how meaningful this is. Perhaps it’s Freudian. But these days, I’ve started to forget an item that, back in South Africa, I was seldom — if ever — without. This morning, for instance, I switched on my cellphone after pressing the snooze button for the umpteenth time, and put it out ready […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Thou shalt not be annoying, or: The pope is in town!
Travelling around Sydney promises to be fun, fun, fun this week. Half the roads in the CBD are being closed to traffic, bus services are being rescheduled and trains will be heaving with the sweaty bodies of both bad-tempered commuters and young Catholics fired with religious fervour. Yes, the pope is in town for World […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media
Searching for meaning in a bottle of chutney
These days, it takes me a while to get around to reading the South African Sunday papers. So it was only today that I spotted this article on people going through the emigration application process. One anecdote stood out, an email from someone’s sister in Toronto begging for a few essentials: Please, I beg of […]
Posted inLifestyle
The company of animals
I have been living in Sydney for nearly two months now and, truth be told, I don’t really feel homesick at all. But there are times when the loneliness is almost unbearable. I knew that leaving my husband (who will only be able to join me later this year), pets and family would be hard, […]
Posted inBusiness
My fellow South Africans, learn to flip burgers
South Africans desperate to emigrate to Australia will be excited to learn that McDonalds and KFC are so desperate for staff that they are willing to issue 457 skilled immigrant visas to burger flippers. Granted, you will have to move to a mining town in the middle of nowhere. But it is a foot in […]
Posted inLifestyle
The sounds of a city
We experience a city through sight, mostly. But what about other senses? The fishy smells of Cape Town, warm bagels in New York. In Jo’burg, jasmine in spring and the acrid fug of urine in the CBD. Chlorine in pools, wet dog, mown grass, fragrant steaming pavements after a summer storm. Sydney lacks a distinctive […]
Posted inLifestyle
No worries! What Australians are really like
Anyone arriving in Australia, even if they’re just visiting, should learn two phrases: “No worries!” and “Thanks, mate.” Which should tell you something about Australians. One of my readers was curious about what Australians are really like, so I thought I’d broach the subject. If I sound like I am hedging my bets a little, […]
Posted inGeneral
Why I won’t go to church here
I won’t go to church here. I’ve tried, and I just can’t. The lowest point in my sojourn in Sydney thus far came one Sunday morning as I sat on the cold wooden pew of St Clement’s listening to the priest — sorry, minister — rushing through the third Eucharistic Prayer after a communion consisting […]
Posted inGeneral
The siren lure of stuff
One of the aspects of moving to a new country that excited me most was the prospect of doing away with stuff. All of the accretions that build up through daily living, the trinkets and knick knacks and goeters that clog one up, hold one down. No more house or furniture or books. No more […]