Bad things can happen anywhere. And they do happen in Australia. Take the case of 54 year old Brian Gilsenan, a Scottish emigrant who was attacked in an apparently motiveless crime in the Sydney CBD four months ago. He died on Saturday. The police never did track down his assailants; now they are hunting for […]
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
Learning not to hate bluegums
Are you a nationalist gardener? Do you plant water-wise indigenous plants representing our diverse and beautiful flora? Plants and nationalism are not a subject that has come in for much attention in academia. Which is a pity, because there would be fertile ground for research into the discursive construction of responsible, morally appropriate indigenous gardening […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Is it wrong to feel relieved that I left South Africa?
I know I will probably get shot down in flames (rhetorical ones of course) for admitting this. But, reading the terrible headlines of the last week, hearing South Africa make the only international story on yesterday’s 12 noon radio news, following online exchanges between South Africans discussing whether or not they have a contingency plan […]
Posted inNews/Politics
Kill the Shangaan: the limits of national embarrassment
“Kill the Shangaan! Kill the Shangaan!” the mobs in Ramaphosa informal settlement near Reiger Park chanted as they marched through the streets in search of more victims. Reading it sent a disconcerting prickling sensation down my spine. I searched through the first chapter of my first book on South African insults and found this passage: […]
Posted inGeneral
Is it easier to feel South African when you’re not actually in South Africa?
Hands up who remembers this ad for Castle Lager? It appeared in 1998, after Thabo Mbeki’s “two nations” speech which in many ways marked the end of the Rainbow Nation as a national myth. It’s telling that Castle Lager, then the self–proclaimed beer of the nation, chose to feature South Africans who are a long […]
Posted inLifestyle
The freedom of not having a car
I love the freedom of not having a car. No monthly payments, no ruinous splodges of wonga on the garage card. No insurance, no tracking device, no monthly subscription for said tracking device.* In South Africa, I drove a RunX, which, I reasoned, was solid and practical and easier to sell than the Fiat I […]
Posted inLifestyle
South Africans moer Australians when it comes to swearing
South Africans are so much better than Australians when it comes to swearing. Possibly not quantity — Australians are said to be unusually prolix when it comes to coarse language — but when it comes to quality, I believe that we klap them stukkend. I was prompted to reflect on the critically important issue that […]
Posted inGeneral
Dipping a toe in the melting pot
Sydney is a city of immigrants. In that respect, it reminds me of London, but with better weather and more attractive scenery. Sometimes I wonder where all the Australians are, at least the ones actually born here. The bus from the airport is driven by a Turk with a huge boep and a less than […]
Posted inLifestyle
This is why I moved to Australia
I never thought I would say this. In fact, there was a time when I regarded anyone who moved to Australia as a traitor, and quite possibly racist. The sort of person South Africa would be better off without, as Pallo Jordan might say. When JM Coetzee moved to Australia and learned how to smile, […]