At the beginning of this year, I quit my job to go out on my own. I wanted to kick off an art career, write my novels, and do the kind of work I really wanted to. People say I was brave, but I wasn’t really. I’d set things up so my overheads were minimal, […]
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
If your heart wore a label, what would it read?
“Damaged: handle with care.” “Always open.” “Stupid is as stupid does.” If you had to stick a label on your heart, what would it read? I got to thinking about this the other day after tweeting: “I need to label my hearts.” I meant typing up and printing out labels for my Seeing Life Feelingly […]
Posted inGeneral
These people deserve to be first against the wall
“When I am king you will be first against the wall,” intones Thom Yorke of Radiohead in Paranoid Android. Well, when I’m president and queen of the universe as well as boss of everyone, I will propose that the following people be put up against a wall and shot at dawn for egregious, inconsiderate and […]
Posted inMedia
No ghastly Women’s Day sermonising
Women’s Day is upon us, which means we can expect four five things: * Meaningless speeches by politicians (presumably our president knows about the importance of women; he’s consorted with enough of them). * Ghastly twee sermonising about the Importance of Women. * Women’s Day ad campaigns for ugly furniture. * Debates about whether Women’s […]
Posted inLifestyle
Is the smartphone just a social crutch?
It’s a social crutch. A distraction that feeds our endemic ADD, and an insidious device that erodes our capacity to connect with the people who really matter. Or it’s a godsend for the shy, a way for the soft-spoken to have their voices heard; a tool that allows us to connect with others in meaningful […]
Posted inLifestyle
50 Shades se Moer
So there’s this book, 50 Shades of Grey, which is the fastest selling paperback of all time, faster even than Harry Potter. It’s a huge meme which is now all over the interwebs as 50 Sheds of Grey (my favourite), 50 Cents of Grey, 50 stuffed up grey lampshades, etc. 50 Shades of Grey started […]
Posted inLifestyle
If it weren’t for my ex-husband
Like most people who emerge on the other side of divorce, I don’t have very good memories of my ex. If memory with the pain removed is nostalgia, then I’ve experienced the opposite. But here’s the thing: it’s thanks to my ex-husband that I’m holding a solo exhibition and that, if I’m lucky, I’ll get […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
My journey from Sydney to Joburg
I’m asking for your patience in advance, because I’m going to be spending much of this week reflecting on my journey over the past four years. The exhibition of my Joburg cityscapes opens at Velo in Braamfontein this week, so this is an obvious opportunity to reflect on my tale of two cities. In many […]
Posted inGeneral
So there is hope (and you can help)
“Do you get As?” I ask. The two girls – they must be around 11 – giggle and exchange looks. “Yes!” they say. “How many?” “Five!” “How many As will you get for matric?” “Six!” I’m at Home of Hope in Kensington. It houses 24 girls rescued from the Johannesburg inner city and as the […]
Posted inLifestyle
We need an app for the socially awkward
You know the feeling only too well. You arrive at a cocktail to be greeted by a terrifying knot of bodies and a hubbub reminiscent of a shed at Rainbow Chickens. You scan the scene frantically in search of a familiar face, imagining that everyone is laughing at you from behind their glasses of sauvignon […]
Posted inGeneral
Could you handle losing your job?
Have you ever lost your job or worried about being retrenched? How did you handle it? How did you keep going? For some, the loss of a job is too much, as it was for the Cell C employee who committed suicide because he had heard he was about to lose his job. My heart […]
Posted inGeneral, News/Politics
Dear Africa
I love you. Not the kind of love that Cardies sells on Valentine’s Day, but in that fraught and knotted way that grips my gut and won’t let go, that tangled mess of love and fear, guilt and longing that characterises all those relationships that mark us most deeply, the ones that truly shape who […]