A certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house… The silence is all-consuming as I work with spade and hands. As if from far away, I hear my own breath deep in my body, deep in the caves of woodland braided with the smell of sea. Waves nearly splash on their shadows. I […]
Lifestyle
Posted inEquality, Health, Lifestyle
The 5 As: A checklist to step up for mental health
By Suntosh R Pillay It’s no secret that mental health has always been the Cinderella of the health system: locked up in a dark basement hoping never to be found. Or, when mental health does get a few good moments in the limelight, like Cinderella’s carriage it turns into a pumpkin at midnight and becomes […]
Posted inGeneral, Health, Lifestyle, Media
Sophie’s Choice
Fathers’ Day is fast looming and for this first-time grandfather the excitement is overwhelming. Surely grandfathers deserve grand presents? How will little Sophie know what to get me? Will it be a loathsome pair of socks or a new laptop computer? If I’m disappointed, how should I react to avoid a repeat next year? Do […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
Awakening the guardian within
I remember my mother speaking of “guardian angels” when I was a child. Though I became sceptical of their existence as I grew up, those stories stayed with me longer than my religious faith. Somehow I had the feeling someone or something was my guardian. Little did I know, it was sleeping inside. On […]
Posted inEquality, Lifestyle
It’s that time of the year: Women’s Month
The notion of being “a woman” vis-à-vis some other type of specimen has been in my mind lately. Blame the great advertising apparatus that kicks in every August. South Africa, unlike any other country I know, celebrates not just a Women’s Day, but a full Women’s Month. One would be forgiven for assuming that women […]
Posted inGender violence, General, Lifestyle
Raising girls; raising boys
When my elder daughter, now 17, decided in Grade 6 that she wanted to attend a school social, we had to have a long talk. She was just 11, but I had to teach her not to accept drinks that weren’t sealed, not to leave an open drink unattended, not to hand out her phone […]
Posted inLifestyle, Tech
Defending the Self(ie)
It’s been written about before, many a time, but I’d like to take an alternate view on that snap happy habit of taking a picture of yourself. You may call it narcissism but I have a different view. Heck, Kim Kardashian West published an entire book of her own, so why don’t we just pay attention […]
Posted inBusiness, General, Lifestyle, Media, Tech
How Pokemon Go has changed the behaviour of millennials overnight
If you are yet to hear about Pokemon Go by now, you must have shut yourself off from all media and people for the past week. Since its phased roll-out launch a week ago, Pokemon Go has taken over the news, the internet and the lives of Millennials the world over. The free to play mobile augmented […]
Posted inEquality, Lifestyle, Media, News/Politics
Turning human suffering into refugee chic
There are currently more than 65-million refugees and displaced persons in the world. It is one of the biggest human rights crises of our time, and deserves as much media attention as possible. But what refugees don’t need is to have their plight reduced to a fashion statement. “Refugee chic.” On Friday, there was a […]
Posted inGeneral, Health, Lifestyle, Media, News/Politics
Perhaps we all just need to log off and have a good nap
I have news fatigue. That’s not a terribly bad place to be in, because it’s evidence of actually taking notice of the world around us, but it’s similarly distressing all at the same time. Glancing over the major news stories that have soaked up my eyeball attention in just the last month or two, I […]
Posted inLifestyle
Should women simply put down a towel during their period and have sex?
Full disclosure: My period has been whack in 2016. It’s been a gauge for stress levels, fitness and how much I’m liking what is happening on the news. Basically it’s been a mess. Further full disclosure: During a particularly stressful work time I had my period for three weeks. Let that sink in. Three weeks. […]
Posted inGeneral, Lifestyle
Super citizens and the art of improving civic behaviour
Cities, at least in the global South, seem to share something with adolescents; the potential for transformation is real and it drives a profound sense of power and ownership. However, very much like in our teenage years, change is only long-lasting if enough discipline and commitment are in place over the years. I am currently […]