“It’s only a perception that crime is out of hand,” I was told when I agreed to accept a directorship as communication director on Business against Crime — Gauteng in 1998. “Your job is to change that perception.” I had been headhunted from the Chamber of Mines by this august Section 21 company. BAC had […]
Lifestyle
Posted inLifestyle
Raising a generation of substance abusers
Last week Friday, my company held its year-end function. You can imagine how important such an occasion is. Free booze and food and, of course, the whole dress-up-to-a-theme thing and the bad decisions regularly made by aesthetically pleasing females meant that I missed the slaughtering of a bovine creature feature on Friday at my cousin’s […]
Posted inLifestyle
How come …
How come I did not know that Benoni means “son of my sorrow”? I was born in Benoni. Yet, I did not know the meaning of Benoni. It celebrated its centenary recently, and I learnt the meaning of Benoni. One hundred years later, and the hostels — built about 30 years ago — when entering […]
Posted inLifestyle
Wooden bicycles without steering? Steam motorcycles? It’s all in the name of fun
Have you ever wondered what people who don’t ride motorcycles do for fun? I’ve given this loads of thought, and I’m buggered if I know. But today they have a choice — the bikes are there; they just have to go out and buy ’em. Then I had a scary thought; what did would-be bikers […]
Posted inLifestyle
Wet in Malaysia
I am unfortunately still in Malaysia — Kuala Lumpur, to be precise. I qualify that statement with “unfortunately” because my boxer shorts are wet, I’m blind, I’m somewhat pissed off and I miss my mommy. Allow me to explain. But before I do, I need to make an observation. Since I started writing, I have […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media, News/Politics
It’s too much about the colour of the critic
Racism, no matter how disguised or nuanced, remains one of the ugliest and most deeply entrenched dark sides of human nature. It’s been in society since time immemorial. And it was naive of us to dream it would ever disappear — least of all in South Africa. It has taken on a million faces and […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Where the truth lies: South Africa’s crime statistics
This week a guard starts patrolling the beautiful, tree-lined street in which I live. Since January there have been 13 criminal incidents, including five armed robberies and five house-breakings, in our block of 20 houses. A woman was badly beaten in one incident and needed 13 stitches in her head. There has not been a […]
Posted inLifestyle
A dream deferred by the spawn of the devil
I am posting this from Malaysia, after a 10-hour trip. Economy class. Don’t judge me. The Johannesburg-to-Singapore leg of the trip has managed to reaffirm my belief in the existence of the devil. I have always held the view that the devil is a real phenomenon and that, in all likelihood, he has managed to […]
Posted inLifestyle
If you see Britney, give her a hug
Congratulations to the very young Jody Williams for winning over the hearts of thousands of South Africans and becoming the South African Idol for 2007. It’s not hard to see why she won: she’s cute, she can sing, she’s got spunk (though it took some time to emerge) and, most importantly, she’s the perfect pick […]
Posted inLifestyle
Wet in Plett
When my family went camping there were two cardinal rules: don’t squat to poop in a hornets’ nest (which I did once and was forever after ragged by my brothers) and always sweep out the tent before you fold it up. What to tell my eager, newly matriculated 17-year-old off to a flooded Plett with […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
The Darwin awards: Panama is lovely this time of year
Ladies, has the latest bank rate hike been the final straw? Well, jack your straw and don your Panama because it’s time for hubby to go canoeing. While the world is aghast at the dastardly fraud committed by John and Anne Darwin, you have bigger fish to fry: not only the 50-basis-point increase, the Eskom […]
Posted inLifestyle, Media, News/Politics
The Christian fundamentalist lynch mob is at it again
Having tasted victory against Tim du Plessis and Rapport, Christian fundamentalists have set their sights on a fresh target. According to Jacques Liebenberg in Beeld, a campaign is under way to organise a boycott of the film The Golden Compass, due to be released in South Africa on Friday. According to an anonymous message distributed […]