By Danny Glenwright I have a tiny place in my heart for decay. Well, rather a bit larger than tiny. There’s something about dilapidation and dereliction that make me feel comfortable and ensure a place feels special. If I’m travelling it’s usually what entices my camera from my pocket. Most people like shiny and new. […]
Lifestyle
Posted inLifestyle
Where have you walked in those shoes?
This afternoon it occurred to me that I was wearing the same pair of shoes I had on when I got retrenched in Sydney a little more than two years ago. A pair of black Nine West pumps, I got them on sale from the store on Military Road in Mosman, which is the least […]
Posted inBusiness, Environment, Lifestyle
Shell-shocked
I think it’s outrageous that Shell sponsors part of the environment section on the National Geographic website. What makes the situation even more ironic is that right beneath one of Shell’s adverts on the page is National Geographic’s slogan: Inspiring people to care about the planet since 1888. Now I don’t think there are many […]
Posted inEquality, Lifestyle
The F word
It’s 2011 and it’s hard not to wonder what happened to feminism? People, and sadly women in particular, are scared to label themselves as feminists because it is seen as outdated, and irrelevant. Feminism has become the official dirty F word for women. The world of post-post-feminism tells women that we’ve arrived, we’re here, we’ve […]
Posted inLifestyle
The terrible thrill of snakes
“Ooh look, snake!” said my aunt. Philimon stopped the game viewing vehicle and reversed. We aimed the spotlight and stared. There it was, orange with black stripes, undulating across the sand like an exotic bracelet unhooked and stretched out. It was very pretty, as snakes go. When it sensed the light, it coiled up, positioning […]
Posted inLifestyle
Our ever-inventive criminals
There’s a new modus operandi in Hoedspruit this holiday season. Criminals are waiting for people to go out on game drives, then raiding their lodges. People generally don’t lock their doors, and even if they do it’s easy pickings, especially if you know they’re likely to be gone for two hours minimum to look up […]
Posted inLifestyle
Respect the mud
I don’t have enough respect for mud. This thought occurred to me late on Christmas Day as I felt the Freelander slipping down the slope, its backside fishtailing out until all four wheels came to a rest of a bank of sodden grass. “Oh”, I said. “I wasn’t expecting that.” Behind us, tyre tracks were […]
Posted inLifestyle, News/Politics
Ways of coping in South Africa
There are certain books I don’t read on principle. Either it’s because what I think is between their covers is so much bullshit — The Secret and anything by Dan Brown fit in here — or because I imagine that the experience of reading it will, for whatever reason, be just too painful. Anything by […]
Posted inLifestyle
‘A big noise about nothing’
By Roger Diamond When people refuse to look beyond their own noses, or the jumping stallion on their sports car, they can contradict whatever you say about the state of the world. Why is this a problem? Because the rich and powerful, who sit behind the closed glass doors of a boardroom or the windscreen […]
Posted inLifestyle
‘The only difference between you and a Hillbrow hooker’
“So how was your weekend?” I ask the copywriter at the next desk. You know, being chatty and everything. “Oh,” she says — she has this deep, smoky voice — “I was burgled on Friday”. We commiserate over the frustration of losing laptops and the sentimental work we hadn’t backed up. Same thing happened to […]
Posted inLifestyle
Disturbing beach habits 2
Will the 85-year-old lady with the droopy breasts please cover up and you with the size 12 Caterpillars on, take them off. The beach is full of sand. Sand feels good between your toes. You won’t feel the sand with the Caterpillars on. Grass rugby fields is where they play touchies and if one more […]