Sweets from Spar

By Andrea Zanin 05-03-24 22:11

Being given 50c to spend at the Spar down the road was, like, better than winning the grand prize on Telly Fun Quiz. No seriously. (Okay, not counting the trellidor.)

Mike’s Kitchen magic

By Andrea Zanin 30-01-24 21:39

Mike’s Kitchen—a necessary rite of passage into the utopia of growing up, where you could stay up late, eat sweets all the time, watch too much TV, live at your friend’s house and never do any times tables.

black hair dye South Africa

When white people use Inecto

By Andrea Zanin 16-01-24 21:02

There was only one proviso with Inecto—never ever spill it. Like, ever. On your face, on your clothing and especially not on your boyfriend’s parents’ cream lounge carpet.

1995 Rugby World Cup South Africa

What were you doing on 24 June, 1995?

By Andrea Zanin 24-10-23 18:41

My mom, who knew nothing about rugby (she shouted for Australia in the opening game until we told her that South Africa wore GREEN not GOLD #facepalm), was an absolute legend; scouring Shell garages for World Cup collectors’ memorabilia.

Not just rugby

By Andrea Zanin 20-10-23 17:28

Jis, I miss home when the rugby’s on. It’s just not the same here in London. Today is Friday and I know the people back in SA will be rocking up to school and work in their bokke jerseys, and if they can’t afford one they’ll rummage for green or yellow, or a flag or something (anything!), to represent.

bakkie

My uncle’s bakkie

By Andrea Zanin 10-10-23 20:17

Remember when we didn’t have to wear seatbelts. When we’d curl up in the back of our parents’ Passat on the all the way from Joburg to Durbs, or ‘Maritzburg, in the school holidays.

Mopane worms

By Andrea Zanin 27-09-23 18:07

I grew up in Limpopo. Fat Baobabs cast shade in dusty daytimes, giving way to drawling Acacia silhouettes and bright orange sunsets. Before the evenings succumbed to bright starry skies that expanded for eons, we went foraging. I’d tag along with the older kids and grownups as they headed into the bushveld on the prowl […]

The robber’s grave

By Andrea Zanin 24-08-23 17:00

The robber’s grave was turned the other way. A scarlet letter on the landscape. On our school trip to Pilgrim’s Rest in the Eastern Transvaal (now Mpumalanga) we learnt about the gold rush, did some panning, bought some guinea fowl curios, saw the majestic Mac Mac, Horse Shoe and Bridal Veil Falls—but the robber’s grave. Legend […]

South African abroad: The immigrant's void...

South African abroad: Facing the void and sense of loss…

By Andrea Zanin 02-08-23 11:38

Not that many years ago – in fact, the day before the RWC 2019 final – I sat in my daughter’s school assembly wearing my Springbok rugby jersey (couldn’t resist taunting, just a little)… writes writer, wife, mother and dreamer ANDREA ZANIN, who now lives in the UK and is author of Our Fireside Stories.  […]

Carlton Sky Rink

Carlton Sky Rink (Johannesburg #1995)

By Andrea Zanin 08-08-23 18:12

If you fell on the ice, you had to make fists because some super-jock speed skater would almost certainly skate past you at that exact moment and chop your fingers off. An arm if you were super unlucky. Everybody said so. It happened to people who knew people. No, really. No matter. We were in. […]

That time the baboons ate our firelighters

By Andrea Zanin 23-05-23 21:11

We pile in the bakkie and hit the road to Kruger, stopping along the way to buy all our essentials – food (chips and rusks—the important stuff), firelighters for the braai, charcoal; the cooler box is in the back with meat and other bits and pieces in it. We’re ready. After some hours on the […]

If Trevor Noah can eat mopane worms…

By Andrea Zanin 09-05-23 17:49

Big, fat, yellow writhing blobs dropping off trees, carpeting the floor like a panoramic sea of black-speckled, custard-infused dog turd. Mopane trees…mopane worms. We were visiting my grandpa Ray at his plot in Ashburton, Natal. And it was raining caterpillars—thousands. No, millions. Look down and a worm could drop on your head, look up and you’d burst […]

KZN Department of Health

KZN Department of Health receives R5.4m worth of assistive devices from church

By Hennely Nel 04-05-23 13:07

The KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Department of Health has distributed assistive devices to more than 3 300 beneficiaries, thanks to a donation by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. ALSO READ: Disabled people in Musina lack adequate housing The church handed over a variety of assistive devices worth more R5.4 million that will be rolled out to the […]

WATCH: NMU security guard graduates [Video]

By Mimi Mfundisi 25-04-23 15:48

Watch news in a minute for a summary of NMU security guard graduates while working 12-hours per day story. Ntombovuyo Happy Ntshangase, 38, who works a 12-hour shift per day at the Nelson Mandela University (NMU). Image: Pixabay NEWS IN A MINUTE: Listen or watch the full versions of the ‘‘NMU security guard graduates while working […]

A pineapple is never just a pineapple

By Andrea Zanin 23-05-23 20:53

When I was growing up my family took plenty of road trips, from Grahamstown to East London or King William’s Town (where my sister and I were at boarding school) or Port Alfred, Kent-on-Sea and Port Elizabeth. On those roads during pineapple season, would be African mamas, men, teenage girls, young boys, sometimes whole families […]

The beach central to the tourist entertainment. By Godfrey Sigwela

SEE: Man saves woman caught in rip current in Salmon Bay

By Mimi Mfundisi 24-04-23 12:30

Watch as a man recently jumped into action to save a woman who was caught in a rip current in Salmon Bay. WATCH: Man saves woman caught in a rip current at Salmon Bay Photos: Screenshots/Video/NSRI A man recently jumped into action to save a woman caught in a rip current in Salmon Bay in KwaZulu-Natal. SALMON […]

lions Kruger National Park

WATCH: Lion wakes up and gives men the fright of their lives

By Mimi Mfundisi 24-04-23 13:54

A video went viral after a lion woke up unexpectedly and gave a group of unsuspecting men a huge fright. Here is the video. WATCH: Lion wakes up and gives men the fright of their lives Photos: Video/Twitter A video of a group of men getting the fright of their lives when a lion unexpectedly […]

NMU Graduation

Emotional father collects late daughter’s degree at NMU graduation

By Mimi Mfundisi 24-04-23 16:54

Graduation day is a day of celebration, and for most parents it is one of the proudest days of their lives. ALSO READ: Two senior Orlando Pirates stars celebrate graduation EMOTIONAL GRADUATION MOMENT One Port Elizabeth (Gqeberha) father held back tears as he accepted his late daughter’s degree from Nelson Mandela University graduation on Thursday. The day […]

Pigs

From unemployed graduate to pig farmer

By Mimi Mfundisi 19-04-23 19:48

Zintle James, a 24-year-old pig farmer from Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape, has embarked on a journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Image: GCIS Vuk’uzenzele. Young pig farmer Zintle James (24) is on an inspired journey to becoming a successful entrepreneur. Originally from Sterkspruit in the Eastern Cape, James began her enterprise in 2020 when […]

The license, the queue & the photocopy machine

By Andrea Zanin 11-04-23 22:59

If you’re over 60, on a Wednesday you have privilege of appointment to renew your driver’s license at the licensing department in Edenvale. My license was due to expire so I decided I would take up the offer… writes Clare Paterson. I devised the perfect plan… …the department opens at 9am and I had a […]

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