The drought continues apace in South Africa. It’s hot as hell everywhere, including obviously Hotazel. Water shortages are a reality (even if some people in Joburg still think it’s cool to water their gardens during the day, despite the water restrictions that have been in place for a while). The Mother City isn’t taking the […]

So I woke up yesterday morning after our traditional New Year’s Day “Bugger All”. This is where we sleep as late as possible, move as little as possible, eat leftovers and try to remember why a 3am bedtime after the age of 40 is ever a good idea. I checked Facebook for news, pokes and jokes and discovered […]

In a report out today, it’s claimed that South Africa was voted ‘Best Country in the World’ at a World Countries Award (WCA) ceremony last night (Saturday, January 2). But no sooner had South Africans taken to Twitter to celebrate their country’s winning, than they realised that France, Colombia, Bhutan, Oman and other countries were […]

Cape Town city was flooded with tens of thousands of people on Saturday, as the Cape Minstrels – or the Kaapse Klopse – took to the streets in one of the best and, surprisingly, least-known carnivals around. Tweede Nuwe Jaar, or Second New Year, is held on 2 January every year and was started by […]

Archbishop Desmond Tutu’s daughter, Mpho Tutu, has married her partner in a private ceremony which took place in the Netherlands on Wednesday. Reverend Canon Mpho Tutu, who is the fourth daughter of Archbishop Tutu (84), wed her partner Marceline van Furth in Europe where Van Furth is a professor in Pediatric Infectious Diseases at the Vrije University in […]

A post shared on facebook this week, about a Rustenburg North clean-up, has been shared by thousands of South Africans who felt the voluntary clean-up at Foord Street intersection gave them both hope and inspiration for the year ahead. Ofile Sekete Kgalegi uploaded three photos on Tuesday with this message: “This morning I saw some of the […]

South Africa, you are beautiful… From Gauteng… All the way to… KwaZulu Natal… From Michaelhouse (KZN) above…to Langebaan in the Western Cape From Table Mountain…seen here on Christmas Eve To Sani Pass in KZN… And to the other side of Sani Pass (which joins KZN to Lesotho) You’re beautiful by day…and awesome for action and […]

An Australian couple on honeymoon in Cape Town made the most of their Christmas Day in South Africa, far away from friends and family. They spread a little cheer handing out gifts to the homeless… But Nathan and Grace Haynes’ random act of kindness wasn’t just limited to Christmas Day. The couple from Perth – […]

On Christmas Day, 1944, a young South African died tragically and far away from home, and despite his incredible achievements, bravery, creativity, not to mention the romance of his life, he still remains largely unknown in the country of his birth. George Steer, in the 35 years he was alive, crammed an exciting, dangerous and astonishing career. He […]

From the real to the surreal (especially for Trevor Noah), here are some of the quotes of the year, from South Africans (and Africans) around the world, that made it into a list from the BBC. Plus, we have added some others worth mentioning. “This is surreal for me, I’m not going to lie, growing […]

From Jude Law to the law of returning politicians (ask the Democratic Alliance’s Dianne Kohler Barnard). From the orange sister of SAA to the red faces over #RhodesMustFall (in the United Kingdom this time). These are some of the stories you might have missed over the past 10 days. 1. The Airline Mango’s Groove While there has been […]

These are the stories that proved the most popular on SAPeople.com during 2015… It was the year of the Rugby World Cup (RWC2015), xenophobia attacks and marches, Cape Fires and a spate of #MustFall hashtag campaigns from Zuma to Fees to Rain. It was also a year of goosebump moments from Springbok fans who made us […]

For anyone far from South Africa over Christmas, it might even seem further if you have snow instead of hot sandy beaches. While our Christmas traditions aren’t too different from everyone else’s abroad, there are still a few things that make a South African Christmas unique. So, to bring a little of SA closer to you these holidays, here […]

(To be sung to the tune of “Twelve Days of Christmas”. All objects were found at traffic lights/robots in South Africa.) On the first day of Christmas my true love gave to me, a dar-ling wood African tree, On the second day of Christmas my true love gave to me, two fab bouquets and a dar-ling wood African […]

Banana Republic. Failed state. Another Zimbabwe. An Arab Spring-type revolution. Perhaps we should just slit our wrists before the year is out. What nonsense. If we want to survive 2016 in one piece, we will have to cast off this paralysing, dark pessimism. It’s going to be a rough year with many social and political […]

Just in time for Christmas, East Coast Radio’s Jane Linley-Thomas asked a group of four- to seven-year-olds in Durban a couple of questions that brought out the cutest answers. What do they want for Christmas, she asked? How does Santa know where to deliver their toys? Why do they think Santa should go on a diet? Asked what […]

A taxi driver in Camps Bay has found himself in demand following a grateful facebook user’s report about his awesome service. Last week Capetonian Lee Peacock left her iphone in Brian Kudumba’s taxi by mistake. “When I got home I realised my phone was missing, called my number and he answered my phone and said ‘don’t worry […]

While Trevor Noah wrapped up his last  show of the year with a review of his favourite stories from 2015…critics around the USA were reviewing the South African’s performance since taking over ‘The Daily Show’ from Jon Stewart in September. With all the shootings around the world during 2015, Noah battled to focus on good […]

Wondering how to celebrate New Year this year? Here are 11 fabulous and varied ways to bring in 2016 if you’re in South Africa. They may not be as famous as New York’s Time Square, London’s Trafalgar Square or Sydney’s Harbour Bridge lights…but they’re just as much – if not more – fun! 1. At the Karoo’s Festival […]

On 1 January 2013, Lorraine Loots set herself a goal: to produce one work of art a day for the next year. Two years and 730 paintings later, the results can be seen in “Paintings for Ants” and the newly launched “Postcards for Ants”. Along the way, Loots has picked up almost a quarter of a […]

The skies over Centurion and Gauteng were heavenly this evening, like a beautiful Renaissance painting… with colours and shapes that had many South Africans stepping outside to capture the scene – of these magnificent Mammatus clouds – on film. Mammatus clouds, or mammatocumulus, is the meterological terms given to this “cellular pattern of pouches hanging underneath the base of […]

A lanky teenage boy in jeans and a t-shirt takes a seat in front of a grand piano in a Karoo farmhouse. Behind him are a few dozen people on sofas and dining room chairs, waiting expectantly. At the entrance to the room is a platter bearing a small but growing pile of cash. The […]

One of the most heartbreaking aspects of moving to another country is the decision on whether to take your pets with you or not. When a couple in South Africa realised that their beloved blind Rottweiler cross, Misty, may not cope with the New Zealand quarantine requirements, they turned to facebook group Paws R Us to find a new […]

Check out this humorous take on some South Africans’ typically “hectic” holiday plans… The video was compiled by ADlast.tv and uploaded to YouTube today with a message saying: “Happy holidays to ALL form Merv, Sharon, Peter and the lunatics at adlast.tv” Watch Video: December Holidays 2015 PLEASE NOTE: If you’re sensitive to foul language, please […]

Usually when rhinos are in the news, it’s for only one reason – poaching. But the media is suddenly focusing on a very different kind of rhino, a golden one that is more than 700 years old, and they’re asking, “Will South Africa let it leave the country?” The figurine – made of gold foil and tacked […]