Hillbrow, Jo’burg’s inner city Tenderloin district, was never a nest of angels… In the late 1970s and 80s, it was the most cosmopolitan piece of real estate in South Africa. You had your excellent Hillbrow Records, your Mi-Vami shawarma place, Estoril Books, your globe-trotting tattoo artist down in the basement shopping area on Pretoria Street […]

Unilever has launched a #BrightFutureSA campaign which features a video that starts with a child saying “you’re never too young to make a difference” before introducing us to several inspiring kids, from all over the world, who have ideas that truly could make a difference. The campaign then invites others to get involved and to help create a brighter future […]

Here’s a shout out from Carina McAlpine for her neighbour who bravely risked his life to rescue her during an assault…even though at that stage they were just polite neighbours who barely knew each other. Carina posted the following message to Facebook with the photo above: “Ladies and gentlemen…please salute my neighbour, Joseph Hlengane Hlongwane, who […]

An artisanal beer-making tsunami has hit South Africa in the last few years and resulted in 135 craft breweries that have popped up throughout the country (see infographic below). The below quote is the top definition of what constitutes a craft beer in the tongue-in-cheek Urban Dictionary. [quote_center]CRAFT BEER – “An explosion of art and science coming together to build […]

Many of us probably think of Hillbrow in Johannesburg as a no-go zone, but Nick Bauer and Mike Luptak are making a point of taking people to its very heart. And to Ponte City too. And beyond. Through their company, Dlala Nje, Bauer and Luptak offer two increasingly popular tours – This is Hillbrow and The Taste […]

In the beginning the Lowes had everything. Two great jobs. Two beautiful girls. Kristi and Jenna. Everything pretty much on track. Now so much of that is gone… Ten days ago 20-year-old Jenna Lowe passed away.  During the last few months of her life her family moved from the Western Cape to Johannesburg to be near their […]

KwaZulu-Natal’s Durban curry is on its way to global fame thanks to Erica Platter and Clinton Friedman whose book ‘Durban Curry: So Much of Flavour’ was placed second in the Best Book of the Year category in the prestigious Gourmand World Cookbook Awards 2015. Proving that local is more than just lekker, ‘Durban Curry’ secured its top three […]

The iconic, mysterious and magical African baobab, probably the most identifiable and prehistoric-looking tree on earth, suddenly seems to be coming into its own in the 21st Century. Several companies are getting the name of the tree out there – literally – selling products that take advantage of its health and medicinal properties. One company even promotes the […]

To commemorate Youth Day, 16 June 2015, a collection of well-known South Africans have shared their words of wisdom to their younger selves. The video, compiled by the Expresso Show, is a fun look at what celebrities like musician Elvis Blue, cricketer JP Duminy, actor Soli Philander and TV personality Bonnie Mbuli would say to their 16-year-old […]

As arguments reverberated around South Africa on what should have occurred regarding the International Criminal Court (ICC) request to arrest Omar al-Bashir, the Democratic Alliance (DA) used the moment to re-highlight its recently launched #Vision2029 campaign. In a tweet  posted minutes after it was confirmed that the Sudanese President – who is wanted on charges related […]

Great news for anyone looking to move to Cape Town. An advert has been posted on the Gumtree website today, offering free accommodation in Vredehoek overlooking beautiful Table Bay. There is one catch. You need to be willing to dress and behave like a seal for two hours a day! Ad posted by first-time Gumtree […]

South African comedian Trevor Noah won over thousands more fans when he appeared on a British show a couple of weeks ago, proving just why US Comedy Central bosses have selected him to replace Jon Stewart on The Daily Show. In a review after the new John Bishop variety show was aired in the UK, […]

International celebrity and UN Special Envoy for Refugee Issues, Angelina Jolie was one of Twitter’s hottest trends this weekend after appearing at the 25th African Union (AU) Summit at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, on Friday. (Watch video below.) Speaking at the ‘Women, Peace and Security’ luncheon, the humanitarian called violence against women a “global epidemic” which is treated as […]

At the South African March in London today, a new movement was launched – SAY We Can. According to the March organisers the movement is a community platform for global South Africans – who share in the same values – to have their say and contribute to the restoration of not only government effectiveness in […]

South Africa’s legendary Johnny Clegg has been honoured by Queen Elizabeth II with the Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE). The popular South African performer described the news as a “tremendous moment”. The 62-year-old said this award re-energises his dreams and commitments to South Africa in a “very special way”. The British High Commission in Pretoria announced […]

Take a listen to the latest Nkandla song to hit the airwaves below. As 702’s Xolani Gwala said, when he played it on Friday afternoon, Nkandla is “the gift that keeps giving.” Xolani was referring to the multitude of Nkandla songs, Nkandla videos, Nkandla poems, Nkandla jokes – and even Nkandla beach artworks – that have resulted from the […]

South Africans in the UK will be marching in London tomorrow, in support of those back home, with Trafalgar Square playing its part in hopefully once again bringing about positive South African transformation. The expats in the UK will be standing united in support of basic human rights back in their homeland, South Africa. The march will […]

The recipient of the world’s first successful penis transplant, which was performed in South Africa, is to become a father…proving just how successful the ground-breaking operation was! The BBC has reported today that the partner of the 21-year-old South African is four months pregnant. The couple has apparently been together for “quite some time”. A […]

It doesn’t rain much around Beaufort West, but when it does it often comes in the form of fast-rushing water. And so the recent rains in the Karoo, it seems, made a hole in part of the fence that keeps all the critters in the Karoo National Park in. And that’s how a 3-year-old resident lion is said […]

So now we have established that most of us expats are not hell bent on taking the country to the dogs, let’s talk about why we upped sticks and left. I come from a family of expats. Mum is English, Dad from South Africa but raised in Kenya and Zambia, grandparents from SA and the UK. […]

The Kind Man or Woman is the new hero in South Africa. In what is becoming a trend, more touching stories of generosity, honesty and care are been shared on social media recently. Here are just two… A few hours ago Margaret Hirsch, Chief Operations Officer for mega appliance store Hirsch’s, posted a wonderful story of generosity on Facebook…which […]

Local Capetonian Robbie Ragless, who only recently started fishing, got a bigger ‘catch’ than he was hoping for when he went out on the boat last Friday. He captured the footage in the video above at around midday, near Robben Island, when a pod of hundreds – maybe even thousands – of dolphins suddenly appeared. Robbie […]

Nerine Gardiner takes the cake. Well actually, she gives the cake…to all kinds of deserving people. Nerine is the wonderful ‘girl’ behind “Girl with Cake”, a beautiful initiative run on the belief that everyone deserves a cake made with love. Nerine lovingly bakes the most exquisite and delicious cakes (see her website for photos and […]

The Daily Maverick Nando’s Gathering is one of the highlights of the year on the conference circuit and this year’s theme, Game Changers, brings together some of South Africa’s top influencers and put them under the spotlight. Today’s influencers include Premier David Makhura, Julius Malema, Mmusi Maimane, Zwelinzima Vavi, Dr Iraj Abedian, Riaan Manser, Dr Martyn […]

In little reported news last week, Mauritius became the second country in Africa to get a woman leader…not a politician but a world-renowned biologist who has addressed the esteemed TED series of lectures. Ammenah Gurib-Fakim was inaugurated without contention on Friday, after being appointed by the Mauritian parliament. She becomes the sixth president of the […]