Commentary
May you live in interesting times…of moral drought?
May you live in interesting times. I keep on thinking about this… prediction? wish? curse? I sure do…. live in interesting times – a drought so critical that Cape Town, my home town that grew into Read more…
Is the Yellow Crane Cape Town’s new emblem?
The Yellow Crane is no longer a rare sighting in Cape Town. But is it an emblem of growth or greed?
Who has the unfair advantage now?
Who has the unfair advantage? (Video script) There’s been a lot of testosterone talk lately, which we’re kind used to. But this time it’s been about who has it, how much of it and whether Read more…
Ode to children, the world over
That episode where THE MUSE gets schooled by a group of school children and gets inspired to write a poem/ode in their honour.
The heat is on. Bring it on.
A flailing Rand. Severe drought. Zuma. Was this the summer of our discontent? Cat Pritchard wonders if you can’t stand the heat, maybe you can wait for the South Easter. It was the summer Read more…
Do you click with your culture?
Heritage Day? Shaka Day? Braai4Heritage? Cat Pritchard wonders if we are all speaking the same language. It’s that time of year when the idea of a public holiday that celebrates our shared heritage awakens Read more…
Origin of the species
Homo Capetonianus is a strange species. Cat Pritchard discovers a few bones worth picking for preservation. A dark cave filled with thousands of tiny bones. The people were divided on the findings from the Read more…
When we pay to pee we are no longer free
When you travel on a weak currency you better have a strong sense of humour, or so Cat Pritchard discovers when she finds herself peeing in the bushes. “Smile, it’s free.” I have always Read more…
Onboard duty free: When the brain goes into flight mode
It could be the lack of oxygen. It’s almost certainly the lack of sleep. But there’s something more, almost existential, about flying through time and space in a metal bullet, briefly suspended from our earth-bound Read more…
“Women’s products” that really help women
The month of women’s issues is enjoying its annual (re)cycle. Cat Pritchard unleashes her hormonal wrath on those playful pink plugs. “Women’s products”. No two words have ever been more softly spoken and loudly Read more…
Bollard and the lost art of queuing
Cat Pritchard lines up the benefits of the single-file system and finds the queue comes up short. Have you noticed the absence of choice in your local supermarket lately? I’m not talking about the Read more…
Taking on the might of the (by)law
Cat Pritchard wrestles a few bylaws and finds she can still get them in a Half Nelson. There is a graphic image (in the literal sense) of a sad dog at the entrance to Read more…
Time to plan an adventure- in your own city
What do you see when you walk around your neighbourhood? Do you see the trees for the shadows they cast on the avenues below? … the pavements for the gutters that collect new and strange Read more…
The plight of the holy hot cross bun
It happens but once a year. The smell of spicy cinnamon, warm nutmeg and sweet raisins wafting over the supermarket aisles, luring innocent shoppers to abandon their toilet paper purchases for a six-pack of doughy Read more…
The Christmas Box: hamper of joy or Apartheid bucket of broken promises?
‘Tis the season of disbelief. I can’t believe shops are already knee-deep in Christmas decorations. I can’t believe we have to start booking Christmas lunches and make New Years plans. I can’t believe that ordinary Read more…
The art of the con
Travelling is not without its scams or con artists. Many are annoying, few are funny, and some have that genius entrepreneurial spirit that makes you want to shake their hand, if they hadn’t just bitten yours Read more…
Do you forage?
I don’t know many of my neighbours, but I do know their lemon/fig/pomegranate trees intimately. I visit them often, usually at dawn or dusk when the air is cool and human visibility is not so Read more…
We are all plastic
You might have heard. Renee Zellweger has taken the lead in a new drama that is currently being played out on the small screens and minds of society. The drama: her face has changed. Her Read more…
