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 […]

Two statues unveiled to honour Madiba

Two statues unveiled to honour Madiba

By Fazila Olla 19-07-23 10:28

President Cyril Ramaphosa has unveiled two statues of the late former President Nelson Mandela, one in Mthatha and the other in Qunu in the Eastern Cape, as part of Nelson Mandela Day celebrations. The two statues unveiled at Bhunga Building in Mthatha and Youth and Heritage Centre in Qunu, serve as a tribute to Nelson […]

President Nelson Mandela’s birthday

Remember Madiba by working for peace

By Fazila Olla 18-07-23 11:23

As the country and the world at large commemorate President Nelson Mandela’s birthday, President Cyril Ramaphosa has called on everyone to promote peace across the globe. In his weekly newsletter to the nation, President Ramaphosa said everyone is called upon to get involved in peacemaking and peacebuilding processes, which is the fruit of Nelson Mandela’s […]

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. […]

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 […]

Easter eggs: their evolution from chicken to chocolate

Easter eggs: their evolution from chicken to chocolate

By Fazila Olla 04-04-23 11:34

A lot of Easter traditions – including hot cross buns and lamb on Sunday – stem from medieval Christian or even earlier pagan beliefs. The chocolate Easter egg, however, is a more modern twist on tradition. Chicken eggs have been eaten at Easter for centuries. Eggs have long symbolised rebirth and renewal, making them perfect […]

A toilet in the gamadoelas... Stories from South Africa

A toilet in the gramadoelas

By Andrea Zanin 30-01-24 21:29

My dad came to South Africa in his early twenties. As a British guy, he didn’t speak ‘die taal’ but as an electrical engineer employed on the power lines he worked with a lot of Afrikaans people—making life ripe for misunderstandings. Often, my dad worked out in the gramadoelas. At the end of one of […]

Film of Riel Dancing and South African Expat (82) Headed to US Festival

By Jennie Glover 27-02-19 17:51

82-year-old South African-born Elsa Perez stars in the documentary called “Get Riel” featuring Perez dancing as well as footage sent through by South African riel dancers. The Sunnyside Up Film Festival in Ardmore Oklahoma, USA will be screening ‘Get Riel’ next month in its competition, and you can show your support by voting on their […]

President Pays Tribute to “Golden Voiced” Dorothy Masuka

By SAPeople Contributor 25-02-19 10:13

Jazz performer, composer and recipient of the National Order of Ikhamanga, Dorothy Masuka has passed away at the age of 83. Mama Masuka passed away on Saturday after more than 50 years of being feted globally as an artist whose performances directed the spotlight at the injustices of apartheid, said the Presidency in a statement […]

South Africa’s Madiba Freed On This Day in History

By SAPeople Contributor 11-02-19 15:12

On this day in 1990, Nelson Mandela left Victor Verster Prison in Cape Town a free man, after spending 27 years in prison. Accompanied by his then-wife Winnie, Mandela was enthusiastically received by the throngs of people who gathered to see him outside Cape Town’s City Hall. Mandela spent 18 years on Robben Island and […]

How SONA Was Used to Announce Nelson Mandela’s Release

By SAPeople Contributor 07-02-19 06:05

It was in the late 1980’s that apartheid negotiations reached a sensitive stage. Former President Nelson Mandela had been diagnosed with Tuberculosis and was transferred to a house at Victor Verster Prison near Paarl. Just two years later at the SONA of 1990 the then President F W de Klerk announced that he was to […]

Nitanja Steyn: The Yearning of a South African Heart

By SAPeople Contributor 05-02-19 09:04

South African expat Nitanja Steyn has lived in the Netherlands, the US and Germany since leaving SA in 2014. But no matter where she lives… her heart belongs back home in South Africa. Yesterday she penned a poignant poem ‘Die Verlanging van ‘n Suid-Afrikaner’, in Afrikaans (see below). Here she has kindly translated it into […]

INSPIRING: South African Muso Sings for Road Accident Victim.

By SAPeople Contributor 31-01-19 17:23

Yesterday, South African musician Seb Goldswain shared the following inspiring encounter he had with road accident victim, Kobus, on Facebook. Here is Seb’s account, in his words: “Yesterday I received a phone call from Brett Nydahl, a psychologist friend, asking if I would consider playing a few songs for one of her hospital patients on his […]

trevor romain

Trevor Romain: Remembering the Corner Cafe in South Africa

By Trevor Romain 22-12-20 16:26

When we were young and the days were long, the corner cafe was the place to meet and greet and make up and break up… writes South African expat, author and motivational speaker Trevor Romain. It was the place where you stole at least one piece of liquorice or one of those yellow plastic sherberts […]

viv vermaak

True Love and Karoo Memories by Viv Vermaak

By SAPeople Contributor 04-05-18 11:25

I know it isn’t prudent to declare one’s love on Facebook, but I simply cannot keep it in… writes Viv Vermaak. I have been in love only a few times in my life. Truly, madly, deeply in love, so this is a special occasion. Mostly, the love was fleeting. Only two of those loves have […]

Trevor Romain: The Old Man, The Bicycle & Sunlight Soap

By Trevor Romain 30-03-18 20:30

For a number of reasons, round about this week every year, I share this life-changing experience… writes Trevor Romain. One reason I post it annually is so that I remember to read it again because it’s something I don’t ever want to forget: It happened a long time ago. A time when people actually did […]

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