“White Man Walking” is a project which combines three of my pet hobby horses:  the amazingly creative and innovative projects that come out of the Goethe Institut; the problem of pavements which deny pedestrian access and force people to walk in the streets; and alternative ways of experiencing the city.  The project arose out of [...]

In November last year, parts of the Johannesburg Parks region were hit by a   devastating hail storm -  large hail stones fell with a ferocious intensity.  They shredded leaves of agapanthus and arums, as well large robust trees, and reduced every impatience and begonia plant  to a bruised and damaged lone green stalk.  Of [...]

Guests at Liz at Lancaster have a small (completely adorable) 2 year old.  He is very sociable and wants to socialize with persons who have the same interests (like us all!) and because his parents are only here in SA  for 2 months or so, they cannot enroll him in a creche.  While there is [...]

Park Station then and now:
 
Currently seen opposite Brickfields in Newtown and just south-west of Mandela Bridge
Johannesburg’s first railway station ,  commissioned by the Zuid Afrikaansche Republiek and designed by the Dutch architect Jacob Klinkhamer, was  manufactured in Rotterdam in 1895.  It was brought out to the Transvaal and was re-erected at Park Halt (as Park [...]

One of the best things about running a guesthouse is all the interesting people we meet from all over the world.  One such person is Pat Walker who runs Cultural Explorer.  Pat, a remarkable woman with boundless energy and a wonderful sense of humour, runs tours to South Africa which focus on volunteer, cultural, or [...]

Ever wondered how long things take to decompose? Well, apparently it depends largely on whether they’re decomposing in a viable compost heap filled with hungry organisms, or in a landfill that gets little air, water or sunlight. But here’s a rough guideline:
Paper towel [...]

Part of the entertainment landscape in Joburg in the mid 20th Century was the Drive-In Cinema. Sadly the last one, the Velskoen Drive -In,  will disappear in a week or so.  See http://findingjozi.co.za/reminiscing-an-ode-to-velskoen-drive-in/ I remember when I was about 10 or so my mother taking me to see what turned out to be quite a scary movie at [...]

Pooh Bear had his honey pot,  but Liz’s search for the perfect honey has been far more complicated.  Several years ago at a farm stall whose location, let alone its name, I have long since forgotten, I found some special honey. What really caught my eye – apart from the fact that it was Blue-gum [...]

See  http://www.sagoodnews.co.za/blog/my_south_africa_by_jonathan_jansen.html#

Mark Gevisser wrote about South African identity in both the build up to the World Cup  Cup http://www.timeslive.co.za/sundaytimes/article439527.ece/I-want-to-imagine-the-SA-of-my-dreams  as well as after the final whistle had been blown:  http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2010/jul/10/south-africa-unites-over-football . See his latest take  on what it means to be a South African in late 2010:  http://www.arttimes.co.za/news_read.php?news_id=2683