Beat the Covid Blues
This is a tale of two cities ‒ Scare City and Synchroni City. Looping trains of thought will speed you to either place. How long you choose to stay is up to you
Awaken the Muse-ic
Johannesburg-based Biofield Tuner and Sound Therapist Wendy Leppard can help restore harmony and renew our life force.
Lockdown Lessons
On discovering how many of my Facebook friends are virtue signallers, curtain twitchers, conspiracy theorists and pedantic pedagogues
Last Tango in BA?
With its cobblestones and colourful corrugated iron conventillos, La Boca dazzles in hues of pinks, reds, yellows and blues but it might be a while before you can visit again
Travel with Miss Universe
Miss Universe Zozibini Tunzi chats to Jen Su about her favourite Netflix series to binge watch - hint: she loves Korean dramas -and places to shop
Haunting tours
Is visiting famous gravesites a weird tourism trend? Gordon Prentice doesn't think so
Time Travel is for now
Time Travel requires no annoying visas, boarding passes, suitcases to be packed, raids on duty-free, economy class syndrome, fetid morning breath. All Time Travel requires is oiling the mind, sometimes on R600 bootleg vodka provided by my village plumber.
Flow like water
Human activity can directly influence weather patterns. and our attitudes may have a far greater impact on the environment than we realise
Lebanon Lament!
Janine Lazarus visited Beiruit about five years before the August 2020 blast. She went to facilitate Crisis Communications Training to executives but said she struggled to get a sense of the real Lebanon due to sectarian allegiances
Birding au Balcon
Wondering what to do during lockdown? Let's twitch again! Blaise Hopkinson on the pure joy that daily awaits the sharp-eyed and patient observers at our suburban South African aviaries
Global Transformation
There’s a whole lot happening in the skies right now – and it’s changing the world as we know it. Let's make some magic, suggests astrologer Linda Shaw
Celestial Spectacle
Officially, the aurora-borealis comprises electrically charged particles from the sun colliding with gas molecules but the more arcane among us know these celestial emanations mark the entrance to a twilight paradise lit by a twin sun, where assorted beings, including Germans from the Vril Society, a few pixies, giants, and Lemurian descendants, have lived in perfect health for hundreds of years
DRD4-7R, the wanderlust gene
As we enter Level 3 Lockdown, I wager that if you tested all the so-called business travellers in planes and cars, many would show up positive for the DRD4-7R gene, having got their papers in mint camouflage condition.
Clock Shock
Lapland is Europe’s last wilderness with salmon-stocked lakes and forests filled with brown bears, lynx, foxes, elk and reindeer.
Going the extra Nile
Some river cruise vessels are fit for a pharaoh, offering sparkling pools on deck, floor-to-ceiling glass windows, crystal chandeliers, gourmet restaurants, and postprandial belly dancing. Tarek's boat t was not one of them.
Sliding off the tracks
As Prasa railroads passengers, is it worth paying more for Rovos Rail or the Blue Train? They, too, are subject to signal problems and endless delays. Will Prasa get back on track?
Five Star Flaws
There’s the kettle cord that’s an inch too short to set the kettle on a table, rendering you in a praying position on the floor in order to fill your cup. The bed post that obscures the flatscreen TV by an inch.
The tipping point
“Knowing where to leave a tip is as important as knowing where not to,’ says Wego chief marketing officer Joachim Holte. “In the UK, tipping for food in restaurants is okay, although unexpected as service charges are included. Yet, tipping for drinks at a bar is just not cricket!”
Hot dates with my Hyundai
Helen Grange recalls great times with her old Hyundai Getz before she had to apply the brakes and sell him on Gumtree, the Tinder for cars,because he became too hot to handle.
Shosholoza Fail
Siobhan Cassidy’s 10-point guide to resisting the South African railway service’s best efforts to ruin what should be one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world.
Taking strain on the train
The menu is printed on a garish yellow laminate sheet, but the fare doesn’t look bad – cream of tomato soup, tender steak, and the “best of South African cheese”. Alas it’s a cruel tease.