CD of the week Caroline Sullivan Until Catatonia came along – or until their breakthrough second album, International Velvet, did – few realised British rock had a niche shaped just like them. Now that they’ve filled it, the question seems obvious: how did pop get by without a Cerys Matthews? Catatonia’s singer and co-lyricist is […]
Andrew Worsdale Movies of the week What’s scarier: something growing inside you or a chainsaw-wielding monster around the corner wanting to cut you to bits? One of the scariest movies of all time has to be Alien, Ridley Scott’s 1979 flick that I dumped out of school for – to see John Hurt having a […]
a hard sell Ivor Powell Recent opinion polls indicating a slide in support for Bantu Holomisa’s United Democratic Movement could be misleading. According to Human Sciences Research Council statistics released this week, the UDM’s share of the vote has halved from 6% last December to 3%. The Institute for Democracy in South Africa’s latest Opinion […]
OWN CORRESPONDENT, Durban | Thursday 9.20pm A RISING standoff between residents of the Dukuduku forest in northern KwaZulu-Natal and the provincial nature conservation service exploded on Thursday afternoon when police exchanged gunfire with residents. SABC1 news said eyewitnesses said the forest residents fired at the police, who retaliated. Three residents were arrested and the others […]
Marianne Merten Uniondale, Oudtshoorn, Calitzdorp. Tiny towns representing the Western Cape hinterland, and for the PAC, a potential heartland of support. Pan Africanist Congress president Reverend Stanley Mogoba – “the bishop”, or more informally to those close to him, “bra Stan” – visited tiny rural towns this week before focusing his election campaign in urban […]
Philippa Garson Class Struggle A strange thing happened last week. The Teacher was paid a visit by two people from an education organisation who came to discuss partnership opportunities. Suddenly one of the visitors, who shall remain anonymous, discarded the benign “education NGO-type” hat he had walked in with, and donned another – that of […]
Stewart Dalby SpendingIt Buying antique furniture is a good investment, according to figures in British Antique Furniture: Price Guide and Reasons For Value, an annual report published by the Antique Collectors Club (ACC). This claims that antique furniture prices rose by 5% in 1998, out-performing a FTSE index of 500 shares and house prices in […]
Maggie Davey The artist formerly known as Sinead O’Connor has made a startling metamorphosis. Not content with having acted the role of the Virgin Mary in The Butcher Boy, a recent film by Neil Jordan, O’Connor has now been ordained (twice) in the Tridentine Catholic faith. In addition to paying 150 000 to finance an […]
Andy Capostagno Rugby The statisticians will protest otherwise, but there are only four teams who can win the Super 12 this year: the Stormers (short-priced favourites even in New Zealand), the Otago Highlanders, the Queensland Reds and the Canterbury Crusaders. In theory another six teams can still qualify for the semi-finals, but in practice the […]
HEAVY machinegun and light arms fire resumed in Bissau on Friday morning near the presidential palace and other areas.Weapons had fallen silent overnight after government and rebel forces in Guinea Bissau traded heavy artillery and light arms fire for three hours on Thursday evening breaking a truce of more than three months and endangering a […]