Not CDs of the week: Shaun de Waal It was reported a while ago that David Bowie had declined to be involved in Todd Haynes’s new glam rock movie, Velvet Goldmine. The reason given was Bowie’s desire to hang on to his seminal Seventies creation, Ziggy Stardust, for future exploitation by himself. I suspect, however, […]

Friday night :Xoli Norman There is something unrelentingly inviting about the Newtown art and entertainment scene, especially on Fridays. The sparsely peopled district brings on a dense nostalgia evocative of the good old days of a vibrant Market Theatre precinct. Today the place retains an edgy vibe, but for different reasons. What people fight for […]

Andrew Worsdale Movie of the week Ever since the release of Ozzie director Peter Weir’s Picnic At Hanging Rock (1975) and, perhaps more significantly, Bruce Beresford’s `Breaker’ Morant (1979), South African film-makers have been notoriously envious of the Australian film industry, and with good reason. `Breaker’ Morant, which tells the story of three Australian soldiers […]

Janyne Simon-Meyer The rand may be down and interest rates up, but South Africans are not sitting at home these holidays. The mainstream traveller is seeking out good value destinations – like Asia – and sensible savings like all-inclusive or cut-rate package deals. Internationally, Thailand and Malaysia are the hottest best-value holiday spots. The shopping […]

Andy Capostagno Cricket Whatever the outcome of the ongoing talks between the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and its players association, the squad preparing for a five Test tour of South Africa will not be representative of the best the islands can muster. At the time of writing the captain, Brian Lara, and the vice-captain, […]

Janyne Simon-Meyer Heavy booking has already taken up many of the special deals, but you may still get lucky with these packages: l Beachcombers is offering seven nights in in Grand Baie, Mauritius, for R3 990 per person. Call Sure Travel Agents for details. l Flight Centre has a five-night stay in Langkawi for R4940. […]

On a Warner Brothers press junket to Los Angeles Alex Dodd found a flip side to the dream factory For someone as hopelessly addicted to the glittery escape of celluloid as I am, the prospect of a trip to Los Angeles had me surfing waves of fantasy. Images of wild, wild Nicholas Cage cruising down […]

Andy Capostagno Rugby Even Nick Mallett has admitted it. “We cannot claim to be the underdogs on this tour”, he said on Tuesday night, and the Springbok coach is absolutely right. Mallett has built a rod for his own back in this season of unprecedented success for the national side, and a Grand Slam of […]

Review of the week: Matthew Krouse Classical music always garnered a heap of bad press in the old South Africa. Great works of Western music were, we were informed, part of a Eurocentric dominance – an unnecessary aberration in the lives of poor Africans. Apparently, so we’re told, times have changed. Today, a generation of […]

Andrew Muchineripi Soccer Manning Rangers’s coach Gordon Igesund is a born optimist, who refuses to accept that his club cannot book a place in the African Champions League final on Sunday. The Mighty Maulers from Durban share first place in Group B with Asec of Cte d’Ivoire on 10 points and have a marginally better […]