MONDAY, 3.30PM: SOUTH Africa drew their four-day Test match against Australia A at the Gabba on Monday. The visitors hit a second innings of 220 for seven declared, while Australia A finished at 122/1 in their second innings when the captains called a halt before the scheduled close. SA skipper Hansie Cronje said playing against […]

Glynis O’Hara : South African music On the one hand, there has been far more variety available in local music through 1997 than ever before, says Dave Alexander, owner of Tequila Records, but on the other hand there were “no stunners, no huge, extraordinary sales. Leon Schuster sold 130 000 (with Gautvol in Paradise), Rebecca […]

If 1997 will be remembered as the year in which broadcasting ruled media’s roost, then radio can crow loudest. Its revolution came in March when the Independent Broadcasting Authority dished out seven licences to the operators of new commercial radio stations: four in Gauteng, three in the Cape and a more recent licence in Durban. […]

It was another year of vigorous reporting at the Mail & Guardian, a paper renowned for high-level investigations and intrepid coverage of the inner workings of government. The top 11 of the M&G’s major exposes in 1997 are detailed below. Secret details of parks deal January 10 to 16 1997. Justin Arenstein We reveal a […]

TUESDAY, 10.30AM: KEITH MEDLYCOTT, Northerns’ senior coach, sprang an unwnated surprise on the team on Monday when he announced he will move to English side Surrey in April. Medlycott said his decision to end his relationship with the Titans after only two seasons was “not an easy one to make”. The 32-year-old former Surrey and […]

Robert Kirby : Loose cannon Last Wednesday my editor at the Mail & Guardian phoned me and asked me to avoid writing about anything serious this week. “Don’t be all preachy and self-righteous for our Christmas issue,” he said eagerly. “I want you to keep the column frothy and optimistic.” “For the Christmas issue?” I […]

Angella Johnson recalls the sex scandals, crimes of passion and conduct unbecoming that fed the lust-hungry public in 1997 What people are most likely to remember among the memorable stories to come out of 1997 (apart from Princess Diana’s death and Winnie roughing up the truth commission) will probably not be the passing of “rob-em-blind” […]

Janet Smith There was remarkably little snow and far fewer fat white men in red suits sleighing across the hundreds of Christmas cards that passed through the Mail & Guardian offices this year. It has taken some time for South African Christmas card manufacturers to realise that we’re not in the northern hemisphere, and now […]

Some of the most important figures of our age died in 1997, writes Fumane Diseko This year saw the deaths of three first-generation African leaders who had outlived most of their contemporaries, but not, unfortunately, to the benefit of their people. Dr Walter Hastings Banda (92), president of Malawi from 1964 to 1994, died at […]

Bongani Siqoko : Soccer The World Cup tournament is only six months away and the count-down to the most prestigious soccer extravaganza in the world has begun. Travel agencies, printers and ordinary township people are gearing up for the tournament. It is the first time that ordinary people have had so much interest in this […]