A post template

No image available
/ 11 April 2005

Finally, a little bit of grunt

Last October I tested BMW’s 120i and, like any hack, I wanted more power. In the case of the 120i petrol version, both automatic and manual versions reflected a lack of grunt and I waited patiently for the diesel version to arrive. Finally, a magnificent 120d arrived for testing, fitted with the optional 17-inch alloy wheels and electronic sliding sunroof.

No image available
/ 11 April 2005

Travelling in style

The Mégane CC should feature high on your shopping list if you enjoy the wind in your hair. Chic and classy is how I’d describe it. At R270 000 this coupé-cabriolet is sensibly priced (its closest challenger, the Peugeot 307cc, comes in at R299 900), and it is extremely attractive — with the hardtop up or down. Getting the top down will take you just 22 seconds.

No image available
/ 11 April 2005

Controversial and bumper year for BEE

Mergers and acquisition activity continued its recovery in 2004, with BEE deals providing a now customary boost to liven "a controversial year", according to the 14th Ernst & Young mergers and acquisitions survey. The survey found that in 2004 the number of mergers and acquisitions deals increased from 790 to 823. The value of deals rose from R150-billion to R177,4-billion.

No image available
/ 11 April 2005

Marooned on baboon logic

I remember hanging around in my white American friend Paul’s house in Lusaka when we were about 12 years old and listening to a well-worn vinyl that had Bill Cosby or somebody’s voice bubbling out of it in a live recording from a stand-up show he was doing somewhere in the US of A. One scene springs to mind …

No image available
/ 11 April 2005

Inside OBE: Teachers must take charge

In the previous edition of the Teacher, I introduced a different way of thinking about "the basics" in education. They are the basics not of learning skills, but of the conditions that make learning happen, and they apply directly — and even urgently — to the daily work of teachers. To introduce these “real” basics, I established four things.

No image available
/ 11 April 2005

Blair warns of ‘nasty right-wing campaign’

The British political establishment last week embarked on its four-yearly quest for the support of 44-million voters in the 2005 general election in a mood of barely concealed anxiety about what the campaign may hold. Speaking in Downing Street, Prime Minister Tony Blair said: ”It is a big choice, a fundamental choice and there is a lot at stake.” Labour have pledged to ”fight for every seat and every vote.”