West Coast Ann Eveleth looks at plans to make economic well-being more than a brief tourist boom Most Septembers a sea of wild flowers drowns the rugged protrusions of the Cedarberg mountains that separate the quaint mission villages of Wupperthal from the Atlantic seaboard. In that lucky month, the narrow roads lead bands of tourists […]

Has Narcissus taken over London’s art world? Adrian Searle reports Top TV prof Jonathan Miller, the gangling polymath, does it again: how can a mind be so full without exploding? His latest project, the exhibition Mirror Image: Jonathan Miller on Reflection, at the National Gallery in London, is a great idea. If you want to […]

Howard Barrell Over a Barrel When good intentions land you belt- high in excrement with nothing firm underfoot, it is probably best to delay wondering what persuaded you to walk into it. Self-flaggelation can come later. Now is the time to plan a way out – so that you emerge as dry as possible, preferably […]

Michael Metelits Despite the market’s negative reaction to Customs & Excise’s monthly trade figures released on Tuesday, South Africa’s outlook may not be as gloomy as indicated by the August statistics. The figures showed a deficit of nearly R3-billion, a surprise to most analysts. They had expected a slight trade surplus. Exports dropped massively in […]

In Andr Brink, Africa meets Europe. He talks about his latest novel to John Higgins `There he stopped, and turned his back to the precipice, and …” The audience gasped in horror as Andr Brink completed the sentence from his new novel, Devil’s Valley (Secker &Warburg). Genuine horror: Brink’s narrative had captivated everyone, no mean […]

LEONARD NDZHUKULA and SHARON HAMMOND, Nelspruit | Friday 10.00pm. THE leopard that attacked six Northern Province villagers in Huntington village near Hazyview on Wednesday was in a healthy condition, but had not eaten for four or five days before the attack, the state veterinarian at the Kruger National Park, Dr Dewald Keet, said on Friday. […]

British trip-hop band Massive Attack arrive in South Africa on Sunday. Charles Leonard did a telephonic interview with Robert `3-D’ Del Naja from his hotel room in Detroit `We’re on a 17-date tour of North America. We’ve been here a couple of times before. They must like us because they’ve invited us back, but we […]

under way Matthew Krouse There were many more brides than usual at the gay pride march this year. As the procession wound its way through Berea, five young men in white satin gowns were spotted reclining on the steps of a synagogue. Their faces masked by veils, they chatted while nursing tired feet that had […]

Shaun de Waal THE NOVEL: LANGUAGE AND NARRATIVE FROM CERVANTES TO CALVINO by Andre Brink (UCT Press) Anthony Burgess warns us against anyone who inserts an apostrophe into the title of Finnegans Wake, so it is a bit worrying that this apparent lacuna gets filled no fewer than three times on a single page of […]

handouts Jacqui Boulle Since 1994 there has been much talk about developmental social welfare and the need to move away from grants and handouts to more sustainable programmes. While this approach – which underpins the Department of Welfare’s campaign during welfare month – has had some success, its impact is limited: nearly half the poor […]