TELEVISION: Stanley Peskin ONE thing that every foreigner knows about the English is that Englishwomen write the best detective stories of all. Now it can unequivocally be stated that an Englishwoman called Jennifer Saunders has written and performed in the funniest comedy series that has appeared on television monitors in years. Absolutely Fabulous is just […]

IT is ironic to see those who for so long vilified Joe Slovo turn him into something of a new South African saint. He wasn’t. If anything he was a down-to-earth, unpretentious, though quite remarkable, man. Many of his exceptional qualities have been cited in the past few days, but there are two which deserve […]

GOLF: Jon Swift THERE was something like an aura of invincibility about the way Ernie Els strode to victory in the Bell’s Cup at Fancourt last weekend. It is the same invisible — yet recognisable — mantle of power which used to surround Gary Player on the South African circuit. Player, like Els, got his […]

Joe Slovo was the man who brokered the agreement which lead to majority rule. Jonathan Steele pays tribute to to a principled persuader JOE SLOVO had the good fortune to see the promised land. After living in exile for many years, and after the South African Communist Party was unbanned, he helped majority rule come […]

CINEMA: Shaun de Waal DOMINIC SENA’S film Kalifornia, which is a few years old now, was not a big hit in Britain or America. We may never have seen it on the big screen here had it not been for Brad Pitt’s recent success, or the ascendance of Juliette Lewis in films like Natural Born […]

Mercenaries battling a humble community tied up by someone else’s law Justin Pearce reports A LOCKED chain and two pistol-packing security guards ensure that you can’t drive a car into the Hoek van de Berg private nature reserve near Hawston. Police Casspirs, however, pass freely, stirring up the dune sand and pushing aside the dense […]

Principals were just as confused as parents and pupils when school started this week. By Pat Sidley and Nombuyiselo Moloyi GAUTENG’S MEC for education, Mary Metcalfe, may find it tougher than her anti-discrimination rules make it look to iron out all the allegations of racism lodged by parents of children starting school this week. Her […]

Security at upcoming Ellis Park concerts is likely to determine South Africa’s ability to attract big acts in the future. But, with one week to go before Roxette takes the stage, no arrangements have been finalised yet. Pat Sidley reports DON’T feel too secure about the major rock concerts scheduled to take place in the […]

POP: Bafana Khumalo IN the world of popular music, some creations reach out and grab you by the throat, demanding attention. Some grow on you and stay with you for the rest of your life. Others, sadly, immediately become wallpaper and disappear as soon as they are churned out by the record company. East Meets […]

Shadley Nash HEALTH services in the Eastern Cape are on the brink of collapse with reports of corpses rotting in mortuaries, hospitals operating without water and medicine shortages. Water shortages in rural Transkei will compound the region’s health crisis with the regional government appealing to the Department of Water Affairs to intervene. CPA’s regional health […]