uMabhengwane
I posted this on FB recently, and there has been some debate. I offer it now to the wider internet. Let me know what you think. Um, in my humble opinion there are a few issues with this poster. 1. I-Johannesburg isn’t a thing. I know that you might be meaning to say ‘Johannesburg Metro’, […]
I couldn’t help but see you, on my drive home. There, the size of a building, is the message in yellow and black and green. And there you are, your face many times its actual size, staring out. I could see you, but I presume that you couldn’t see me. Unlike many political adverts, such […]
When I first explain this concept to speakers of English, their reply is disbelief – “how can it be that each place has a praise-name?” The answer to this question goes to the heart of much of the misunderstandings about land and place in South Africa, which I’ll touch on very briefly before going on […]
The bell of the metal pedestrian gate rings once. I’m expecting someone, so I go to open without checking. Oh. ‘Sawubona Mama’ It wasn’t the person I was expecting. ‘Yes, hello Sir. Would you like…?’ She gestures to the hessian bag that she’s been lumping along the Linksfield Ridge all morning. I can see skillfully […]
My old boss called me at 5 on a Friday morning. It just so happened that Friday is usually my regrouping day. And he needed a locum teacher for isiZulu. So I drove through the morning sunlight and airiness of Killarney, avoiding the solid metal mash of the M1, and up to the gates of […]