SAN ETCHINGS: ZEN TRACES
Antony Osler writes about discovering San rock engravings on Poplar Grove Farm, which confront him with some troubling questions about his South African ancestry. Read here >>
Has education lost its value?
Destine Nde discusses the global and local crisis in education with Mr George Ferreira, principal of Willowmore Secondary School. Read more >>
100 days of the GNU, and the EFF is sweating
Phakamisa Mayaba takes stock of the GNU 100 days after its formation, and its impact on the fortunes of the EFF. Read more >>
The Karoo is a tough place to be a bee ...'
Just when we think we know most things about the Karoo, it throws us another curve ball — this time, in the form of fascinating research about colonies of wild bees in the Wolwekraal Nature Reserve outside Prince Albert. Read more >>
Conserving the Karoo's biodiversity
A summary of the fourth of five cross-cutting themes outlined in the landmark study titled Contested Karoo: Interdisciplinary perspectives on change and continuity in South Africa’s drylands, edited by Cherryl Walker and M. Timm Hoffman. Read more >>
Eita! Are you a true SAffer when you don’t know what that means?
Phakamisa Mayaba explores the wild and wonderful world of South African slang – and concludes that, despite its disparate roots, this might be the most accessible of our 12 languages. Read more >>
Karoo towns as 'important sites of social reproduction'
A summary of the third of five cross-cutting themes outlined in the landmark study titled Contested Karoo: Interdisciplinary perspectives on change and continuity in South Africa’s drylands, edited by Cherryl Walker and M. Timm Hoffman. Read more >>
Keeping up with Heritage Day
Are our various pasts dead or alive? Phakamisa Mayaba reflects on the meaning of Heritage Day. Read more >>
Services On Wheels
Destine Nde witnesses a remarkable initiative in the Beyers Naudé Local Municipality in the Klein Karoo to bring a range of vital government services to the people. Read more>>
Kasi economy: Hollow spiel or real deal?
The kasi economy is being hyped up as a means of pulling the country out of its low-growth, no-jobs quagmire. Phakamisa Mayaba thinks about how this might unfold on his doorstep. Read more >>
The changing nature of farming in the Karoo
A summary of the second of five cross-cutting themes outlined in the landmark study titled Contested Karoo: Interdisciplinary perspectives on change and continuity in South Africa’s drylands, edited by Cherryl Walker and M. Timm Hoffman. Read more >>
At SAMAS with the Karoo Development Foundation
Phakamisa Mayaba recently accompanied the Karoo Development foundation delegation to the 88th SAMAS conference in Bloemfontein. Herewith his impressions. Read more >>
Profound shifts in land use under way in the Karoo
A summary of the first of five cross-cutting themes outlined in the landmark study titled Contested Karoo: Interdisciplinary perspectives on change and continuity in South Africa’s drylands, edited by Cherryl Walker and M. Timm Hoffman. Read more >>
Scenes from the national SAMAS conference
Phakamisa Mayaba reports on the 88th national conference of the South African Museums Association, held in Bloemfontein last week. Read more >>
A 50th anniversary, and the smell of green leather
Riaan de Villiers recalls Dr Frederik Van Zyl Slabbert’s first speech in parliament exactly 50 years ago– and wonders what he would have thought of the South Africa of today. Read more>>
Government of National Stupidity
Phakamisa Mayaba surveys — with dismay — the latest antics in South Africa’s first parliament led by the GNU, and the seventh after the transition to democracy. Read more >>
Can the Northern Cape Township Tourism Strategy dig Kuyasa out of poverty?
The Northern Cape government has launched an ambitious Township Tourism Strategy, focusing on Colesberg and four other towns. Phakamisa Mayaba examines its prospects. Read more >>
Following the dramatic break-up of the Shivambu-Malema bromance, the EFF’s future is shrouded in uncertainty, writes Phakamisa Mayaba. Read here>>
Key themes from landmark study of the Karoo
Maeder Osler outlines five key themes in a major study of the Karoo which provides a frame of reference for all role players concerned with its social and environmental sustainability. Read more >>
Man about Colesberg: Part 2
Phakamisa Mayaba continues his ramble through Colesberg’s varied tourism attractions. Read more >>
Man about Colesberg: Part 1
In the first of a two part-series, Phakamisa Mayaba begins to survey the varied attractions Colesberg offers to people who are prepared to take a sho’t left. Read more >>
Jonty Driver’s early life remembered
Dayspring, a memoir by the South African-born poet, novelist and educator C.J. (Jonty) Driver, was recently launched in Cape Town. Published posthumously, it deals with Driver’s youth in South Africa and his life as a student activist before he was forced to leave the country. The launch featured a discussion between the literary scholar David Attwell and Toverview’s Maeder Osler, who worked closely with Driver during his years in the National Union of South African Students (NUSAS), and succeeded him as NUSAS president. Read more >>
ANC in Wonderland
Given the ANC’s failure to accept the real reasons for its electoral decline, writes R.W. Johnson, its collapse is likely to continue. Read more >>
Remembering Bongli, and a song titled ‘Amagama Aphelile’
Jasper Cook writes about a forgotten hero who saved people in the Kat River Valley during the Spanish Flu. Read here >>
Playing the race card while people perish
The spat about Miss South Africa contestant Chidimma Adetshina has exposed all our ugly skeletons about race and ethnicity, writes Phakamisa Mayaba. Read more >>
The wonders of grass
Farming guru Dennis McDonald explores the mysteries of grass and grazing – the life blood of some parts of the Karoo. Read more >>
Colesberg soars on the wings of song
Choirs from three Colesberg schools have made history by going through to the finals of the 2024 South African Schools Choral Eistedfodd. Read more >>
R.W. JOHNSON
Columns by the renowned commentator R.W. (Bill) Johnson appear on Toverview. For his latest views on South African and global affairs, click here.
The Belly-Deli experience
Destine Nde writes about a special dining experience in a small town on the edge of the Camdeboo Plain. Read more >>
Willowmore in tears
The peaceful town of Willowmore has been shaken by the deaths of two residents, one of them a promising learner, in a motor vehicle accident. Destine Nde reflects on the age-old question: ‘Why did this happen?’ Read more >>
TOVER OPERA
Maeder and Les Osler listen to a sensational young South African soprano on Diemersfontein Farm. Read more >>
Destine Nde reports on the spectacular Baviaans Kloof Mountain Bike Marathon. Read more >>
TOVER JAZZ
Tap your feet to this … The famous song ‘Pata Pata’ performed by the African Jazz Pioneers. Link provided by Jasper Cook. Read more about it here >>
TOVER VIDEOS
Happy times at the Touwswil Market. Read more >>
Destine Nde visits a lively barber shop in the Klein Karoo town of Willowmore. You can also read more >>
TOVER ART
Maeder Osler writes about a charming watercolour by Dilys Kneebone of an imaginary farmhouse in the Eastern Cape. Read more >>
BOOK REVIEW
Maeder Osler reviews an important new book examining trends of continuity and change in the Karoo. Read more >>
A cat called Granny
Antony Osler writes about the healing power of a young girl with a cat named Granny, which turned the atmosphere in a hospital ward and even made him listen to Puccini. Read more >>
HIGHWAYS & BYWAYS
Welcome to a new series aimed at exploring maps of the fascinating (and elusive) region known as the Karoo. We start with a colourful map on the KNK website. Read more >>
A newsletter from the small town of Campbell east of Griquastad in the northern Cape. Read more >>
The Hantam Community Education Trust has released its annual report for 2023. To download a copy, click here.
FROM A ROOM WITH A VIEW
Hello Friday … why tomorrow (Friday the 14th) is going to be special. A riff from the old waenhuis on Hanglip Farm. Read more >>
'I'm a GNU ...'
Who says politics can’t be fun? Toverview’s Editor-in-Chief, Maeder Osler, invites you to click on the video link above.
BOOK REVIEW
Jasper Cook reviews Playing the Changes: Jazz at an African University and on the Road, by Darius and Catherine Brubeck (UKZN Press, 2023). Read here >>
From a room with a view
Maeder Osler is sifting his way through a varied archive spanning generations of life on Hanglip Farm. From his ‘room with a view’ in the old Waenhuis, he reflects on the value of (re)discovering and re-evaluating our pasts, as a means of working towards a more inclusive future. Read more >>
Whose Colesberg?: an inclusive history in the making
Like those of many other South African regions and towns, current histories of Colesberg are biased and incomplete. However, reports Maeder Osler, a significant attempt is under way to rectify this imbalance. Read more >>
PORTALS
TOVERVIEW acts as a portal for the websites of two enterprising Colesberg people, namely the journalist and writer Phakamisa Mayaba, and the entrepreneur and developmental activist Mbulelo Kafi. Read more about them below, and click through to their websites.
Phakamisa Mayaba
Phakamisa Mayaba is a freelance journalist and creative writer who is building impressive content on his own website, eParkeni. To connect with this exciting site, click here.
Mbulelo Kafi
MBULELO KAFI is a former town councillor, a development enthusiast, and an entrepreneur. He has a deep understanding of the issues facing his community, and is committed to finding solutions that benefit all members, whether through Sakhisizwe Travel and Tours, a company he founded to promote tourism and economic growth in the region, or his role as an inspirational speaker. He is seen here with the minister of tourism, Patricia de Lille. To connect with Sakhisizwe Travel and Tours, click here.
GUEST WRITERS / GASSKRYWERS
ANTONY OSLER is a former folksinger, school teacher, Zen monk, human rights advocate and arbitrator. He is also the author of three books on Zen in South Africa. At present he lives on Poplar Grove farm in the Great Karoo with his wife, Margie, where they raise wool sheep and lead Zen retreats.
JANNIE (ROCKY) GAGIANO is ‘n politieke wetenskaplike, politikus, akteur en satiris. Hy was lank ‘n lektor in Politieke Wetenskap aan Stellenbosch Universiteit, en ‘n verkose lid van die Stellenbosse Stadsraad. Hy het in vroeër jare vir die Libertas Teaterklub opgetree, en ná sy aftrede vir die teatergroep Vleis, Rys en Aartappels. Hy is deesdae ook bekend vir sy vlymskerp satiriese pen.
Toverview is proud to welcome R.W. (BILL) JOHNSON as guest writer. A distinguished historian, political scientist and journalist, he is one of South Africa’s most prominent and most perceptive political analysts. In recent years, Bill and his wife, the Russian-born historian Irina Filatova, have become friends of Maeder and Les Osler, and have visited them on Hanglip Farm. Bill’s articles normally appear behind paywalls, but he has kindly agreed to make them available to Toverview. We particularly intend to publish his articles on the politics surrounding South Africa’s date with political destiny in the form of Elections 2024, thereby adding to the series launched by our local writer, Phakamisa Mayaba. To go to Bill’s posts, click here.
JASPER COOK: jazz musician, composer, Karoo-lover, raconteur and friend. He currently lives in Johannesburg, but has spent a lot of time on Hanglip Farm, and is dreaming of returning to the platteland. Read more about him here >>. Jasper has started his own website, AndThisIsJaz. Wonderful content, and technologically unique. (In his Other Life, he was a computer wizard.) It also contains his Hanglip Farm blog, again with important material about the farm, its ecology and sustainable future, and current efforts to revitalise cultivation, based on traditional farming methods in Zimbabwe.
USEFUL LINKS
Hantam Community Education Trust
Karoo Space: At the heart of South Africa
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