Give him a Beer

Give him a beer

We live in the country, away from the city and the relatively sophisticated entertainments it provides. Now and then country life is enlivened by a touring entertainer. Usually the singers perform Afrikaans country songs that sound like an imitation of American country and western songs. Let it be said up

Help for the Aged

Help for the Aged

The parking outside Pretoria North’s car licence department is always filled with men who seek to assist you in any dealings you have with the local bureaucracy. Car licences, registration of vehicles, driver’s licences for various size vehicles, road worthy certificates and anything else you may need from that office,

Home Grown Organised Crime

Home Grown Organised Crime

In the features produced by Hollywood organised crime consists largely of illegal liquor shipments in prohibition days, prostitution rings in inner city America, protection rackets aimed at people who cannot protect themselves against the racketeers, and shipments of cocaine, the drug of the upwardly mobile. In South Africa it has

Sporadic Lifts

Sporadic Lifts

We are all hearing a lot of service delivery complaints lately. There are complaints about our electricity supply, Johannesburg’s water supply, potholes in the roads of various cities, education failures and many others, many of them real, some imaginary. But there is one failure that no one complains about, at

A Zimbabwean Family

A Zimbabwean Family

I had been looking at the rather sad figures of South Africa’s economic condition when a small Zimbabwean family arrived. Their clothing was dusty and they looked tired. The man introduced himself as Arthur, the woman as Matilda and the small child as Mary. They were looking for a place