Officially disguised as a Canadian
Two major events took place in 2001, exactly a month apart. On 11 August 2001, my boyfriend at the time and I decided that I should play hooky from work. He was a student and wanted to go ten-pin bowling. We were due to meet with my best friend for lunch at his house afterwards.Continue reading In which Randolph is hit by a getaway car a month before 9/11
Defiant to the end, Jacob Zuma is the second president of the Republic of South Africa to be recalled by the African National Congress. Tonight he resigned during a speech that was clearly not written by him. When Thabo Mbeki was recalled almost ten years ago, it also made history for South Africa’s fledgling democracy. AtContinue reading Good bye, Jacob Zuma
Last year on Facebook, I engaged in a discussion with a friend about the fact that violent acts seem to be the norm to make people notice things, in place of that time-worn cliché of “rational discussion”. While my response does refer directly to South Africa, in hindsight it could apply elsewhere. Here it is,Continue reading On violence in South Africa
Did you see me on Fargo last night? Here’s the long path I took to get there. My first serious acting gig was when I was eight or nine years old. I was to play the absent-minded professor, a major character in one of those end-of-year school productions where every grade had to put onContinue reading My absent-minded journey to Fargo
Two vastly different reasons for remembering the date today, and both have resonance. 14 August 1989: (Picture credit: Alex Jay on Twitter, but I’m not sure where he got it from, because it’s a photo of a frame from a public television broadcast.) State President PW Botha, the second-last apartheid-era leader of South Africa, theContinue reading 14 August
On 16 March 2010, M and I left the interior of South Africa, on a life-changing journey that began in the Prairies of rural Canada. I wrote about some of the culture shock I experienced, followed by a realisation that I was happy with the move. Today, on 23 November 2015, 2,076 days after landing,Continue reading Lo, Canada
Please take some time to read this column by Ivo Vegter. The Cybercrime Bill also criminalises investigative journalism and whistleblowing, by making it illegal to so much as receive government data classified as confidential or secret. Possession and transmission of such information will also be illegal. The way the bill defines cyber-terrorism is far tooContinue reading “Government is breaking the internet”
M and I went to South Africa last week because his father died on Friday 6 September. We found flights on the same day and arrived on the Saturday. As funerals go, it was fine, and the rest of the week involved a lot of admin and paperwork. We returned to Canada yesterday, to giveContinue reading Ringing out from our blue heavens
My name is Randolph, and I am a racist. I was brought up in a country that institutionalised racism at all levels of society, and even now is battling to recover. When Nelson Mandela was freed (I was only 13 years old at the time), many of my white friends and their families wanted toContinue reading I am a racist
We just got back from a visit to South Africa. It’s my second trip back this year, but M’s first, since we left for Canada in March 2010. The first thing we noticed was how much the price of food has gone up. Whether it’s Woolworths packaging fewer items for the same price, or restaurantsContinue reading How things have changed