Blog - BEN TROVATO

06 Dec

Whale to go, Iceland!

December 6, 2024
By Ben Trovato
0 comments

Good news for whale-haters! Iceland has just authorised whale hunting for the next five years. Under the new permits, 209 fin whales and 217 minke whales can be caught during each year's whaling seas...

04 Dec

Columns

One more, then take me home bru

December 4, 2024
By Ben Trovato
4 comments

One from the archives... ....................................... Finally, some good news coming from one of the basket cases that cling like diseased suckerfish to what we laughingly call our bo...

03 Nov

Columns

Complex issues with body corporate bullies

November 3, 2024
By Ben Trovato
4 comments

More and more people are choosing to live inside private security estates. They're hard to miss. Just drive up the coast north of Durban. Balize. Salta Sibaya. Zimbali. Zululami. Simbithi. Zuleni. El...

02 Nov

Cut&Run

Rachel’s red card for Kolisi

November 2, 2024
By Ben Trovato
6 comments

Dear Siya, Congratulations on the impending severance of your matrimonial bonds. Too many people talk about divorce as if it's a bad thing. They have no idea. The happiest day of my life was when I g...

21 Oct

Columns

To the Matric Class of 2024

November 7, 2024
By Ben Trovato
5 comments

Dear adultlings, Congratulations on making it to the end of the beginning. Twelve years of being bullied, belittled and, in several thousand cases, banged up. A South African education pr...

10 Oct

Cut&Run

Arise, Sir Ben …

October 10, 2024
By Ben Trovato
7 comments

It's been some time since I left school. Not quite in disgrace, but not exactly covered in glory either. Did my school “career” leave a lasting impression on me? Sure it did, but only until the flesh ...

03 Oct

Cut&Run

Crystal clear on race

November 7, 2024
By Ben Trovato
0 comments

I read something written by someone who has something to do with the so-called Institute of Race Relations. I’ve heard things about this institute. I don’t know if these things are true. To be h...

08 Sep

Cut&Run

Roman around the farms

September 8, 2024
By Ben Trovato
2 comments

Dear John, Oh dear. That's unfortunate phrasing. Perhaps Mr Steenhuisen would be less triggering. Did you ever get a Dear John letter from a duplicitous girlfriend while you were in the army? Were yo...

29 Aug

Cut&Run

We demand more pot

August 29, 2024
By Ben Trovato
5 comments

I've been hearing a lot about this two-pot retirement system lately. It all happens on Sunday. That should liven up the weekend. Better than getting stabbed. People who know things say it's a brillian...

23 Aug

Cut&Run

A Floydian Slip

August 23, 2024
By Ben Trovato
4 comments

Dear Julius, I was sorry to hear about your break-up with Floyd. The collapse of a relationship is no laughing matter. Actually, that's not true. When my second marriage ended I laughed for days. B...

15 Aug

Cut&Run

Kommetjie – baboon village with a surfing problem

August 15, 2024
By Ben Trovato
16 comments

So the moment I leave Kommetjie, there's an outbreak of hostilities between the humans and the baboons. It's almost as if I was the link keeping the two apart. Well, I'm the missing link now and they'...

17 Jul

Cut&Run

The Assassination: Scene 1 Act 1

July 17, 2024
By Ben Trovato
5 comments

It's clear what happened here. Donald Trump's linguistically challenged rival, Boe Jiden, was edging ahead in the polls and he desperately needed a boost. Preferably one that came with great photos. T...

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