Surfers waive the rules
In these outlandish times, the measure of all things needs to be constantly recalibrated if we hope to stand a chance of emerging relatively healthy and sane. So I don't know if what is happening is a...
Truth, lies and exercise
I hear lots of crazy stuff all day long and it's not always just in my head either. For instance, I heard that the reason the government is keeping its Covid-19 modelling data from the public is becau...
And that’s the end of Cosmo
Associated Media Publishing, the flagship of the Raphaely empire, is closing shop after 38 years. No more Cosmopolitan. No more House & Leisure. No more Good Housekeeping.
In tribute to Cosmo, he...
Publisher goes berserk – brings out second book
Less than three weeks ago, my out of control publisher Melinda Ferguson got the demented idea of bringing out an eBook called Lockdown – The Corona Chronicles, featuring seventeen South African writer...
Read it and weep (with laughter)
Right. Since we are all essentially trapped in our homes, we're going to need to find things to laugh about if we aren't going to turn on each other like rats in a cage. Making fun of each other's sho...
Isolation for the nation
There's almost a festive atmosphere in our supermarkets at the moment. Trolleys are full and the queues are long. It feels a bit like Christmas, but instead of exchanging gifts we're going to be givin...
Peter Pandemic and his pet pig
This latest pandemic panic reminded me of a column I wrote eleven years ago when we were all preparing to die from swine flu. Here's a flashback to that terrible time.
..................................
Don Jr and the Beach Boys are killing it
Dear Safari Club International,
I just wanted to wish you well for your annual trophy hunting bonanza that kicked off in Reno, Nevada, today.
Thousands of hunters from around the world are there...
Time to keelhaul the buccaneers
It's hard enough to sell books without Internet pirates filching your stuff.
I discovered this was happening when I came across "Jack" asking his band of brigands where he could get a copy of my la...
Pulp non-fiction – A murder story
In the perilous world of publishing, there is something called 'sales or return'. It works like this. Bookshops will order so many copies of a new title. If those get sold, they might order more.
U...
A letter to the ‘General’
Dear Harry Knoesen,
I know you can't see me, but I have just saluted you in proper military fashion. Because I don't have a beret, boshoed or staaldak, I have a tea cosy on my head. Not ideal, I kn...
A survival guide to Black Friday
It's that time of year when we all turn into gibbering idiots and experts take it upon themselves to advise us on the blindingly obvious. In the event of a thunderstorm, avoid standing in an open fiel...