Author: Ava Debe

  • 2020 READING CHALLENGE TIPS

    It’s a new year and you’ve made some resolutions, one of them being “read more” and you’ve joined a reading challenge but now what? It’s easy to say “just pick up a book and read” but that only works if you’re a seasoned reader. Reading is a fun and numinous habit with many benefits and…

  • Chat with Mihlali

    Firstly, tell us a bit about yourself. My name is Mihlali Songcaka, I’ll be 25 in September. I was born in Mthatha, Eastern Cape. I speak IsiXhosa as well as English, Sesotho/Setswana and Afrikaans. I used to play rugby and I started writing poetry in 2012. What were you like at school? I had a…

  • Kansas City Shuffle: Valentines Edition

    Whoever said that nothing good nor contrustuve could come from a WhatsApp group clearly hasn’t been me for the past few days. Were it not for our girl’s group, I truly would not have realised that yesterday was Valentine’s day, wasn’t it? No…. I mean, there wasn’t much red, white and pink around, and lest…

  • BERLIN (Melville, JHB)

    No, not the place where JFK proudly proclaimed he was a jelly doughnut (remember his “Ich bin ein Berliner!” speech?), the other place that was on 7th street Melville, cramped right between Stripes on 7th and The Loft. The blue, white and red sign enticingly glowing, welcoming you with promise that you had found the right…

  • Sowetan Wood
  • What’s Your Taxi Personality?

    What’s Your Taxi Personality?

    Nothing beats South African minibus taxis. They make up 90% of the taxi industry – metered taxis (aka cabs) only make up 10%. They are dirt cheap and yeah, some of their drivers are aggro-maniacs with questionable driving skills, but what’s there not to like about a mode of transport where by sitting next to…

  • Sho’t Left | After Roboto

    …those are the terms you usually hear in a taxi here. No, not a cab where it’s just you and the driver, the mini-bus ones that range from new Quantums to ancient types which you cannot make out what make it is. The taxis that most South Africans use as a primary mode of transport…

  • Robot Retail Therapy

    Robot Retail Therapy

    South Africa, there is no place like it. But then again, anyone can say that about the country of their birth, yes? No? Well, what makes this country great is its cultural diversity – yes, most countries are culturally diverse, but not like South Africa, because here we celebrate and recognise all cultures, and this…