By Izak de Vries Makhanda’s proverbial flag fluttered proudly next to many international flags in Cradock during the Schreiner Karoo Writers Festival, which took place from 15 to 17 June. The annual Schreiner Karoo Writers Festival has become a firm favourite for literati and for families who need a break from the city. When better to experience the art of stoepsitting and storytelling, as well as warm friendships, than during a knypkoue Karoo winter in Cradock? South African writer Olive Schreiner (1855-1920) was a fierce believer in equality. Not only did she fight for women to gain equality with men,…
Author: Grocott's Mail
Read More
By Rhodes University Division of Communication and Advancement The Director of Rhodes University’s Institute for Nanotechnology Innovation, Distinguished Professor Tebello Nyokong, has been appointed to the Pontifical Academy of Sciences by Pope Francis himself. The Pontifical Academy was founded in 1603 to promote the progress of mathematical, physical, and natural sciences. Candidates are chosen by the Pope for a seat in the Academy for life based on their eminent original scientific studies and their acknowledged moral personality, without any religious discrimination. Professor Nyokong said that when she first received the communiqué from the Pope, she deleted the correspondence, thinking it…
By Siphokazi Mlindazwe and Emma Charlene Lubaale Statistics by the South African Police Service (SAPS) and others have established that domestic violence is pervasive in South Africa’s society. The forms of domestic violence are multiple, ranging from physical abuse, sexual harassment, harassment, and socio-economic abuse. A critical question that one might ask is – can there be a legal intervention to this social ill and, if so, what are some of the laws that provide a basis for such intervention? To answer this question, the Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998 (DVA) is one of the laws we can rely…
By Bukamuso Sebata Rhodes University, nestled in the heart of Makhanda, is renowned for its commitment to academic excellence. Recently, Dean of Science Professor Tony Booth emphasised the town’s ability to nurture exceptional minds, urging grade 12 learners from six no-fee paying schools in Makhanda to take advantage of the University’s resources. In response to his call, Rhodes University’s Department of Statistics has taken a proactive step in supporting Mathematics education within the public schooling system through its Winter School programme. The Winter School programme, now in its second year, focuses on addressing the needs in the public education system.…
Stay in the loop with the latest and join the MEW WhatsApp group! THIS WEEK THURSDAY 06 JULY U3AProfessor Roy shares his presentation about the Red Sea. As a waterway dense with history and myth, and equally dense with shipping from the time of the Pharaohs to the present, the Red Sea has held a particular fascination for everyone from archaeologists to fishermen and all who “go down to the sea in ships”, as the psalmist says.@ Grahamstown Bowling Club, African Street10:00 – 11:00R5 entryAll Welcome Grahamstown Bridge Club@ Grahamstown Bowling Club, African Street13:15 for 13:30Contact Sheila Hicks: 083 442 3322R15 non-members…
By Loyiso Dyongman Informal vendors and commuters at the busy Queen Street taxi rank in Makhanda are relieving themselves in bushes because the toilets have been locked since 2021. “We use those bushes in the small river. It becomes very difficult when it is raining and you have to go to the wet bushes. The municipality is to blame. They know that many people use these toilets,” says Fundiswa Rasmeni, who has been selling goods at the taxi rank for years. In August 2021, we reported on complaints that the toilets, used by taxi drivers, commuters and vendors, were locked,…
Stay in the loop with the latest and join the MEW WhatsApp group! POP-UPS/ FESTIVALS/ EXHIBITIONS/ REPEAT EVENTS Tuesday, 20 June – Friday, 30 June Win a Cup of Coffee for You and Your Bestie at The Barista– Like our post– Share our post and tag us in your description with a photo of you and our new takeaway cup– Tell us why you love our new cup– Share your photo with your stories and tag us– Like /follow our Instagram and Facebook pages@ The Barista, Opposite the Arch, 38 Somerset Road.The competition will run until Friday, 30 June. ___ Wednesday, 21…
Jim Cambray recorded rainfall at Park Road for the week of 22-28 June 2023 of 34.7mm and temperatures ranging from 5.5 to 18C. Paul Maylam recorded 25.7 mm in Cathcart St over the same week – an unusually wet June. But the El Nino factor suggests the longer-term future is not as good, Maylam adds.
By Asiphesona Wonqwelo Oatlands resident Anne Ashburner woke up recently to find her garden and front yard filled with sewage, which rose rapidly to 15 centimetres high. The sewage leaking into the yard from blocked municipal pipes in a nearby street has been an ongoing problem – Ashburner says it is the sixth time that she and her husband Rick van Heerden have experienced a major sewage flood since they moved in, with the leaking pipe washing the faeces and toilet paper from houses higher up in the neighbourhood into their garden. “In the old days, the municipality used to…
By Rosemary Smith, Jennifer Bowler, and Helen Holleman, Quakers/The Religious Society of Friends, Eastern Cape The proposed salary scales which appeared in a Government Gazette last year struck a chord, given the levels of poverty in our small city of Makhanda. If we take the amounts on face value at about R1.2 million a year, we then deduct tax of R368 867, we are left with an income of roughly R70 000 per month. If we then use the income comparison indicator at the Southern Africa Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) website and we assume a family of five, this…