Author: Grocott's Mail Contributors

Compiled by Harold Gess Plastic is one of the great inventions of the 20th Century. It has totally changed the way we live, and it’s hard to imagine a world without it. A quick glance around the room will turn up a variety of types of plastics, from the fabric and buttons of your clothes to the soles of your shoes, from the varnish on your furniture to the paint on your walls, from the cables in the walls to the lightbulbs and insulation in your ceiling, from the spectacles on your nose to the hair extensions on your head,…

Joelie Jesson hates finely crafted plots. The Los Angeles-based book editor thinks they are antithetical to good writing; “a cheap conceit, pieces laid out higgledy-piggledy across the pages and then slotted and fitted and fastened over three hundred pages, like a piece of Ikea furniture”. Jesson thinks the world is “messy and incomplete and ambiguous and only loosely directed” and that the best stories are similarly so. Joelie Jesson might not like Leaving Word by South African author Steven Boykey Sidley, even though she is the main character in the novel. It’s a bit short of three hundred pages, but…

Domestic violence or family violence is governed by the Domestic Violence Act 116 of 1998, which aims to protect victims of domestic violence who are in domestic relationships. Domestic violence or abuse can take on many forms, namely: Physical abuse. Sexual abuse. Verbal abuse. Economic abuse. Intimidation. Harassment. Stalking. Damage to property. Entry to the Complainant’s residence without consent, where parties do not share the same residence. Any other controlling or abusive behaviour towards the complainant. A victim of a domestic violence may approach the Magistrate’s Court, domestic violence section, to apply for a protection order against the Respondent through…

By AMY JACKSON-MOSS When it comes to rescuing and saving animals, no one wants to think about the costs involved. However, our SPCA’s financial situation at present is dire and unless something drastically changes soon, the SPCA will likely be facing bankruptcy within the next year and may be forced to close. The SPCA receives no funding from the government and relies on the generous donations from the public in order to function. Other avenues of income include fundraising events and initiatives, boarding kennel facilities, interest on capital investments, etc. Running a centre such as ours costs a great deal…

NguCHRIS TOTOBELA Imozulu ebizole nasebukhweni bezinja ngoMgqibelo evele yajika kakubi njengotywala esuswini, yenze kwanzinyana kubalandeli bebhola nakubadlali ngokubanzi. Kwimidlalo yeMakana LFA yoompondo zihlanjiwe IAttackers ihlaze iCameroon ngamanqaku alishumi kwamabini, logama yona iNewtown City ibhungce ngenqaku elinye eqandeni kwiNewseekers. NgeCawa iRhodes ibethe iYoung Eagles ngamanqaku amabini kwelinye yaze yona 6Sai Army yahlutha intlaka emlonyeni weAttackers ngamanqaku amathathu kwamabini. INew Seekers iye yajika izinto ngethuba ibhaxabula iJoza Callies ngamanqaku amane kwelinye logama iGrahamstown United ethande ungeva mvanje ibethe iNewtown City ngamathathu kwamabini. ILove and Peace ibambene ngenqaku neCameroon yaze yona iSophia Stars yathibaza iJacaranda Aces ejonge lendebe ngamehlo abomvu ngethuba ebambana ngenqaku…

(Owayo simnik’imbeko) When we woke up with the news of the passing of the amaXhosa king Zwelonke, Ah! Zwelonke, we could not hold our tears not to fall down our faces as the nation of amaXhosa. Mfimfithani mawethu nanku umongo Kuyekeni ndikuphalaze oko kundihluphayo. Andimsoli owakubumbayo Andimsoli owakusongelayo eziqhiyeni Owakusokayo mini ubuy’eSuthwini Ndisol’utshaba lodwa ukufa Okufafaze uXhosa ngobuthi busithi lithongo Kanti bubuthi bentshazo Ukufa ngugumdashe womcham’emfene Othe wasibhunyulela uZwelonke Ah! Zwelonkeeee! Ath’amehlo akukhangela Ndabonimilambo neenkomo zakho Zisiza kuhle zicacile Mzukulwane kaGcaleka siyakundulula ngamahlamvu KaTshiwo kaMdange kaNkosiyamntu kaMalangana Mntwana womnombo kaChobona Sithi nguwe kuphela ukumkani wamaXhosa Obezele yimfundiso ngendlela emayihanjwe Uvelazibhuqe…

The Rhodes University community is deeply saddened by the passing of Dr Allan William Buchanan Gray. We extend our heartfelt condolences to his wife, Gill, daughter Jennifer, and his two sons, William and Trevor. They, together with all the grandchildren that Dr Gray leaves behind are in our thoughts and prayers at this very difficult time for all of us. Rhodes University is honoured to have been a significant part of Dr Gray’s magnificent and hugely productive life. He remains our proud alumnus. He was a philanthropist, a community builder, a supporter for social justice and benefactor for many good…

Fourteen students and two teachers from Artworks for Youth were today due to set off on a 263-kilometre walk from Port Elizabeth to Zwelitsha, to the Department of Education, in protest against the state of their schools. Artworks for Youth is an NPO operating in Joe Slovo Township in Port Elizabeth. The organisation offers free visual art instruction, academic support, and mentoring to under served students in the area. Having interacted with these students over a number of years, helping them overcome various challenges, the dismal state of their schools has come to light. These children are upset by the…

By ASHLEY WESTAWAY The drop-out rate in Makhanda remains obstinately high, at around 55%. That is to say, less than half of the children who enter the schooling system end up write their matric examinations. Otherwise put, the majority of young people drop out of the local public schooling system before the end of Grade 12. The National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations end next week. Thereafter the Class of 2019 will endure an anxious wait until the release of the results on 8 January. It is an opportune moment to reflect on the size and shape of this cohort of…

By DEBBIE SMUTS Imagine a home with no books, and parents who don’t read. And then teachers from school who tell you how beneficial it is to read to your kids. Imagine the hopelessness you would feel as a parent. The Lebone Centre is changing all that for a group of parents, who are not only being encouraged to read stories to their children despite their limited literacy, but to become authors. Working with the Reading Champions Project and the University of Johannesburg, three local mothers have been able to write their own stories and have them published. The project aims to create…