Author: Nyx Mclean

By KAITLIN YENDALL, psychologist, Victoria Girls’ High School “We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy is when men are afraid of the light” – Plato. We are born into this world naïve to the potential threats and dangers lurking in the shadows. Completely helpless and unable to survive on our own, we have no choice but to trust those responsible for our care.  If we are ‘lucky’ enough, our guardians/parents will do their best to protect us from the evils of this world for as long as they possibly can. But at some…

By ROD AMNER AND NYX MCLEAN, Grocott’s Mail editors It has been a difficult week as we are faced with disturbing stories of sexual violence: a report of a taxi driver charged with raping a schoolgirl, and a letter from a community member speaking out about sexual abuse that took place at one of our schools 20 years ago. How do we as a community begin to have a conversation about violence, especially sexual violence against young children regardless of whether the violence took place while they were in the care of teachers or those who provide services such as…

By SHANNON SKAE COVID-19 has severely hindered people’s ability to achieve a balanced and holistic lifestyle, primarily due to the mental health impact of prolonged periods of isolation and lack of exercise. Globally, depression, diabetes, and obesity have been rising. The World Health Organisation reported in 2019 that an estimated 1.5 million deaths were directly caused by diabetes, while another 2.2 million deaths were attributable to high blood glucose. Meanwhile, the Health Coach Institute reports that approximately 264 million people globally suffer from depression. Factor in a pandemic and these numbers are now bound to be much higher. Many people…

By NYX MCLEAN We are now just a little over three months into the shift of Grocott’s Mail to a teaching newspaper. It has been a good and challenging experience for all of us on the Grocott’s Mail team. We have learned many lessons along the way, including how to guide student journalists through the real-time process of covering news and events in the community while still working remotely in a digital newsroom. We really miss having the experience of being in a physical newsroom. But hopefully, we will get to experience that next year as more and more people…

By NYX MCLEAN, Grocott’s Mail engagement editor In a few days, the local government elections will be upon us. Once they pass, we are likely to see a quietening of activity around Makhanda. This is the way of party politics, it seems; one last burst of activity to try and secure votes, and then a simmering down and keeping things ticking over in office. I am not being especially cynical; there is some truth to what I have written. Candidates disappear into the day-to-day administrative work of being in office and remove themselves from the public until the next election…

By NYX MCLEAN, Grocott’s Mail engagement editor Social media has shifted the way we engage with news and other forms of content. Through social media platforms such as Facebook, we read, listen, or watch about the world around us, we react to content, we share content, and sometimes we comment on posts. We can engage ‘live’ with news sources, with audiences, and with other people who are also online with us. Our approach at Grocott’s Mail with our main Facebook page has been to share a snippet of the story with you, and sometimes a little more than that –…

By NYX MCLEAN Some mornings when there is a smidgen of time between the call of my calendar and the relentless Zoom meetings that this COVID world brought with it, I can sit down to an honest to goodness cup of coffee at The Barista. It is one of my favourite coffee places because it has a good balance of caffeine (much needed by this caffeine-based lifeform), morning sun, and a flow of ideas. Oh, and I love their red cups. I am sometimes there when Mo is working; that is the same Mo of “Fun and Health with Mo”…