…and how he became a town-planning clairvoyant, a literary figure and a gay icon. This is the story of Emperor Norton the First. By Hagen Engler [This piece first appeared in Sunday Times Lifestyle] South Africa has a long tradition of exporting talented individuals who go on to fame and […]
This is an excerpt from my book Marrying Black Girls For Guys Who Aren’t Black (2013). It is my contention that we are all racists, here in South Africa. It is the national pastime. And it is worth understanding that you can certainly be a racist without realising it. While explicitly not wanting […]
In the old days, before Lorraine Primary built the new section, the school was basically just a quad with classrooms running around it. The kindergarten classes were in a wing running off the one side, and the headmaster’s office opposite that. So it was really like a big capital A. […]
Cricket as a sport is great, and pleasant to follow. However, “The Cricket” is a slightly different proposition. This is when you pack deckchairs, hats and a lot of sunblock in your car and actually go to the ground to watch a match. White people can do this endlessly, or […]
I’d always believed that entering the comments sections of mainstream news websites was like feeling your way around a swamp in the dark. You’re not sure what’s down there, but you know it’s unpleasant. But lately I’ve overcome my fears and ventured into that lawless land “below the fold”. I’ve […]
I have a new book out! Yes indeedy-do! It is a book and it is new, and it is out. But in fact it is not 100 percent mine. It is the local adaptation of the world famous blogging and booking franchise, Stuff White People Like by Christian Lander. Stuff […]
Legend has it that the incident in question happened in the summer of 1969. Bryan Adams and some guys from school, they had a band and they tried real hard. Jimmy quit, Jody got married. Shoulda known they’d never get far. Those were the best days of their lives. Meanwhile, […]
By Hagen Engler As a journalist, it’s not often that one gets the chance to feel what it’s like on the other side of the media fence, to really be part of the story. Sure, journalists can lapse into that hacks-interviewing-hacks format that is the staple of so much TV news nowadays, but […]
All Mannie Engler knew was when the sound of bombers comes, to dive into the ditch and be afraid. The road from Neutemischl was bad. Three times a day, once in the morning, twice in the afternoon. They’d not been among the lucky ones evacuated from Danzig by the Kriegsmarine. […]
I worked at FHM, but I didn’t often post stuff from there on my personal blog. I made an exception in the case of the lovely Sylvana Easton, though. Sylvana appeared from nowhere, sending us a couple of pics in 2009. We were blown away, and immediately organised to do a short […]