Lately, I’ve noticed a change in how people talk about the news. Not anger. Not outrage. Something quieter. A sentence that trails off rather than lands. I don’t read the news anymore.  At least, not like I used to. Sometimes it’s said with a shrug. Sometimes with guilt. Often with relief. Words: Penny Fourie I recognise the impulse, even though disengagement is not an option for me.I don’t encounter South Africa’s failu es through headlines alone. My work takes me into audit

I turn 31 this month. Apparently, that means it's time for some prescription-strength retinoids. They can cause a bit of peeling at first. But I've battled with my skin for years, so honestly? The idea of sloughing off my old one sounds fantastic. According to Chinese astrology, last year's Year of the Snake has been inviting exactly this—the serpentine shedding of the old to make way for the new. Now, as we move into the lunar new year, the legendary Fire Horse awaits us. Wh

I'm sitting on the floor, surrounded by his life. Dust and detritus everywhere costume fragments, etching plates, drawings, photographs, paintings. The birds are loud outside, and so is the sea. It's quiet otherwise. Just me and the accumulated weight of it all. There’s a sign he used to make and stick up on the building site of our childhood home, where I grew up: “Mind Your Mind.” A warning about bumping your head. I feel mine bumping against something heavier now—the archi

At the first hint of a seasonal change, my immune system is prone to take a personal day and leave me vulnerable to whatever lurgies are...