“If you want to achieve something you’ve never achieved before, you have to do something you’ve never done before” – Rassie Erasmus Dear friends This Simons Town week has been somewhat surreal. The bay has been still, so still that…
Good morning friends Thursday, 27 April, was South Africa’s Freedom Day. It commemorates South Africa’s first democratic election, held in 1994. Two weeks before that, on 10 April, we remembered Chris Hani who had been assassinated on that day, a…
I have been thinking about the power of friendship. My thoughts have been triggered by creative partnerships. Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Skin and Len Arran, Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, the list goes on…all their histories share a similar…
Over the past few weeks, it has felt to me that we could all do with some gentleness, with some love and kindness. When one looks, there is a lot to fall in love with. Of course, Banyana Banyana won…
Good morning friends Before contemplating failure, let’s warm ourselves with some success… Vusi Beauchamp’s solo show “The Cult of One” will open in New York in September. It is his debut in that city, so is an exciting milestone in his…
Good morning my friends I’ve had a fun week watching South Africans popping up all over the global stage. Cape Town illustrator, Russel Abrahams contributed the editorial illustration to an HBR Ascend article on imposter syndrome. Jan Ernst’s Womb collection opened at Collectible Fair in Brussels; Matthew Hindley’s majestic…
Good morning friends Before we get started today, a few practical things. First, I won’t be writing to you next weekend. I will be taking a short break. Second, if like me, you find your body getting stiffer from too…
Good morning Today is South Africa’s Human Rights Day. In my 6 December letter, I promised to share my reading of Charles van Onselen’s The Night Trains in January. I haven’t been able to find my way into. The year has felt so…
In the face of the unfathomable, the most powerful thing that one can do is to seek hope, joy, and connection. It doesn’t make the nonsensical, sensible. It doesn’t make the pain go away, but it does add energy, it…
Good morning friends I’ve missed you. I’ve missed the ritual of sitting down each week to write to you, to communicate with you. I’ve missed the conversations that follow. It is good to be back. Well, strictly speaking, we’re not…
Good morning everyone Like all of us, South African artist Simphiwe Ndzube was forced to improvise during lockdown. Last week, the Stevenson gallery shared 6 new works that emerged from his makeshift studio. They’re an amazing part of what Ndzube calls a “cosmology of…
Good morning friends The focus of today’s note, came to me via Chip Conley’s Wisdom @ Work, in which he recounts this proverb, “When an elder dies, it’s like a library has burned down.” I was reminded of it this…