by 2summers | Jun 12, 2024 | Arts and Culture, Johannesburg, Soweto, Tours, Townships/Informal Settlements
Last Thursday evening I went to Soweto with a group of journalists, tourists, and locals, and we did a simple yet revolutionary thing: We walked around at night. The walk was part of a new tourism experience called “Soweto Night Out”, founded by the... by 2summers | Feb 26, 2024 | Arts and Culture, Johannesburg, Soweto, Tours, Townships/Informal Settlements
Regular readers will know that I’ve written a couple of posts about Noordgesig — affectionately called Bulte, which means “Hills” in Afrikaans — lately (see here and here). Last year I befriended Lavinia and Fabian Otto, who live in... by 2summers | Jan 23, 2024 | Johannesburg, Soweto, Townships/Informal Settlements
When I moved to South Africa I was very confused by the word matric. “My daughter is in matric,” someone would say, or, “My son is studying for matric exams,” and I would smile and nod, wondering what they meant. Eventually I figured out that... by 2summers | Oct 12, 2023 | Arts and Culture, Johannesburg, Museums and Buildings, Soweto, Townships/Informal Settlements
I recently connected with Fabian and Lavinia Otto during a Johannesburg Heritage Foundation tour of Coronationville and Bosmont. Fabian and Lavinia were our guides for the Coronationville/Bosmont tour but they actually live in Noordgesig, a historically coloured... by 2summers | May 8, 2023 | Arts and Culture, Johannesburg, Markets/Shopping, Soweto, Townships/Informal Settlements
Last Saturday Thorsten and I went to a launch of Eve Fairbanks’ new book, The Inheritors, at the Soweto Book Café. I was excited because: 1) Eve and I have been friends for years and I was keen to hear some discussion about her award-winning book, which tells... by 2summers | Sep 8, 2022 | Arts and Culture, Johannesburg, Soweto, Townships/Informal Settlements
Last Saturday afternoon I stood on Mbolekwa Street in Dlamini, Soweto, with a couple of hundred other spectators, watching teenage boys spinning around on super-long, low-slung bicycles. Most of the bikes didn’t have brakes, or even seats in some cases. The...