Five Places to Buy Local Gifts in Joburg
“Buy local” has become a popular retail catch phrase lately. But I have always loved buying locally made gifts, especially gifts in the realm of African arts and crafts. December seems like the best time to add this category to my Jozi Top Fives series....
Sobae Sorbet: A Frozen Joburg Love Story
Today is Heritage Day, a holiday celebrating South Africa’s incredible cultural diversity. It’s also the unofficial start of summer and a day when South Africans celebrate their diversity by grilling meat. (Heritage Day has been rebranded by many as...
The Dramatic Story of Rand Steam Laundries
Once upon a time, about 130 years ago, a group of Zulu men called the AmaWasha ran a business washing clothes beside a stream, on the outskirts of a ramshackle mining town called Johannesburg. The water in this stream was particularly good for clothes-washing. Soon a...
Langwan Cleaners and the Mother Teresa of Albert Street
In March 2017 I receive a Facebook message. “Do make a turn at my mom’s store, corner Albert and Mooi Street, called Langwan Cleaners. Will make a good story. “My mom, a single mother now 70 years old, has been running a ‘general dealer’...
Heather Mason
I’m an American writer/blogger/photographer living a quirky life in Johannesburg. Follow along as I explore Johannesburg, South Africa, and the rest of the world.
