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'Agency' author Ashley Brownlee with life partner Andre Hagan and their ridgeback Buggy on the stoep of their Klein Karoo guesthouse Wolverfontein Karoo Cottages. PICTURE: Coco Van Oppens

‘Agency’ a story of reinvention, healing and humour

Ashley Brownlee's memoir Agency explores his journey of identity, healing, and humour as an adopted child navigating illness, loss, and belonging in South Africa. From confronting childhood traumas and the impact of HIV/Aids to finding…

Bromeliads add a festive tropical feeling to the garden.
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Wild about bromeliads

Lyn Wegner developed a passion for gardening and bromeliads from her childhood, eventually turning it into a global pursuit and business with her nursery, Bromeliads for Africa.

EP Elephants lock Calvin Bosch is tackled by Border's Ahluma Mbinqo during a SA Rugby U21 Shield clash at Sisa Dukashe Stadium on Saturday Picture Alan Eason

Oliver toasts Baby Elephants character after comeback win over Border

Eastern Province U21 coach Shaun Oliver commended his players for showing grit in their 41-12 victory over their Border counterparts at Mdantsane’s Sisa Dukashe stadium in KuGompo City on Saturday.

Spekboom seedlings at the Kalkfontein nursery. The hope is that the first batch of plants will be ready to planted in the field early next year

Spekboom: SA’s humble green wonder

Spekboom, a succulent indigenous to South Africa’s Eastern Cape, has moved from being a backyard snack to a celebrated eco-friendly plant known for its exceptional carbon-absorbing abilities and adaptability.

De Grendel cellar master Charles Hopkins with Wine 2 Door club organisers Michelle Brown, left, and Olga Hafner, at the recent tasting at Kiplings at the Boardwalk Hotel

A VINE TIME | Industry legend delivers not only award-winning wines, but knowledge and mirth

An evening in the company of De Grendel cellar master Charles Hopkins is always a treat, and not just for the experience of tasting his internationally sold, multi-awarded and consistently highly-rated wines.

FLAVOURS OF FESTIVAL: Bronwen Makovini, bar manager at the Gin Boutique at the Hello Sardine Festival in Chintsa East, says seven styles of South African gin 'are going very well! We have had foreign tourists, a lot of Capetonians and locals. Plenty of feet!' Picture: MIKE LOEWE

To all those dreadful ‘tjoms’, we are still here, bud!

Making connection is hard. Breaking it, not so. There are scores of tired but happy women heading home as I write this on Sunday.

WELLBEING: Executive creative directors of Decorex Africa Garreth van Niekerk and Alan Hayward say minimalism is being replaced by softness and comfort. Pictures: BARBARA HOLLANDS

Home is where the soft life begins

Design leaders at Decorex 2026 say the era of hard-edged minimalism is fading as handcrafted décor, warm palettes and spaces designed to prioritise comfort, sustainability and authentic living take centre stage

The writer had hoped to enjoy a deluxe queen-size self-blow-up mattress on the trip.  Picture:

Buckets, blow-up beds and bush toilets: Surviving my first Kruger camping adventure

Armed with a torch, a bucket and anxiety, an adventurer embraces life under the stars

Makhanda-born artist and tattoo researcher Nicole Anne Bouwer.

Makhanda artist turns tattoos into healing rituals

A Makhanda-born artist and tattoo researcher also paints interiors, preserving the details that homeowners treasure most.

BLAST FROM THE PAST: The writer would listen to Springbok Radio quiz shows in the early 1970s on these old brown radios. Picture: BARBARA HOLLANDS

SA’s love affair with quiz shows lives on

There was no need to consult the Springbok Radio quiz show schedules — they were imprinted in my schoolgirl brain so that every evening could be an entertainment bonanza emanating from my small brown wireless.

There is often pressure to make Mother’s Day perfect - the ideal gift, the ideal outing. But perfection is not the goal, connection is. A thoughtfully chosen action that genuinely supports a mother’s well-being is far more meaningful than an elaborate but fleeting gesture.

Why moms need real support, not just Mother’s Day gestures

Mother’s Day arrives each year wrapped in flowers, breakfasts in bed, handmade cards and heartfelt messages of love, but the day could also be the start of more sustained support for moms who carry the family’s emotional load.

GRIME AND GLORY: The Buffalo river port of KuGompo retains a limimnal, other-worldly aura.

DELORIS KOAN | Grit versus grit out here on the pier of our lives

The waters are dark and green, full of mystery and danger. It’s scary to think of how I have swum around this orb poking into the ocean with someone called Joy, to whom we swimmers famously do not say ‘no’!

Motorcycling brought Alrose Vice closer to the sunrise, the bush, sea and mountains. This is Hetty, the writer's 1200  BMW GSA at Orient Beach. Picture: DELORIS KOAN

DELORIS KOAN | Fifty years of ‘independence, freedom and adrenalin’

Hairdresser and biker Alrose Vice still ready to savour the open road on two wheels

Dahlias are TerBlanche's favcourite flower - as she says 'they bloom like mad, and every single flower is so perfectly shaped'.

‘Blommemeisie’ planting dahlias and dreams

There’s just something about fresh cut flowers on your kitchen counter that can turn a dull day into a sparkly one.

Stangeria eriopus cycad has its growth underground

IN THE GARDEN | Discovering wonders of plant life across the Kei

The drag of everyday duty somehow leaves you as you float on the Pont across the Kei River with your dog, car and family to the land on the other side.

Artistic reconstruction of Pınarbaşı 15,800 years ago, based on evidence from archaeological excavations by University of Liverpool. Picture:

How ancient dogs became part of the family

New studies shine light on a relationship that has been part of the human social world for at least 16,000 years.

Revered Eastern Cape endurance adventurer and writer, Kim van Kets, joined Joel Smith and gave him mental strength to overcome physical exhaustion. Picture:

DELORIS KOAN | Power of community was a miracle to behold, says spiritual Joel

Young man takes his faith and runs with it