Been doing some sleuthing, thanks to a good question on my post of a couple of days ago. source As a followup to the question, I promised to do a bit of research to identify whether there was a correlation

Yesterday morning, our local radio station featured an interview with two Chinese-South Africans and one of the first questions the interviewer (who really loves identity politics) asked was, "How

A couple of days ago, I shared some surprisingly good news about Africans getting out of extreme poverty - the news goes completely against what we expect from our daily feed from the media. Today I'll

Sustainability comes in many guises. Corporates helping families get their kids to eat better is perhaps a less common sustainability initiative, but that's precisely what one of South Africa's local retailers

Finish this sentence in your head, or with those around you. "In the last 30 years the proportion of the world population living in extreme poverty has...." Now finish this next sentence in your

While I was waiting for the experts to come and plant Herbert the River Bushwillow on Monday, I noticed a butterfly flying rather oddly in the tallish grass near where Herbert was to find his new home.

In my continuing efforts to satisfy the Medical Aid deity, I look for pleasant ways to get my ten thousand minimum steps, and our little suburb is simply a beautiful place to do this. The late afternoon

Last week I introduced you to a young River Bushwillow tree (also known as a combretum) given to @tim-beck and me by a friend who rather than wanting to receive gifts on his 60th birthday, preferred to

Every 22 March is a special day, as it's World Water Day. Without water, we humans wouldn't be on this planet, so it's something to be deeply grateful for and to take care of. Image source This year's

Our neighbourhood is quietly and systematically being invaded by aliens. Can't see them? Gosh, how well they blend in! I'm talking about plants that just appear. And they're not weeds. Still can't see

If I've given you the impression that Greta Thunberg (see list of posts I've written about her recently at the end of this article) is the only child activist out there, mea culpa - there are other awesome

On Saturday morning, @tim-beck and I joined friends and family of one of our dearest friends for his 60th birthday celebration in Pretoria. There were a few unusual features to this celebration: it was

Given the importance of the issue and Nobel Peace Prize nominee Greta Thunberg's effectiveness at mobilising young people in support of her climate change fight, I knew there'd be a lot of young people

Words cannot express my sorrow today. Image source I went to bed in South Africa last night uplifted and excited by news that the 15 March global student climate strike (see this post for more detail)

Oh. My. Greatness. The Nobel Peace Prize. The day before hundreds of thousands of schoolchildren that she has mobilised since first starting her protest alone in front of the Swedish parliament just last

Nearly two weeks ago I wrote about the African tulip tree growing in our garden. I spent last week in Lusaka, Zambia's capital city, and was treated to streets lined with mature, majestic tulip trees.

Fridays for FutureImage source A movement that started with one determined teenage activist has snowballed into a global movement in less than a year. source In August last year, then 15 year-old Greta

I can occasionally get a teeny bit OCD - I like for things to be in their place, especially for things like credit cards to be in the "correct" section of my wallet, you know, because. When I'm

The last couple of days I've been musing on naturally-occurring things which are beautiful - two days ago it was an African Tulip Tree, and yesterday it was the African Sacred Ibis. And sure, what's beautiful

Yesterday I was enamoured of a tree, and today, oh fickle me, it's a bird. The African Sacred Ibis I even bought a painting of them, I like them so much. Painting currently hanging in a most inaccessible