City centre of Cape Town, Table Mountain. Wikimedia Commons/Discott By Amy Fraser – 27 March 2025 The City will also see the deployment of more than 700 new municipal police officers, with some dedicated to providing armed escort services for frontline staff. Amy MacIver (standing in for CapeTalk’s John Maytham on Afternoon Drive) interviews Mayor…
Former Woodstock Hospital can be developed without displacing its occupiers
Former Woodstock Hospital can be developed without displacing its occupiers 28 March 2025 | By Suraya Scheba and Andreas Scheba City of Cape Town should work with and not against the building’s residents, say urban researchers. Instead of portraying residents as criminals and building “hijackers”, the mayor and his administration should take every opportunity to…
Norwood’s social supermarket is “a hand up, not a handout” (BBC London)
From Norwood Forum From the BBC: Thought to be the UK’s first social supermarket when it launched in Lambeth a decade ago, Community Shop in West Norwood became the heart of the area. The shop is not a foodbank – even though it is stocked with donations. Residents sign up to become members, and then get their shopping for…
South African poetry has a new digital archive – what’s behind the project
Tinashe Mushakavanhu – 29 Jan 2025 South African poetry, rich with history, has long been an underappreciated cornerstone of the country’s cultural landscape. But a new free-to-access digital archive is helping change that. Focused on the poets published by a small but important press in a town called Makhanda in the Eastern Cape province, the Deep South…
Wealthy nations owe climate debt to Africa – funds that could help cities grow
Astrid R.N. Haas – 25 March 2025 Wealthy nations fuelled their industrial growth and urbanisation by burning fossil fuels. This was the biggest cause of climate change, which now affects every country in the world, even developing countries in sub-Saharan Africa which are responsible for less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Wealthy nations owe…
DOMESTIC ANIMAL SURVEY: CAPE TOWN, Let’s Talk Animals!
Tell us about your pets! Share your thoughts on pet ownership in Cape Town and help us make our city even better for animals. Cats, dogs and all sorts of other amazing creatures are part of the Cape Town family. Help us get a better understanding of pet life in our city by completing our…
FROM THE ARCHIVE | The Healing Power of Gardens: Oliver Sacks on the Psychological and Physiological Consolations of Nature
“I work like a gardener,” the great painter Joan Miró wrote in his meditation on the proper pace for creative work. It is hardly a coincidence that Virginia Woolf had her electrifying epiphany about what it means to be an artist while walking amid the flower beds in the garden at St. Ives. Indeed, to garden — even…
April veggies to plant
Starke Ayres – what to do in April
The first rains have already arrived and although there will still be many sunny days until winter arrives it is clear the time has come to prepare for the winter and spring gardens. Composting and mulching is an ongoing process. By adding a layer of compost, wood chip mulch, bark nuggets or other mulches, we…
Kai Scott live
Come see Kai Scott perform at the Obscene Parrot next Saturday! Tickets available at: https://www.quicket.co.za/events/309423-kai-scott/#/