Innehållsförteckning för Issue 296 2021 från The Big Issue

As the pandemic has rudely reminded us, there is a beginning and an end to all things. And a phase for the fresh and new. With this sentiment, the team bids a heartfelt adieu to our former editor, Alicia English. I am delighted to take the reigns once again after a stint in 2018. We aim to grow the brand to align with our international counterparts and work with our vendors – upholding the truest principles of journalism and creativity. Here’s to many richly imagined pages, as we pioneer through the digital age. That said, imagine the honour it is to introduce our guest editor this issue – none other than the international and multi-award-winning author (30 or more), Marita van der Vyver. Marita lives in France, but her roots…

Standing for long periods of time in traffic is challenging. The pandemic and a move to digital media has made our vendors’ lives extremely gruelling. But each and every one has a personal story, and a life that matters. And each has tenacity, perseverance and mental strength that is noteworthy. Who? Buzelwa Mafongonyana has been a vendor since 2017 and lives in Delft. Find her where? Corner Newlands and Bowwood Roads. Hopes and dreams. In the future she would like to have her own small business selling clothes. Who? Nozuko Mabohlo lives in Delft. Find her where? Corner Kildare and Protea Roads. Education. To graduate as a sangoma and help people. Who? Jacob Makhawule has been a vendor since 2002 and is from Crossroads, Nyanga. Find him where? Corner Struben…

Leave one entjie for tomorrow A SHORT STORY BY MIA ARDERNE Just one. Because you’ll wake up with no lis to get up and go walk to the shop fi rst thing in the morning. So leave one entjie for tomorrow. No matter how moer-toe you are that night before, your second last entjie means closing time. Even when you’re alone at home suiping, remember this one thing. Save that last entjie. Here’s the thing. You thought you’d put enough petrol in to drive to work tomorrow and get there in time, but you didn’t and now you’re gonna be late. You thought you didn’t send that very kak, albeit very true message to that naai last night, but you did and now it’s too late to delete it. You…

An extract from Death by Carbs by Paige Nick (Bookstorm, 2015) – dedicated to anyone who has ever struggled to lose weight and knows how murderous it can be. THE COP Wednesday 3:37am A cop who liked donuts: he was the world’s biggest cliché. Bennie September turned on the interior light in the car and angled the rearview mirror so he could catch a glimpse of his face. Then he swept back and forth at his top lip with his fingertips. It wasn’t easy getting powdered sugar out of a moustache. He dropped the now-empty cardboard Pick n Pay box on the floor of the passenger seat of his old Opel, then strained against the seatbelt to shove the box as far back under the seat as possible. That was…

Amira Khan, 27 years old When I studied, it was a struggle, because I lived in a dangerous place, so that travelling early morning and late night was a nightmare. End of 2019, I finally bought my first car. Now I drive safely to work, where the danger awaits me every day. Lisbet Maartens, 58 years old I did not think I would have to die for the job and that is a real possibility. I miss my colleagues, last year this time we made diet plans while we shared Christmas leftovers. Thulani Adams, 39 years old You won’t believe me now, I started as a porter. I just finished school. I still remember how my granny said, you can move up in a hospital, but she died before I…

Extract from my mother, my madness, published by Deep South (2020). Indian summer 18 April 2018 It’s almost a month since my mother died. Even in death my mother defies me. I have had many expressions of condolence and I’m thankful for them, it means that there are people who have noticed enough to say something. And many of the expressions are kind and caring. However, I can’t take them into my heart in a simple, open way. My relationship with my mother was so fraught and complicated that even now I don’t feel plain grief. Part of what I’m grappling with: Is she really gone? How can this be? I know I was with her when she died. I saw the last breath leave her body. I saw her…

Dear Big Issue readers You would hopefully notice two things as you page through the magazine in your hands. It is a bookish issue, with some brilliant short stories and literary contributions; and they are all written by women. The literary slant is easy to explain. I would have gladly agreed to be Guest Editor of this admirable magazine – even if I wasn’t specifically asked to solicit stories from some of my favourite authors. The idea of sharing the words of writers I love with such a wide readership made the offer absolutely irresistible. And the female slant? Well, this is still mainly a man’s world, as James Brown sang, and women’s writing is still too often relegated to women’s magazines or ‘women’s novels’. So an issue that showcases…

My darling daughter Some bedtime stories Ma had to tell again and again, like Little Red Riding Hood, with its rhythmic question-and-answer ritual that me and my siblings could never get enough of. “What big eyes you have, Grandma!”... “All the better to see you with, my dear!” We drew out the pleasure of the questions for as long as we could. Grandma’s nose, hands, feet, everything we could think of, was questioned, and if Ma hadn’t stopped us, we would probably have strayed underneath Grandma’s nightgown as well. (“But Grandma, what big boobies you have. But Grandma, what a big bottom you have.”) Until at last, giddy with joy and quivering with fear, we got to Grandma’s mouth. “All the better to eat you with, my dear!” And the…

Stellenbosch-based Karin started writing crime novels after a 30-year career in print journalism. Her books have been published in Afrikaans, English, German, French and Dutch. She has won the University of Johannesburg Debut Prize, two M-Net awards, and an ATKV prize for prose. Homeland is her third novel. THE CHILD IN ROOM 9 It was during one of the Kalahari’s raging February storms that Kytie Rooi committed a murder. It happened so fast, so silently, that at first her mind didn’t register: the man making a single, surprised sound. He slid limply from his chair to the floor, landing on his knees and face. For a moment he seemed to be kneeling in prayer. Then he sagged sideways and slowly rolled onto his side. His eyes were still open, staring…

Get your copy of little issue at Spar stores nationwide. Designed for grade R-3 learners, it’s aligned with the DBE curriculum. It helps with reading for meaning, numeracy and literacy. “A NOISE IN THE NIGHT” It was a very dark night. The moon was out of sight. Sipho and David were sitting by a fire, eating sausages and relaxing. They had walked all afternoon. They had found a nice place to camp with lots of trees and a dam to fish in. They had put up their tent. Then Sipho heard a strange noise. David heard it too. It went, “HOOT, HOOT. HOOT, HOOT”. It came from the trees behind their tent. They boys put down their sausages. They left their bags behind and ran all the way home. Read…

“Published for the first time in English … Poems from Noudat slapende honde, Kwela Books (2008) translated by Charl JF Cilliers Little Cardo, for Alfonso Cloete and Valencia Farmer “And they say it’s the white man I should fearBut it’s my own kind doin’ all the killin’ here”Tupac Amaru Shakur, Only God can judge me Cardo was bornbut no one expected himhis mother was sixteenand his dad community builder of the yearhis grandmother was a cashierand his step-granddad drank for the pain Cardo was a fine-looking young chapwith dark skin and light-coloured eyesgood-looking enough to speak Englishhe loved playing three-sticksand rotten egg in the roadTietie Gawa from the mobile saidCardo was an angelic child The night before Cardo’s first dayof big schoolthe School Boys were shooting off fireworks in the…

When Die Uitnodiging aired its first season on DSTV’s kykNET in October 2020, it received rave reviews. And during the pandemic and ensuing lockdowns, strong family units and healthy relationships have become more important than ever. The show is 100 percent reality TV, where estranged loved ones are invited to meet in a setting conducive to open and honest conversation and healing. It’s high drama and touching to watch. Host and executive producer Cato Bekker says reviving broken relationships is at the heart of the show, helping participants make contact, connect, and make amends. 1. What led to you becoming a presenter on the show? A few years ago, on a visit to Holland, I saw an episode of their version of The Invitation. I was instantly hooked! There was…

YOUR FACEBOOK POSTS Zubeida Toefy – “Just read, for first time, some articles in this month’s Big Issue. I’m very impressed.” Shona Randall Salver – “Such a great read! Always so well written. And helps the vendors so much.” Hilary Gilbert - “I am a big supporter of The Big Issue! “It’s so important to buy their magazine, which is a really good read. I give more than the price as they are there in all weathers!” Lingie Ramsamy – “Well done. The Big Issue vendors are entrepreneurs waiting to achieve. Please support. I was a vendor for 10 years.” Luu Bayi – Me and Ntokozo Makaula were selling #TheBigIssue magazine [at] the same robots … we became buddies. In 2005 and 2006 we even went overseas to Sweden and…

Here are a few excerpts of recent reviews from the page with a big thank you to all our readers for making this possible. Without you, there is no page. The Artist Vanishes by Terry Westby-Nunn – reviewed by Paige Nick A cleverly told mystery thriller, one of the best I’ve read. The novel runs in two parallel threads: ‘then’ and ‘now’. ‘Then’ tells Sophie’s story. She starts out a struggling artist who creates powerful pieces that prod society. After a massive grant from big pharma on a testicle project, Sophie hits the big time, until a new project goes horribly wrong and she disappears without a trace, but with lots of suspects. ‘Now’ tells James’ story. He is a washed-up alcoholic documentary film maker who is driven to create…

Sally Andrew is the author of the best-selling Tannie Maria mysteries, Recipes for Love and Murder and Tannie Maria & the Satanic Mechanic, books that have been translated into 14 languages across five continents. She lives with her artist partner, a giant eland, and a secretive leopard. Sally also spends time in the wilderness of southern Africa and the seaside suburb of Muizenberg. She holds a Master’s degree in adult education from the University of Cape Town. Before settling down to write full time, she was a social and environmental activist. Her latest book, Death on the Limpopo, has been shortlisted for the SA Book Awards. An extract from Recipes for Love and Murder, published by Umuzi, an imprint of Penguin Random House. When Jessie left I did not even…

No one was from Jo’burg. Masedi had escaped a village and fertile wife who nagged him for nappies, babies’ milk, money for maize, money for meat, money for this thing and that thing and that and that. Johnson too; he had escaped some evolving trap of poverty he’d thought he couldn’t escape. No one was from Jo’burg. We were villagers, all of us. Jo’burg had made us security guards and taxi drivers, and sometimes miners and other things. But we were all villagers. “How did you get here?” Masedi asked, addressing me by my name. “Jaa, ne,” said Johnson, “how did you get here?” Rammuḓa was getting married. We took a bus from Park Station to Giyani. We wouldn’t stop in Giyani itself, but before that, near a village called…