Vrot. That’s how Carte Blanche producer, Graham Coetzer described the living conditions atMelchizedek, a huddle of condemned buildings in the Pretoria CBD. “Devs, it’s hectically vrot,” Graham said qualifying Melchizedek’s level of decay after he had spent an evening there→ Read more
It’s dry in the Free State. Dry and hot. You can feel the dust in your throat. Matted into your hair. Pushed deep under your fingernails. Printed into your eyeballs. Five minutes in the sun is long enough to cause→ Read more
It all started with an SMS from a friend I hadn’t seen in a long time. Sash: “Any chance of lunch today? Please? Too many stories to catch up on.” Me: “Wish I could. But on Oscar today.” Sash: “Oscar?”→ Read more
This was one of the most difficult stories I have ever had to work on. Heart-wrenching. What if you fell pregnant and, at 25 weeks gestation, you lost your baby? Just like that. One day you could feel your baby→ Read more
You’re either an animal person or you are not. I’m an animal person. You’re either a dog or cat person. I’m a dog person. Cats make me feel like staff. Now, for the big money question … Are you an→ Read more
Arrived safely in Orlando. After a total of 24 hours in the air and 11 hours in transit. 35 hours since we left home. Couple that with very little sleep and much drama the night before we left ……I am→ Read more
A holiday in America wasn’t on my bucket list. Only because I don’t have a bucket list. Always wanted one. Never got around to it. Most of my friends have bucket lists which include climbing Everest, meditating in Tibet, road→ Read more
Carte Blanche journalist Devi Sankaree Govender, 42, lives in Lonehill with her husband Perumal Moodley, 42, and their daughter Kaiyuree, 13, and son Sayuran, 11. I’ve always been terribly neat, but lately, we’ve been living in chaos! A few years→ Read more
It’s after 10pm on a weekday night and transgender sex worker Gita November and I are standing on a Saldanha street corner. Hours earlier I realised I’m not appropriately dressed. Black boots, black shift dress and too much makeup. I→ Read more
At first, I didn’t get it. Why would somebody pile teaspoons of sugar into their mouths on a regular basis and like it? Drug addiction, alcohol addiction - I get that. Socially unacceptable, with devastating effects on the addict and loved ones.→ Read more
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