When the Springboks smashed the British and Irish Lions in Cape Town in 2021 to celebrate their emergence from Covid-19 lockdown, it was exactly 130 years since they had played their first match, also against the British Lions.

There has never been a dull moment in between as the Boks have taken South Africans on a roller coaster ride of success and setback but, more importantly, there has always been rich entertainment. Springbok history boasts a treasure trove of tales about colourful characters and riveting dramas and seasoned rugby scribe Mike Greenaway has brought a host of them back to life in his meticulously researched book.

The tales in this collection begin in the 1890s and cover every era of Springbok history right up to the present day. The Fireside Springbok is a hardcover coffee table book. Richly illustrated, there are cartoons by the much-loved Dr Jack while rare black-and-white photographs capture the mood of the historical chapters and award-winning photographers supplement the modern inclusions.

This book is a collection of heart-warming stories that will bring a smile to a reader who is perhaps ensconced in an easy chair, maybe next to a glowing fire and enjoying a favorite tipple.

Lawwe grappe vir enige onderwerp onder die son! Kom lag jou slap vir die lawwe grappies in hierdie fantastiese reeks grapboeke vir kinders! Elke boek bevat hope grappe waarmee jy jou maats kan laat lê van die lag. Daar is klop-klop-grappe, grappe oor rugby en krieket, miskruiers, miere en ander snaakse diere, vakansiegrappe en 'n klomp lekker spokerige grappe! Hoekom wou die hond nie tennis speel nie? Hy was 'n bokser. Het jy gehoor van die hokkiespan wat so opgewonde was omdat hulle vyfuur die oggend moes oefen? Toemaar, ek ook nie. Watter soort kryt maak 'n mens pimpel en pers? 'n Stoeikryt. Waar boer spoke? In begraafplase. Wat eet vegetariese vampiere?

Nek-tariens en bloedlemoene Daar is nou vier splinternuwe lekkerlag-titels in die reeks:

- 101 Sportgrappe

- 101 Vakansiegrappe

- 101 Spookgrappe

101 Goggagrappe Vorige titels in die reeks:

- 101 Dieregrappe

- 101 Klop-klop-grappe

- 101 Lawwe grappe

- 101 Grappe vir pousetyd

Sunday Times adventure travel writer, Claire Keeton, and photographer Marianne Schwankhart have worked together to make sure you never have to spend another weekend at home wishing you were doing something more exciting.

They’ve collected over 30 great weekend destinations and given you the lowdown on the adventure activities you can do in each – visit Waterval Boven and try climbing, a mountain bike trail or learn to fly fish; take your children on a hike to explore the sandstone formations of the Cederberg; go horse riding in the Drakensberg; or tackle an urban adventure and bungee jump from the Soweto cooling towers.

Decide where you want to go and they’ll tell you what adventures are waiting for you, or decide what activity you want to do and they’ll tell you the best weekend destinations to head for.

In 1994, Brad and Paige Holmes opened a small, live-music venue in the bohemian suburb of Melville in Johannesburg. They called it Bassline, which very soon became synonymous with cigarette smoke, great jazz and nights you wished would never end. They later moved the club to Newtown where it grew in prominence as the ultimate venue for live music, hosting amazing artists like Thandiswa Mazwai, Jimmy Dludlu, Lira, The Soil and Grammy Award-winning group Ladysmith Black Mambazo.

In 2016 word spread like wildfire that everyone’s favourite club was closing its doors forever; this place that held all the promises of a new South Africa, a place where people of all races could come together, share a drink, dance and fall in love was to be no more. But as Bassline starts its new journey with Live @ the Bassline, yet another great story begins with Last Night At The Bassline.

In this book, esteemed music historian Professor David Coplan tells the story of Bassline and the Holmes’s journey in it, thus giving musicians and jazz fans something to hold on to even after its closure. This book is a tangible piece of the magic to take home and savour. And those who were never there will be given a chance to experience this dream.

With more than fifty iconic photographs from Oscar Gutierrez and other great photographers, the book is more than just a memoir. It is a gritty, smoky, passionate slice of time. Bassline will always be a reminder of what it feels like to live the impossible.

Offers the most comprehensive full colour guide too South African wild flowers produced on the sub-continent. It is both a standard reference work and a user-friendly field guide. It establishes a new standard with 2450 colour photographs, over 2000 species, distribution maps, drawings, common names in seven local languages, colour coding and a key to the families (632 pages). The maps cover a large part of the summer rainfall region from East London in the Eastern Cape to southern Mozambique, inland to eastern Free State, Gauteng, Northern Province and Mpumalanga including Lesotho and Swaziland.

What does the lawn want? To be watered, fertilised, mowed, admired, fretted over, ignored? This unusual question serves as a starting point for Civilising Grass: The Art of the Lawn on the South African Highveld, an unexpected and often disconcerting critique of one of the most common and familiar landscapes in South Africa. The lawn, Jonathan Cane argues, is not quite as innocent as we might think. Besides the fact that lawns suck up scarce water, consume chemicals, displace indigenous plants and reduce biodiversity, they are also part of a colonial lineage of dispossession and violence. They reduce the political problem of land to the aesthetic question of landscape, thereby obscuring issues of ownership, redress, belonging and labour. The question then becomes: Who takes care of whose lawn, in what clothes, under what conditions and for what reward?

Civilising Grass offers a detailed reading of artistic, literary and architectural lawns between 1886 and 2017. The eclectic archive includes plans, poems, maps, gardening blogs, adverts, ethnographies and ephemera, as well as literature by Koos Prinsloo, Marlene van Niekerk and Ivan Vladislavic. In addition, the book includes colour reproductions of lawn artworks by David Goldblatt, Lungiswa Gqunta, Pieter Hugo, Anton Kannemeyer, Sabelo Mlangeni, Moses Tladi and Kemang Wa Lehulere.

This book shows that even if the enchantment of a green, flat and soft lawn is almost universal, there are also unexpected moments when alternatives present themselves, occasions when people reject the politeness of the lawn, and situations in which we might glimpse a possible time after the lawn. Drawing on theory and conceptual tools from interdisciplinary fields such as ecocriticism, queer theory, art history and postcolonial studies, Civilising Grass offers the first sustained investigation of the lawn in Africa and contributes to the growing conversation about the complex relationships between humans and non-humans on the continent.

u-Grand, Malume? (Zulu slang: are you ok, Uncle?) is dedicated to two uncles who were victims of the anti-apartheid struggle. The poems are my way of bringing Jabulani Maswanganye's spirit back home; he joined Umkhonto weSizwe, went to exile in 1977 and never returned. My other uncle, comrade Mandla Maswanganye, was shot dead in 1992 by the Washington DC police. In remembering them - the good and the bad - the poems update both my uncles as to what is currently going on in our black ghetto lives; I believe they can reach them because poems are like prayers.

In this debut collection of 48 poems, Sizakele Nkosi reflects on her childhood and daily life and relationships in Soweto, the heartbeat of Black Jozi. Her parents, her own children and extended family provide a rich context for characters like gog' sis Phakama who, while flaunting her renewed, middle-aged sexuality, is the chief mourner at family burials, and her BEE mzala (cousin) who evokes reactions of envy and disapproval because of her nouveau riche lifestyle. Ever-present is the energy of the erotic life which charges the poet with the will to continue despite the restrictive hold of a strict Catholic upbringing, as well as a sense of profound disappointment with the rising social crises that afflict our society.

Lastly, one should mention that Nkosi's free-flowing style and careful use of Zulu phrases root the work in kasi life and make it a remarkable record of our times.

A practical guide to learn painting in oils, with simple exercises and step-by-step demonstrations.Bestselling artist and writer Hazel Soan has distilled her art teaching into the things that matter most and can be digested in a short period of time. Learning to paint is one of the life-long aspirations of many of us and the techniques of oil painting can be picked up faster than you think. And, as mistakes can be corrected much more easily in oils than any other painting medium, it is the ideal medium for beginners.In this concise book, Hazel Soan explains everything you need to know about oils in an accessible way. She advises on the materials you need (keeping things to a minimum), how to mix colours, basic brush techniques and how to use a palette knife. The subjects covered range from still life, flowers, animals, landscapes, figures and portraits.Filled with easy-to-follow exercises and demonstrations, this is a practical and helpful guide to learning to paint in oils very quickly.

Hierdie poësie gaan oor verhoudings en patrone. Tussen mense, tussen mens en omgewing, tussen getalle en geloof. Dit is ʼn bundel oor broosheid, struktuur en verval. Weerloosheid en weerbaarheid van mens en landskap word geteken, daar word gekyk na die kwesbare samehang van die geheel en na onregte op sosiale vlak.

Die digter pak ʼn kronkelende reis aan na die onsekere tussenruimtes van bestaan. Die verse verken bekende kunstenaars aan die hand van persoonlike belewenisse, (en andersom).

Om die Ander te besoek is om die Self te begin ontsyfer.

What makes a working mother and average athlete decide to take on a massive physical and mental challenge to run, cycle and kayak the perimeter of South Africa, covering 6 772 km in less than five months? Kim van Kets was inspired by her desire to demonstrate to her daughter the fact that mothers are heroes too. She was able to justify the 'time-out' after having built up a credit balance of 150 days owed to her by her adventurer husband. Her story is a positive and enthusiastic 'off the beaten track' South African adventure and is amusing, anecdotal and inspiring.

It tells of the physical and mental challenges of the journey but focuses on stories surrounding the people and places she encountered along the way, including those of the ancient Kalahari farmer who pronounced her to be a 'Ramkat' and the Nama goatherd who seemed doubtful about her gender and anxious to be rid of her. The book is also a wonderful South African travelogue and is studded with nuggets of history and fascinating trivia about the plants, animals, characters and places as well as brief summaries of important life lessons the journey highlighted for the author.

It will leave the reader feeling upbeat, inspired and eager to explore the splendour of the beloved country and its people.

Who are the greatest villains, the direst leaders, the foulest corrupters and the most offensive personalities to have spread their regrettable influence through our fine and glorious land – be it through politics, war, sport, culture or just their general idiocy? Well, take your pick… From Jan van Riebeeck in 1652 to Julius Malema in 2012 – via Basson, Botha, Shaka and Shaik – 50 People Who Stuffed Up South Africa is filled with the nastiest names to have besmirched our past. These are men of infamy (and three women) who have steered the good ship South Africa firmly in the wrong direction by virtue of their ruinous megalomania (Mbeki), twisted loyalty (Tshabalala-Msimang), irrepressible greed (Blatter), prime evil (De Kock) or utter incompetence (Erwin). But the obvious political gangsters and historical heavy-hitters are just the half of it: there’s also the colonial warmonger (Lord Milner), the national embarrassment (Rudolph Straeuli), the social delinquent (The minibus taxi driver), the unexpected sports villain (Richie Benaud!), the career criminal (Ananias Mathe), the Euro-chancer (Mark Thatcher), the traitor (Kevin Pietersen) and the twat (Kevin Pietersen). Morons and militants, rogues and racists, together they tell a fascinating and wholly South African tale. The result is a (best-selling, critically acclaimed) book that is part popular history, part social commentary, and all entertainment.

Horses were key to the colonial economies of southern Africa, buttressing the socio-political order and inspiring contemporary imaginations. Just as they had done in Europe, Asia, the Americas and North Africa, these equine colonisers not only provided power and transportation but also helped transform their new biophysical and social environments. In some ways "Riding High" is an attempt to chronicle the effects of an inter-species relationship whose significance was vast and lead to major changes in the history of leisure, transportation, trade, warfare, and agriculture. On another level, these stories are simply the adventures of a big, gentle herbivore and a small, rogue primate. The horses introduced to the southern tip of Africa were both agents and subjects of enduring changes. This book explores their introduction under VOC rule in the mid-seventeenth century, their dissemination into the interior, their acquisition by indigenous groups and their ever-shifting roles. In its relocation to the Cape, the horse of the Dutch empire in southeast Asia experienced a physical transformation over time. Establishing an early breeding stock was fraught with difficulty and horses remained vulnerable in the new and dangerous environment. They had to be nurtured into defending their owners' ambitions: first those of the white settlement and then African and other hybrid social groupings. The book traces the way horses were adapted by shifting human needs in the nineteenth century. It focuses on their experiences in the South African War, on the cusp of the twentieth century, and highlights how horses remained integral to civic functioning on various levels, replaced with mechanization only after lively debate. They remained useful in certain sectors and linked to totems of social power even in contemporary South Africa. "Riding High" reinserts the horse into the broader historical narrative and speculates about what a new kind of history that takes animals seriously might offer us.

The new-look South African Rugby Annual 2015 is the official record of the South African season and is widely considered to be the finest yearbook in world rugby. The unrivalled 'bible' of the game has definitively chronicled the game in this country for over four decades and this 44th edition represents a refreshing departure from previous editions in terms of editorial and design.

For starters, the 2015 edition, at 640 pages, will be by far the biggest Annual to date, while a more compact, user-friendly size and cleaner design will ensure that rugby fans will have more facts and figures at the disposal than ever before – and all presented in a refreshing manner.

For lovers of sporting trivia, the South African Rugby Annual 2015 doubles for the first time as a Springbok handbook, with hundreds of bite-sized facts and figures appearing throughout the book. For example, did you know that 2007 World Cup winner Schalk Burger made his Test debut just 17 years after his dad, Schalk senior played his last match? Or that Pieter ‘Slaptjips’ Rossouw scored the fastest-ever Springbok hat-trick, in just seven minutes? Or that the Webb Ellis Cup was already 81 years old when it was first presented at the 1987 World Cup?

Trivia apart, the Annual is also the official and definitive resource for the upcoming 2015 IRB Rugby World Cup, with a dedicated section providing every stat imaginable for Springbok fans, including the result of every World Cup match ever played!

The 2015 edition will also establish the Annual as a leading sporting journal, with a host of best-selling authors contributing articles that add fascinating and previously unpublished new chapters to the unique and colourful saga of South African rugby.

Dan Retief, who has written about Springbok rugby for more than four decades, uncovers the fascinating and little-known story of a New Zealand rugby team who swept all before them in South Africa years before the Springboks and All Blacks first met, while Craig Ray, who wrote 2007 Rugby World Cup winning coach Jake White’s autobiography, provides a personal insight into what it takes to win the ultimate prize in world rugby.

With its unrivalled mix of Springbok trivia, cutting-edge research and every record imaginable, the South African Rugby Annual 2015 will continue to settle arguments at braais across the land, while continuing to be the perfect gift for rugby fans of all ages.

Rugby Sevens enjoys worldwide appeal thanks to ever-popular international events. The national sevens team, nicknamed the “Blitzboks”, next to the New Zealand All Blacks, is ranked one of the two leading teams in the rugby world.

Blitzboks is a pioneering publication since no similar publications on the history of sevens rugby in South Africa, Africa or the World has been published thus far. Blitzboks is a book for all rugby lovers, irrespective of age, sex, language, geographic location, class identity, race, religion, educational level or nationality.

The objective rationale of writing is to transform a state of mind. Successful writing, then, is impact; any other form of success is the writer’s.

You think you need to be a seasoned writer before you can craft a masterpiece? What if I tell you with absolute certainty that there is no absolutely developed writer in the world? The biggest mistake that most authors get prone to, which ultimately attenuate their potential craftsmanship, is to think that they are either developed or they are more than developed. A masterpiece is never by accident; a masterpiece is a masterpiece because of its job to its target audience; never because of who crafted it.

This creative impact guidebook incorporates:

• Detailed view on the five types of authors; for every author / writer’s introspection
• How to find longevity in the writing industry
• How to break psychological barriers that hinder the impact of craft

Parlement Van Uile is die debuutbundel van die wenner van die Ingrid Jonker A’La Poétique-kompetisie van 2019. Díé bundel delf diep in rou emosies, menswees en skyn ’n lig op eksistensiële vrae oor ons verhouding tot mekaar en teenoor die liefde.

Met ’n uiters moderne benadering tot poësie in sy geheel, word gedigte in die bundel in ’n oorspronklike en teatrale wyse deurgegee en daag lesers uit om sélf die betrokke emosies in die verse tot persoonlike ervarings te verbind.

Die digter daag die grense van Afrikaanse poësie uit met die bundel, ignoreer reëls en kloof sy eie unieke plek in die spektrum oop.

This is the definitive monograph on the gamebirds of Africa. This detailed full-colour handbook includes everything needed to identify and get to know the 89 species that fall into six groups: guineafowls and Congo Peafowl (7 species) francolins and partridges (33 species), spurfowls (26 species), quails (3 species), sandgrouse (13 species) and snipes and Eurasian Woodcock (7 species).

Gamebirds of Africa offers a concise and updated summary of the large but scattered body of accumulated scientific research and field-guide literature. Pertinent and interesting facts about the distribution, habits, breeding, and conservation status of each species are presented in a readable fashion. Numerous photographs convey the appearance, characteristic features, behavioural activities and, in many cases, the habitats frequented by each bird.

Gamebirds of Africa will be a worthy addition to the ornithological literature and to the bookshelves of bird enthusiasts, particularly birders, wing-shooters, land owners and anyone with an interest in nature and conservation, throughout Africa and across the rest of the world.

The publication of this book was made possible through the generous funding of the Wild Bird Trust and the FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town.

Rodney Trudgeon's Concert Notes is a collection of essays on famous classical, orchestral compositions. The pieces in this collection have appeared in concert programmes that have accompanied performances by the Cape Town and Johannesburg Philharmonic Orchestras.

Rodney Trudgeon is a well-known radio host and presenter on Fine Music Radio. He is an expert on the range of musical genres that broadly fall under the category "classical music". The text that comprises Rodney Trudgeon's Concert Notes is structured alphabetically according to composer and gives a broad overview of the development of classical music, starting with the Baroque period and ending with modern, atonal music. Each piece is dedicated to a particular musical composition, describing its highlights, its history, and what makes it unique.

Broadly, the pieces are grouped together according to the following three broad categories: ouvertures, concertos, and symphonies, mimicking the structure of concert programmes. Each entry also includes a short biography of its composer. Trudgeon's style is easy to read and accessible to all readers: from those who listen to classical music regularly to those who are unfamiliar with it. Overall, this collection is a useful and informative musical guide, making a case for listening to orchestral music.

When she was last spotted on the crossroads of Swart and Gevaar Roads, Coconut Kelz was drinking Woolies water and spreading her ‘truth bombs’ about the state of the nation, why corruption is okay when white people do it and why black people don’t win in life . . . Coconut Kelz (‘Kelello, but call me Kelz!’) is a young Caucasian woman trapped in a black woman’s body.

Kelz lives in – and tries never to leave – Sandton and is a staunch member of the DA. She often takes issue with her reverse racist dad, while her mother has to remind her that Braai Day is actually called Heritage Day. With handy tips on how to achieve the white right standard of beauty, how to catch yourself a white guy (‘elongate your vowels, get yourself into white spaces’), the best suburbs to live in and how to host the perfect Caucasian shindig, Kelz offers a complete guide for a full Caucasian conversion. She also shares her thoughts on the differences between race groups, the top three political parties, public transport, how to avoid contact with sgebengas and why one should never stray beyond the Line of Caucus.

Coconut Kelz’s adoration of all things white has riled up many unsuspecting viewers. Of course the real butt of the joke is the white South Africans whose prejudice and dishonesties are laid bare by this character.

What if there was a contract that expressly stipulated how you should run your life? A contract that was designed by you, signed by you and monitored by you. A contract that honoured the wishes of the most important person in your life - you. Dineshrie Pillay explores what the ideal contract with yourself could look like, with a view to achieving your personal success.

Instructive and inspirational, The Contract With Yourself is filled with useful stories, analogies, and practical action steps that you can easily apply to assess and plan your life. This easy-to-read self-motivation book runs 182 pages and deals with all areas of life, including work, family, finances, health, self-image and personal goals. It is a practical and simple reminder of all the action steps that can be taken to make progress towards achieving individual success and fulfilment.

Each chapter includes activities, post-chapter reflection, guiding questions and reminders that can be used as a tool for ongoing personal reflection. The main text is easy to read and follow, supported by examples and anecdotes to illustrate key points. Each chapter can be read in isolation, making it easy for the reader to work their way through the book in their own time.

The wealth of information that is contained within this book can easily be carried along on business travels, holidays or longer trips as the reader progresses through the book.

‘AB hopped over the boundary rope and onto the field, grinning at the sight and sound of a packed Wanderers Stadium. He swung his bat from side to side and listened to the crowd roaring his name.’ So begins the wonderfully entertaining story of the rise to fame of one of South Africa’s favourite sporting stars. Written specifically for youngsters aged 10 –14, it takes the reader close to all the action, and the ups and downs.

AB was already building a name as a great schoolboy tennis and rugby player, but when he decided to focus on cricket the word spread quickly about a talent that could not be contained.

With two brothers a lot older than him, AB learned early how to play hard and never give up. In this inspiring story we watch as AB progresses through high school, then ’varsity, and learns how to play against the best. In his first Test series, AB struggles and wonders if he’s good enough to make it at this level. However, the outcome is an inspiration to sports fans and readers who love a good story.

It is the world's oldest and most famous ultramarathon. South Africa's Comrades Marathon has teased, tormented and tortured runners from all over the world since 1921. Those who have endured it say it changes lives, speaks to the soul and turns the ordinary into extraordinary. According to many, it is liberating.

Bob de la Motte should know. Winner of five Comrades medals, including three golds, his grit and determination during several epic duels with nine-time winner Bruce Fordyce enthralled the world throughout what was arguably the marathon's defining passage in the politically charged 1980s.

In this extraordinary, compassionate, candid, humorous and captivating personal memoir, Bob explains his fascination and passion for the most famous ultramarathon in the world and recounts the truth behind the hyped-up rivalry. He explores allegations of cheating and blood doping, highlights the hypocrisy in South African and international sport and elaborates on his decision to join the Chicken Run to Australia. He also provides fascinating perspectives on international politics and business on four continents and gives a crystal ball insight into the future of the Comrades Marathon.

For runners, sportspeople, sports lovers and those who simply enjoy a damned good read, Runaway Comrade will inevitably be your best buy of the year!

Newman se Voëls volgens Kleur bied vir die beginnervoëlkyker ’n vinnige, eenvoudige manier om Suider-Afrika se algemeenste voëls volgens hul kleur te identifiseer. Die vierde uitgawe van dié nuttige geïllustreerde gids is bygewerk met die nuutste gewone voëlname, uitgebreide habitatinligting en die mees onlangse verspreidingkaarte. Die leersame inleiding bevat praktiese wenke oor die uitken van voëls, inligting oor voëlanatomie en -klassifikasie, en raad oor waar om vir voëls te soek en wat jy op só ’n uitstappie moet inpak.

This volume contains the secrets of 21 experts, each divulging how to succeed in targeting the species of their choice.

This volume promises to educate the Fishing public on the following species - Brown Trout, Carp, Natal Yellowfish, Smallmouth Yellowfish in Rivers, King Mackerel and Bonefish.

Roberts Birds of Southern Africa has been continuously in print for some 65 years and is the most popular African natural history book of all time. The scope and depth of biological information in the Seventh edition of Roberts far exceeds that of any previous edition. It covers all 951 species recorded in the region and also illustrates these in 80 new plates commissioned from the region’s best bird artists. For scientists and conservationists it is a benchmark publication and will be a standard reference for years to come. For birdwatcher it will be an invaluable source of information to help them better understand and appreciate the birds around them.