Features

The delicate art of rugga
ONE DAY French artist Marie-Helene Delemolle was studying depictions of angels and virgins in Italian Renaissance paintings, and the next, the brute power of the All Blacks. Her obsession with the All Blacks and rugby -- the theme of her art -- w...

Best sellers
FICTION: 1. Warlock by Wilbur Smith 2. 2nd Chance by James Patterson 3. The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho 4. Fatal Voyage by Kathy Reichs 5. A Fine Balance by Rohinton Mistry 6. Without Fail by Lee Child 7. Three Weeks in Paris by Barbara Taylo...

Chewing the fat with ... Joanne Harris
Q: You were a French teacher. Have you given that up now? A: In theory, I'm still on sabbatical ... I think it looks more and more like I'm set not to go back. I did enjoy teaching and I was good at it, and while I was doing both things pretty m...

Fascinating but overlong nostalgia
DOLCE AGONIA by Nancy Huston Random House R210 TAKE AN eclectic bunch of old friends, mix in a dollop of existential angst, stir in a cup of the bitter-sweet agony of midlife nostalgia, and you have the makings of an epic Thanksgiving meal. ...

A remarkable woman's journey
PATRICIA DE LILLE by Charlene Smith Spearhead R130 IN HIS foreword to this book, Patricia de Lille's close friend, High Court Judge Deon Basson, questions whether any biography can ever really capture the "essence" of a person, particularly...

R115m for Joyce's notes
IRELAND'S National Library has paid 12,6 million euros (about R115m) for a previously unknown collection of James Joyce's original notebooks and manuscripts. The collection, which had been stored in Paris for many years, was described as "amazing...

Saturday Give-away
Win a copy of Do you know your bank? LAST WEEK'S WINNER CLIFF ALLNER of Sunnyridge Congratulations, you have won a copy of The Weekend Carpenter, published by New Holland. Please phone (043) 7022220 to arrange collection of your prize. ...

Casting couch
MELANIE GRIFFITH has joined the cast of Shade, a film set in the world of poker hustlers working the clubs and martini bars of Los Angeles. She will co-star with Sylvester Stallone, Thandie Newton, Stuart Townsend and Gabriel Byrne. COMEDIAN Ch...

DAMAGED HERITAGE:
The 24m tall Axum obelisk in Rome after it was damaged by lightning earlier this week. The 1000-year-old obelisk was brought to Rome after the Italian invasion of Ethiopia in 1937 and is a treasured relic of Ethiopia's past grandeur. The governme...

Glühwein gardening
SEASONS have their various colour associations and winter's rich purples, along with warm browns and burgundies, come to mind. Perhaps it's the influence of winter chills that drive one indoors for a warm beverage of hot chocolate or glühwei...

Get ready for the razzmatazz of Tony night
AFTER LAST year's slam-dunk by The Producers, there will be something different tomorrow at the 2002 Tony Awards: suspense -- good, old-fashioned nail-biting, white-knuckle time in several important categories including best play and best musical....

Healing Herbs
Spicy cinnamon (Cinnamomum zeylanicum) Description HERBS are generally thought of as being rather small loose floppy plants, but many, like this one are actually quite large, long lived trees. Cinnamon is a tropical evergreen tree that grow...

Lawrence of Arabia's secret life
T.E. LAWRENCE, the adventurer immortalised as Lawrence of Arabia for leading an army of desert warriors, paid two-thirds of his salary to a mysterious woman for more than a year, according to newly released files. The information, contained in c...

When your offer to buy has been accepted
Rose Saunders' OPEN HOUSE THE acceptance of an offer to purchase is just the first step in buying a new home. Once the euphoria has worn off, homebuyers need to ensure all aspects of the buying process are taken care of so that there are no dela...

Haunting intimacies
WILD IRIS, starring Gena Rowlands and Laura Linney THEY USED to be called, rather condescendingly, 'chick flicks'. Nowadays it's more politically correct to refer to them as 'adult contemporary cinema'. Whatever you call them, films with more so...

What in the world happened to ....
GIL GERARD REMEMBER Buck Rogers? Back in the early days of South African television, Buck and his fellow 25th century space cadets made for riveting Saturday night viewing. We even forgave him the stretchy white cat suit -- hang on, maybe that...