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Hasta la vista to Roxbury drawings

Roxbury cinemas in Grahamstown is one of the country’s few independently owned movie houses. One thing which made it different to other movie houses was large scale charcoal drawings in the foyer with scenes from iconic films. These included King Kong, The exorcist, Terminator 2 and The Godfather. Sadly, renovations to the cinema has meant the artworks had to be sold.

A happy pauper

His shoes don’t have laces and the soles are loose. His black jacket is speckled with shavings from sand papering masonite board. Wiry grey and black hairs sprout from his cheeks while his hair is dreadlocked from unkemptness. He smells like he needs a bath. 45-year-old Mbuyiselo Bosman holds a ruffle of creased white papers, one side has a printed side and the other has pencil sketches of houses, people and still-lives.    

Homeless for a night - almost

I grew the most savage beard I could muster in four days – 1.5mm of brutish fluff. I was, after all, going to spend a night sleeping rough in this old and quirky town; and as we all know, vagabonds are masters of that esoteric science of facial hair. It was important that I kept things authentic. However, I must be clear on one thing: this was not a grand gesture.

No, to assume that a single night on a bench in the faintest of rains could symbolise any level of solidarity with people who dine out from the garbage strikes me as vulgar. Not dissimilar to importing a child from Cambodia and dressing it up like a Pokémon. Gestures are important, but this was simply a challenge, a mini adventure, an experiment in pure Gonzo journalism.

Cholesterol – life or death partner

Heart disease has been the focus of this four part series – in particular, the lifestyle choices we make that put us in danger of developing life-threatening conditions. We have seen that it is not only men who need to worry – women must be vigilant, too, and not least about the cholesterol level in their blood.

Hubbly bubbly: toil and trouble?

Smoking a hubbly bubbly is a trend that has picked up considerably in the last few years, especially among South African youth.
 

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