TOO LITTLE ORDER AT THE TOP
By David Williams
Seemingly hopeless but not impossible. That was the task facing both England and SA in the fourth innings in the test matches in Johannesburg and Perth. There were other commonalities. Both these teams: Needed to make the hi...

A SAFE BET FOR STUDENTS
By David Furlonger
Congratulations! Your son or daughter has passed matric and been accepted for university next year. Commiserations! He or she will probably need a car. And guess who'll be paying? That's right. You. So where do you find an affordabl...

A DUBIOUS FREEDOM
By Peter Wilhelm
It could easily be dismissed as an Australian addiction opera - Trainspotting Down Under - but Candy is redeemed by two extraordinarily vital performances. As Dan and Candy, Heath Ledger and Abbie Cornish are much mo...

THE GHOST TOWN GOURMET

For those of us of a misanthropic bent, there is nothing nicer than Gauteng over the festive season. The mass escape to the Cape denudes our cities of traffic jams and whining children. This is indeed a Christmas miracle. The only...

MIDNIGHT COWBOYS
By Neil Pendock
"It's a personal preference," replies Leon Dippenaar when asked why he prefers Rhône blends. "They're not clean-cut, they're more organic and give you more options." The venue is the Braamfontein HQ of Arnold Tanzer's Food on the Mov...

THE LOWDOWN ON GI AND GL
By Jenny McMahon
When it comes to healthy eating these days, GI (glycaemic index) is mentioned everywhere. But what exactly is it? And how does it work? The GI of a food indicates how quickly it is transformed into glucose in our bloodstream. It was...

WHEN FAT STATS LIE
By Yvonne Fontyn
The Body Mass Index, or BMI, is a scientific measure which defines weight, using the height and weight of an individual. For more than 100 years it has been believed as gospel by doctors, insurance companies, academic researchers, slim...

MOVING ON, MYSTERIOUSLY
By Richard Steyn
India, as the old joke goes, is a country that never misses an opportunity to miss an opportunity. That might have been true of India under Nehru and his daughter Indira Gandhi, but it is hardly the case today. Modern India is poised t...

GRAND TOUR OF TASTES
By Linda Stafford
In her foreword to this delightful book, Adelaide Tambo writes: "I have often wished there was a cookbook that could do justice to the artistry of African culinary traditions. Finally, my wish has been granted, because To the Banque...

HOT TYPE
By Richard Steyn
Washington Post defence correspondent Thomas E Ricks's Fiasco (Allen Lane/Penguin, R200) is a searing indictment of the American military venture in Iraq. Ricks has interviewed dozens of key figures in the armed forces, m...

WHY NO LONGER IN TOP 10?
By JUSTICE MALALA
I have studiously avoided any restaurant that styles itself as providing "fine dining". The minute I hear or see this phrase I sprint, no, fly in the opposite direction. It is without doubt the domain of the fuddy-duddy, the sig...