After last year’s Brixton Light Festival, lots of people read my blog post and were sad they missed the festival and asked how they could be sure not to miss the next one. So consider yourselves warned: The next Brixton Light Festival takes place on Saturday, September 2nd, 2023. I have every reason to believe it will be even more spectacular than last year’s festival. Mark your calendars and follow @BrixtonLightFestival on Instagram for updates.

After our recent stay in Suurbraak, Thorsten and I had a weekend to kill in the Overberg before flying back to Joburg. We decided to spend two nights in Greyton, about 90 minutes from Cape Town, where neither of us had been before. We also made an afternoon detour to Malgas for lunch and a wine tasting at Sijnn Wines.

I’ve written many, many blog posts about the vibrant art scene in Joburg, especially downtown Joburg, over the years. But it bears repeating, especially now: Joburg’s artists are this city’s beating heart and its greatest asset. Art is keeping downtown Joburg alive. I was reminded of this last weekend when I attended Joburg’s Open Studios.

Thorsten and I recently spent three days in Suurbraak, a tiny town in South Africa’s Overberg region. Thorsten (who is an architect) designed a holiday house there several years ago; now he’s designing a second house for the same clients. I was lucky enough to get invited along on his scouting mission.

I recently received a media invitation from Johannesburg In Your Pocket to go axe-throwing in downtown Joburg. How could I refuse? I had never thrown an axe before –- it’s not something one does in normal life, especially not in the middle of the city -– and I’m always up for entertainment that involves medieval imagery and a bit of physical exertion.

A couple of miles southeast of downtown Joburg, in a place called City Deep, there’s a produce market the size of a small town. The Joburg Market (next door to the Mutliflora Market) is the largest fresh produce market in Africa – or the largest in the Southern Hemisphere, depending on who you talk to – and it’s where most of Joburg’s restaurants, produce shops, and vendors buy their fruit and veg.

Last Saturday Thorsten and I went to a launch of Eve Fairbanks’ new book, The Inheritors, at the Soweto Book Café. I was excited because: 1) Eve and I have been friends for years and I was keen to hear some discussion about her award-winning book, which tells the story of modern South Africa in a very unique way; and 2) I had never been to, or even heard of, the Soweto Book Café (SBC), but I had a feeling it was something special. And it was.

I’m back in Joburg after a month-long trip to the U.S. – my second American journey in 2023. I spent most of this trip dealing with administrative and family issues, spending time in the same places I normally go: Maryland (and a little time in Washington, D.C.), South Carolina, and New York. But I also squeezed in a short trip to Rhode Island with my sister.