Hello Weekend, 22 June 2024.

The latest edition of News24’s weekly digital weekend magazine is stuffed full of interviews, reviews, excerpts, and in-depth stories. Enjoy the read.

Give Uncles Waffles and other women in Amapiano their flowers

By: Kaunda Selisho

Following Uncle Waffles’ headline-making appearances at the menswear Spring/Summer shows at Paris Fashion Week 2024, News24 Life deputy editor Kaunda Selisho tracks the DJ’s career highlights, illustrating how she ensured the work done by female Amapiano DJs who came before her allowed the genre to record an 87% growth of female artists in 2022 and 2023.  

OPINION | What the failure of The Marvels can tell us about the future of cinema

By: Ilan Preskovsky

Cinemas are in trouble. This is news to no one. In April, Ster-Kinekor announced that they would be cutting a third of their workforce and closing nine of their cineplexes, with a further eight effectively on probation.  And though it seems like that’s no longer the case, as of this writing, it’s not hard to see why it almost was. Since Covid-19, I can personally count the number of times a cinema I attended was actually busy on one hand – not including generally well-attended press previews and the like, of course. This includes weekends at some of the most popular shopping malls in Johannesburg.

The Forgotten Neighbour: Rediscover the magic of Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park

By: Andrew Thompson

Despite feeling like it’s in the middle of nowhere, Hwange National Park is now easier to reach than ever. Three airlines fly direct daily from South Africa to Victoria Falls Airport, which means that in a matter of hours, you can go from distorted boarding calls to whining jet engines to whirring propellors to a chugging diesel engine. And by the end of the day, the noise dissipates with the ultimate Hwange welcome: the crackle of a sunset bonfire, holding a gin and tonic so cold it hurts your hand.

For decades, Hwange, the largest park in Zimbabwe, was a legendary safari destination. Families would pack up their vehicles and make the long drive to trundle between bountiful wildlife and stay overnight in several charmingly rustic state-managed camps.

London’s V&A celebrates Naomi Campbell, ‘fashion legend’

By: Caroline Taïx 

Naomi Campbell’s groundbreaking career as the first black model on the UK Vogue cover in 20 years is celebrated by London’s Victoria and Albert Museum in an exhibition titled “NAOMI In Fashion”.

The exhibition showcases her influence over 40 years by highlights her iconic runway moments, collaborations with legendary designers, and her role in advancing opportunities for black models in the fashion industry.

Despite controversies and a temperamental reputation, Campbell remains a pivotal figure, continuing to model and inspire new generations.

BIKE TRAIL | Riding solo across the Tankwa Karoo to Calvinia on a 2004 Kawasaki KLR650

By: Nick Yell

My optometrist, also a veteran biker, told me the other day that he can’t understand how I enjoy riding alone. Like many others, he likes the camaraderie generated by a group.

I grew to enjoy riding alone on my first long solo trip around the Karoo in 2005. I learned that being alone makes you focus more on what’s going on around you and gets you acquainted with the often-fascinating lives of perfect strangers. Of course, if you have an accident, things could get ugly, but because I ride defensively and carry a SpotX satellite messenger, I’m prepared to take the risk.

Our own brand of fancy: Thorne & Daughters’ masterful blends from the Cape

By: Daléne Fourie

John Seccombe of Thorne & Daughters has just released his 11th vintage of wines for 2023. Including six wines, five white and one red blend from exceptional sites across the Western Cape. Made up of heritage grapes and old vines, the wines are as unbound and diverse as the Cape Winelands, each deserving of its own story.

We sat down recently with John at the tasting room at Gabriëlskloof, where he rents cellar space, to find out what inspired his incongruously serious range of child’s play entitled wines.  

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Die foto wat die polisie van Justin Timberlake by die polisiekantoor geneem het nadat hy in hegtenis geneem is. Foto: Reuters/Sag Harbor-polisiekantoor

Stars behind bars: 10 celebrity mug shots and their stories: Celebrities are usually captured by the glaring flash of paparazzi cameras or in full glam as they pose on the red carpet of high-profile events. However, some of them are captured in a less glamorous light. The mug shot, a stark portrayal that strips away the veneer of stardom, has chronicled the fall from grace of many beloved icons. The latest to join this notorious gallery is Justin Timberlake, who was arrested in Sag Harbor on Monday for driving while intoxicated.

100-year-old WW II veteran marries his 96-year-old bride: In a society where everyone is put under pressure to find love and settle down by the age of 30, stories such as the one of the following couple brings hope love can be found at any age. A World War Two veteran, who is 100 years old, has tied the knot to his 96-year-old bride this month, inland of the D-Day beaches in Normandy, France. Meet New York natives Harold Terens and Jeanne Swerlin who met three years ago.

REVIEW | Crooked Seeds by Karen Jennings: A swift, genre-bending journey through a future Cape Town: This remarkable novel is a swift, gripping and challenging read. A slender 180 pages, I read it in a day. The difficulty lies in the reader’s immersion in the harsh and often unsavoury life of Deirdre van Deventer. She is a somewhat damaged person, but nevertheless still hustling and surviving in the city of Cape Town in 2028. Jennings has structured this novel with great skill. The main thread of the narrative is Deirdre’s life in 2028, when her immediate concerns are to collect her water from the water truck, to find some alcohol, and also some smokes.