Cape Times 2025-12-23

The holidays are often painted as a time of togetherness, with the warm glow of twinkling lights, laughter through shared meals and the pull of family traditions. For many, especially those experiencing an empty nest, the season brings a complex reality where feelings of loneliness and change deepen against the backdrop of festive celebration. This is the often-unspoken side of the holidays that deserves more attention. In South Africa, it hums with expectation. The clatter of pots for Christmas preps, the WhatsApp voice notes about travel plans, the soft insistence that this is the season of togetherness. And yet, behind the fairy lights and grocery queues, there is another story unfolding quieter, more tender and often unspoken. For those with an empty nest, especially during the holidays, loneliness and transition…

Whether you’re hosting Christmas Eve dinner or a traditional Christmas lunch, you know there’s going to be a whole lot of cooking involved. All the plates on the stove are finally getting a turn, the oven is permanently set to 180, and the air fryer you bought on Black Friday is working overtime. But even with Boney M blasting and a glass of wine in hand, your “clean as you go” system is failing. You’ve lost track of how long the leg of lamb has been in the oven, and you slowly start to unravel, having those fleeting thoughts of “We should have booked a restaurant.” Sometimes you just want to wake up on Christmas morning and have everything done. To be fair, many grocery stores are going out of…

Grief is not neat. It does not arrive with cue cards or a dress code. It spills, it stutters, and it sometimes laughs at the wrong moment. And when grief unfolds in public, amplified by social media, celebrity culture and collective trauma, it becomes something else entirely: a spectacle we feel entitled to edit. That is the quiet storm behind the viral backlash facing media personality and actress Pearl Thusi following her tribute at the memorial of Warrick Stock, better known as DJ Warras, who was shot and killed in Johannesburg’s CBD on December 16. Stock’s death sent shockwaves through South Africa’s entertainment industry, another name added to our growing list of violent losses. At his memorial on Friday, Thusi shared a personal anecdote meant to honour their bond: a…

THE latest deadly KwaZulu-Natal floods have forced the Ray Nkonyeni Municipality in Port Shepstone to urge tourists to delay their trips to tourist towns, including Margate and Shelly Beach. The two areas were severely affected by heavy rainfall that resulted in localised flooding with the warning coming amid another heavy rainfall forecast in the area until midnight yesterday. In a statement yesterday, the municipality confirmed that a 63-year-old woman was declared dead after a mudslide in the Ebomvini area and warned motorists to avoid road trips to the lower south coast if necessary. “Residents and motorists are urged to exercise extreme caution, avoid unnecessary travel, and delay road trips where possible as adverse weather conditions are expected to persist until midnight,” read the statement. The municipality's spokesperson Simon…

THE high number of wildfires in the Western Cape are already placing significant strain on firefighting resources with costs already exceeding R2.4 million, primarily to support ground crews in inaccessible and high-risk areas. The figure is for provincial aerial firefighting resources based in George, Bredasdorp, Stellenbosch and Porterville, deployed at 23 wildfires, according to Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning MEC Anton Bredell. He also confirmed yesterday that provincial firefighting services were “extremely busy”, with several wildfires being managed simultaneously over recent days. “As hot and windy conditions persist, I urge the public to be extra cautious and responsible with any activity that could start a fire. “A single careless moment can place entire communities and our firefighters at risk. Please report fires immediately, follow safety instructions, and help…

GAUTENG police commissioner Tommy Mthombeni says his officers are closing in on the two remaining suspects in the murder of 12 people, including a three-year-old child at Saulsville Hostel in Atteridgeville, Pretoria. This after police arrested a 32-year-old in Limpopo on Sunday following a coordinated operation between Gauteng and Limpopo police. The December 6 attack also left 13 people wounded. “We are confident that the remaining two suspects will be arrested so that these perpetrators can answer to the heinous crimes that they have committed,” Mthombeni said. During the arrest, the team recovered an unlicensed firearm, hand gun, believed to have been used in the commission of the multiple murders, said the police. The firearm will be taken to the Forensic Science Laboratory for ballistic analysis. "The…