The long hot summer of nostalgia
The conscious rapper Tupac Shakur was emerging. A bald head had started to be cool.
The heat wave that has engulfed Gauteng recently has had many unexpected consequences. One of them is that this past Friday afternoon, I found myself sitting on a hard bench at a Total garage car wash on Boksburg's infamous F1 track wannabe, North Rand Road, for 2.5 hours after my skedonk was washed, purely because it was cool and breezy. The moment reminded me of a column I wrote some years back lamenting the fact that middle class and wealthy South Africans generally don’t utilise public spaces nearly enough. We skulk behind our high walls, gripped by the fear of what’s out there. The thought sparked the question: when last did I truly spend most of my days in public spaces? That led me to the realisation that I have very nostalgic memories of the summer of 1992...
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
There’s never been a more important time to support independent media.
From World War 1 to present-day cosmopolitan South Africa and beyond, the Sunday Times has been a pillar in covering the stories that matter to you.
For just R80 you can become a premium member (digital access) and support a publication that has played an important political and social role in South Africa for over a century of Sundays. You can cancel anytime.
Already subscribed? Sign in below.
Questions or problems? Email helpdesk@timeslive.co.za or call 0860 52 52 00.