Innholdsfortegnelse for 17 July 2025 i You South Africa

THERE’S a lot of sadness and seriousness happening in the world right now – floods, wars, heatwaves . . . the list can be long and depressing. Hopefully there are some stories in this issue that will lighten things up a bit, warm your heart and give you a good dash of escapism. One of my favourites is the article on the Diana superfan who has mortgaged her home four times to fund her number-one obsession: buying memorabilia for her museum dedicated to the People’s Princess. Renae Plant is a teacher who used to live in Australia and now runs a school in Los Angeles with her husband – and he’s fully behind her getting them into debt to keep her passion alive. There’s also the story about Tarryn Johnston,…

SHE’S never been one to mince her words or tone things down when she feels strongly about something – and if there’s one thing Charlize Theron has been pretty passionate about lately, it’s sex. During a recent episode of the Call Her Daddy podcast – Spotify’s most-listened-to podcast by women – the Benoni-born beauty gave some insights into how she feels about getting herself a little lovin’. And in tried-and-tested Charlize fashion, there were a few F-bombs thrown in for good measure. “I’ve probably had three one-night stands in my entire life,” the 49-year-old told host Alex Cooper. “But I did recently f*** a 26-year-old and it was really f*****g amazing. And I’ve never done that. I was like, ‘Oh, this is great. Okay.’” What’s more, she adds, she’s having…

WE TALK ABOUT The giant camera that offers glimpses into the universe WE ARE now able to see objects that are thousands of light years away from Earth after scientists shared the first space photos taken by the world’s largest and most powerful digital camera. Part of a massive new ground telescope at the Vera C Rubin Observatory in Chile, the camera has produced breathtaking photographs showing the night sky in incredible detail and also revealing some stunning cosmic wonders. A CAMERA LIKE NO OTHER This monster has a resolution of 3 200 megapixels, compared to, for example, the 50 megapixels of an iPhone 16 Pro. It’s also as large as a car, weighs 2,8 tonnes and is so powerful you would need 400 ultra-high-definition TVs combined just to display…

BENEATH a canopy of trees the once-tranquil Hennops River seethes in a cesspool of filth. Plastic bottles and tattered clothing hang from branches like grotesque ornaments, rubbish clogs its banks and a film of yellow-green slime coats the muddy brown water. But where most see pollution and despair, Tarryn Johnston sees opportunity. For the past five years Tarryn (49) has devoted herself to cleaning this seemingly irredeemable waterway, hauling over five million kilograms of garbage from the contaminated river that snakes between Johannesburg and Pretoria. The woman locals once dismissed as “crazy” has transformed the Hennops into the beating heart of South Africa’s most ambitious river revival movement. “Sometimes you think the struggle is hopeless – like what does it help to clean the river? As soon as it rains,…

FOR 37 years she was at the helm of the world’s style bible, but now Vogue’s editor-in-chief, ANNA WINTOUR, has announced she’s stepping down from the hot seat. Anna (75) made the announcement during a staff meeting with the Vogue team in which she talked about embracing transformation in the industry. “I find that my greatest pleasure is helping the next generation of impassioned editors storm the field with their own ideas, supported by a new, exciting view of what a major media company can be,” she told staff. One thing we’re sure won’t be changing is her iconic bob, which she’s been rocking since she was a teenager. “I’ve had many hairdressers over the years, and I can’t remember how long I’ve had this haircut for,” she once told…

SAFES wide open, their contents gone. Photo albums missing their pictures. Cereal containers on countertops. Children’s toys strewn across marble floors. Bottles of Glenfiddich whisky in cabinets. Beds stripped of bedding. Every room tells a story of panic – a life abandoned as the long arm of the law inched ever closer to the occupants of the “Saxonwold shebeen”, the sprawling compound in northern Johannesburg once home to one of the most notorious families ever to darken our shores. For years Gupta brothers Atul, Ajay and Rajesh lived here with their wives and children, enjoying luxuries afforded to them by the deals they concocted and the millions they raked in. But in early 2018 the Hawks were closing in and the family fled in their private jet bound for Dubai,…

THE contrast couldn’t be greater. Her ex-husband has gone from the tech nerd he once was to a buffed-up multi-billionaire flashing his bucks around with abandon – while she remains out of the headlines, giving away much of the money she won when her marriage fell apart. MacKenzie Scott was nowhere to be seen when Amazon founder Jeff Bezos married Lauren Sánchez in a three-day extravaganza in Venice recently – and neither were their four children, whom MacKenzie has consistently kept out of the spotlight. While the newlyweds partied with celebrities, MacKenzie did what she’s been doing for years: stuck to the business of trying to make the world a better place. The 55-year-old novelist and philanthropist, who was married to Jeff for 25 years and helped build Amazon while…

YOU love each other – you really, really do – but sex is rare, or non-existent. No one’s happy, but no one’s making the first move either. It’s a sexual stalemate. This is not the same as a sexual “dry patch” in your marriage, which can be the collateral damage of work stress, the kids’ exams or even flu. A sexual stalemate is a holistic intimacy issue. You’re not connecting in the sitting room or the bedroom and you’re both quietly angry and resentful. If it’s any consolation, a sexual stalemate is common in long-term relationships. It’s tough living with someone for years and years. It’s a challenge to keep loving and desiring each other. It’s easy to forget what the other person needs, get complacent, grow thoughtless, inflict hurt,…

How many are going left and right? Find 5 differences Connect the dots Colour in the picture when you’re done. Match the sites to the construction vehicles Find the shadows Colour in the vehicles How many of each? Construction site maze Connect the dots Find 19 hard hats Which shadow is mine? Colour by numbers Find 5 differences ANSWERS Match the sites to the construction vehicles: 1-D, 2-C, 3-A, 4-B. Find the shadows: A-3, B-4, C-1, D-6, E-5, F-2. Which shadow is mine?: 1-F, 2-D, 3-A. 4-B, 5-C, 6-E, 7-H, 8-G.…

ON THE face of it everything looked great. Sam “Mr Doodle” Cox was fêted around the world, praised for the arty scribblings that covered every centimetre of his six-bedroom home – surfaces, appliances, furniture, walls, you name it. He shared his doodle project, which he began in lockdown, on social media and racked up millions of followers on Instagram and Facebook. Big brands such as Red Bull, Disney, Samsung and Fendi lined up to collaborate with him and he was ranked the world’s fifth most successful artist under 40. But behind the scenes Sam (31), who lives in Kent in the UK, was slowly losing his mind. “It was physical, initially. Like I had the flu – I had a cloudy head, I was slow to respond in conversation and…

THEY met while bickering over a burger at a Golden Globes afterparty in 2016. It was an unexpected start to one of showbiz’s biggest love stories – Orlando Bloom, the dashing British actor, falling for Katy Perry, the all-American pop star who gave us that timeless earworm I Kissed a Girl. They went on to get engaged, have a baby and do life together, even if they didn’t get round to walking down the aisle. Now after nine years they’ve gone their separate ways. “Katy and Orlando have split but things are amicable,” an insider says. “This has been a long time coming and things between them have been tense for months.” Representatives for the couple eventually confirmed things were over, saying in a statement they had “been shifting their…

MUSK’S NEW PARTY Billionaire threatens to shake up the US political system ELON Musk has followed through on his promise to launch a new political party, called the America Party, a day after US president Donald Trump signed his sweeping tax cut and spending bill into law. The Tesla CEO announced the move on X, the social media platform he owns, after asking his followers if he should do so in an online poll. “By a factor of 2 to 1, you want a new political party and you shall have it!” Musk wrote. “When it comes to bankrupting our country with waste and graft, we live in a one-party system, not a democracy,” he added. “Today, the America Party is formed to give you back your freedom.” It’s unclear…

IT’S a moment that will be etched in her memory forever. The year was 1983 and Renae Plant was waiting in line with hundreds of schoolkids eager to catch a glimpse of Princess Diana who was visiting a ginger factory in the tiny Australian town of Yandina. After Diana and Charles emerged, Diana smiled and walked up to the children – and to Renae’s amazement she came up to her and shook her hand. “I was speechless,” she recalls. “She just had this look, this touch – there was instant magnetism.” And so a superfan was born. Ever since that moment Renae (now 54) has made it her mission to honour Diana in the best way she knows how – by collecting her belongings to share with the rest of…

IT’S the late 1950s and in a house in Mbabane, the capital of what was then Swaziland, a teenage boy is lying in the living room listening to the radio. He loves the music but it’s the DJs he’s really fascinated by – their banter, their knowledge, the command they have of the airways. He’d love to be one, David Gresham thinks, and he dreams of announcing the latest hits, conducting interviews with big stars and having thousands of people tuning in to listen to him. After he finishes high school in 1961 he heads down to what was then Lourenço Marques in Mozambique, where LM Radio was all the rage – a cool station that broke the conservative South African mould and shook things up a bit. He has…

Perimenopause and menopause trigger hormonal shifts that can significantly impact your body. These changes lead to reduced moisture retention, decreased sebum production and increased pigmentation. As hormone levels fluctuate, you may notice changes in how your body looks and feels. Here are some of the most common effects, along with a few products that can lend a helping hand. The face If your skin is looking a little lacklustre or if you’ve noticed the appearance of dark spots, your changing hormones are likely to blame. “Menopause can bring about significant changes to the skin due to hormonal shifts, leading to various concerns like loss of elasticity and uneven skin tone,” explains Vanessa Gray Lyndon, founder of skincare brand Vanessa Megan. She further notes that due to decreased oestrogen, melanin levels…

> SPIRAL Keyword clue: PANTRY’S FUNCTION Starting with clue No 1, fill in the grid in a clockwise direction with four-letter words working your way to the centre of the spiral puzzle. The last letter of each word becomes the first letter of the next. If you have correctly filled in the grid there should be a seven-letter keyword reading across from clue No 8. 1 Crab’s sensor2 Grainy fruit3 A . . . against time4 Very long poem5 Box in a spreadsheet6 Sail close to the wind7 Commotion8 Loam or sand, eg9 Circular path10 Send a signal to determine a phone’s location11 Pass (time) (2,2)12 Meditative exercise13 New Testament book14 Dumpster15 Treaty16 Norse god > SUDOKU These number puzzles are quite simple. Place the numbers 1 to 9 in the…

IT’S the outcome few anticipated – Sean “Diddy” Combs being acquitted of the two most serious charges of the five he faced in his lurid criminal trial. After a nearly two-month-long trial a jury found Diddy (55), who has been behind bars since last September, not guilty of two counts of sex trafficking and one count of racketeering – charges that could have seen him locked away for life. All the charges related to the abuse and exploitation of his ex-girlfriend, singer Cassie Ventura (38), and a witness known only as Jane Doe. After the verdict Diddy dramatically fell down in front of his chair as if in prayer before turning to the gallery and clapping. He then turned to his family who were seated behind him and said, “I’ll…