Cheescutters, Gymslips and Boarding School

Cheescutters and Gymslips, compiled by Robin Malan, is a delightful collection of short pieces about southern African writers’ experiences of boarding school.

“Boarding school” – the words in themselves conjure up various images and emotions: being a “newbie”, initiation, homesickness, living by rules and reacting to bells, hunger between mealtimes, midnight feasts … all the way through to punishment, miserable unhappiness, even running away. Such experiences, and many more, are reflected in this book – which includes a foreword by that master of boarding school adventure-and-folly fiction, John van de Ruit.
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On the (African) Road with Sihle Khumalo

At the Johannesburg launch of Sihle Khumalo’s Dark Continent, My Black Arse the author shared the delights of the travels he embarked upon to celebrate his 30th birthday: he took himself on a three-month Cape-to-Cairo jaunt.

“It had always been a dream to experience Africa for myself,” said Khumalo. “It had also always been a dream to write a book.” He left his fiancée and their 18-month-old child behind and ventured on the fabled and fabulous route, travelling as a backpacker, by public transport only, spending upwards of $50 per day.

“My friends wanted to know if I’d won the lottery. They said it didn’t make sense for me to resign from my job and leave my fiancée and baby behind.”

Most of his trip was, indeed, fabulous. In particular the first half, leading up to Nairobi, where Khumalo experienced quad-biking on ancient Namibian dunes and the thrill of microliting over the Victoria Falls, and encountered the soul-searching that results after visits to historical sites where, for instance, slaves were whipped and traded.
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