Thinker Spot

Mountains outside Newcastle, KwaZulu-Natal In the 1800s this mountain, just outside Newcastle towards the west of the town, was the main route to the Free State -- Bloemfontein -- to be specific. This area in northern KwaZulu Natal was also the scene of clashes between Boers and the British when the latter was in the process to colonise the whole of South Africa. Newcastle was a connector town -- some 200 km towards the North in the Amajuba mountains that during the so-called First Anglo War was the scene of heavy battles between the Boers and British -- the British lost this round but a few years later they were back -- learned more about the South African environment and adapated their tactics to face their biggest foe: the Boers. By 1899 the Anglo Boer War broke out between the Boers and the British. It lasted until 1902 when the Boers were defeated. A well-equipped British army and other tacticts such as a scorched earth policy left the Boers with few alternatives. Above ...

What an awe-inspiring building this is, enriching the Johannesburg skyline... Alas, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange that use to operate from this location in 17 Diagonal Street, Newtown moved to Gwen ln, Sandton. The Newtown area in and around where the old JSE use to be has been earmarked for further development. One of the the developments that has been completed is the Nelson Mandela bridge. The rest of the developments seems to be on ice. But will it become a reality or remain drawings? Im not sure at this point. The Nelson Mandela bridge connects downtown Johannesburg with Braamfontein where another landmark is situated, the University of the Witwatersrand. This bridge eases congestion between the Johannesburg CBD and the suburbs to its north that get connected via Braamfontein. However, its the symbolism of naming the bridge after the country's most iconic bridge builder, Nelson Mandela, that captures one's imagination. The old Tramshed building borders the Ne...

So, around every corner we find a Coke sign... a welcoming sign that tells us something that resembles civilisation is around. This picture was taken while sitting in traffic in Hillbrow -- a notorious, densely populated urban spot in Johannesburg, South Africa. In South Africa's so-called struggle history Coca-Cola played its part in breaking down barriers -- as far as I could gather it promoted opressed black people into management positions long before it became fashionable... and before it was actually legal under Apartheid legislation to have black people in certain jobs. So, playing on the idea that Coke can be associated with the most memorable moments in anybody's life, I guess it also goes for us during our country's darkest moment.

Downtown Johannesburg is starting to look like a war-zone -- this building has become unusable -- every single window is covered with cardboard and plastic bags to cover it up. Like other buildings near this one, decay has been allowed to set in. Like car jackings in other countries, in South Africa, specifically Johannesburg in Gauteng Province corruption has set into the property sector. It works like this: All the paperwork that accompanies property owenership gets falsified and enters the system... the lawful owners finally have to defend or try and proof that they are the lawful owners... I have in my whole life never thought that it is possible to steal a building... The local govenment, led by the ANC party that also governs the national government is helpless in the face of these and other forms of corruption. But enough about politics and corrupt officials or dysfunctional systems... Buildings are living spaces and reflect something about society -- hinting at a past era -- o...