A view of Johannesburg’s rich and turbulent history and heritage.
Residential property Maboneng Precinct The development of residential accommodation in Maboneng has exploded exponentially. In 2008 Jonathan Liebmann bought the DF Corlett construction offices and so Arts on Main was born. While this led to further remarkable urban renewal projects, the downside is that the upgrading and refurbing of inner city buildings often displaces previously […]
Read More »Tour of Joburg with JDA arranged by Laurice Taitz I was delighted when Laurice Taitz, the mover and shaker behind Johannesburg In Your Pocket, and guru of all that’s happening in Jozi, asked me to join a Joburg tour. She arranged it with the Johannesburg Development Agency (thanks Nomalizo) to show various journalists, tourism professionals […]
Read More »By now followers will be getting to know that I am the QoG aka Queen of Grids. I make sense of things in overall summaries either through spider diagrams (initial creative explorations) or through grids (final arrangements). I’m also passionate about exploring Jozi in all its grittiness and made contrasts; and Jozi heritage is one of my many passions.
Read More »This was the first question I was faced with recently at the breakfast table. Guests wanted to buy Sheshwe cloth to take home to Germany. With its German origins they felt a particular connection to this indigo blue cloth which has become so synonymous with South African traditional fabric.
Read More »Jozi heritage site: Windybrow A few months ago I set off to Doornfontein on the edge of Hillbrow, to join a tour of the revamped and restored building which I used to know as the Windybrow Theatre. (My source of all that is really new and happening within the city is often Laurice Taitz of […]
Read More »Kliptown: Soweto’s Cinderella I wrote last year about the SKY (Soweto Kliptown Youth) Foundation and Mighty Evolution Kids Nursery Preschool. (Both are located to the west of the railway line. SKY shown as Kliptown Youth Program on the map below). I spoke about the amazing tenacity of community members and their will to do the […]
Read More »Chinese New Year COVID RESTRICTIONS HAVE STOPPED LIVE CELEBRATIONS SINCE 2019 (Updated Jan 2022) For many who don’t know the history and context of Chinese New Year it seems to be a never-ending movable feast of celebrations taking place over several week-ends. There are celebrations held at the Nan Hua Buddhist temple in Bronkorstpruit, Jozi’s […]
Read More »Johannesburg Heritage Foundation runs great tours The Johannesburg Heritage Foundation is the most amazing activist/educational/heritage/tourism organization which, amongst other activities, runs bus and walking tours of Joburg’s historical spaces and places. Once such was the Cathedrals of Industry tour on 4th Sept where Kathy Munro (Jozi historian) and David Gurney (urban planner) led a bus […]
Read More »Gerald Garner of Joburg Places Gerald Garner of Joburg Places is no stranger to Jozi-ites and regeneration issues in this ever-changing city. He has written 4 books on Joburg and has taken walking tours for many years. I first went on a tour with Gerald 4 years ago and have been several times since – […]
Read More »TK’s Walking tour of Kliptown Laurice Taitz is Jozi’s queen of mavens (aka founder and editor of the amazing publication Johannesburg In Your Pocket). She has an extraordinary knowledge of Joburg and always manages to find relatively unknown hidden gems. Ntokoza Dube or TK. is one of these. He runs walks through Kliptown and when, […]
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