Just add water
Good news for Joburg swimmers. The shiny new Jabulani swimming pool in Soweto is open, and more of the city’s public pools are slowly reopening for the summer season. Less good news is that some are still closed, despite summer being well settled in. Apparently, maintenance problems, electrical faults and shortages of chemicals are to blame. Now, if only the city could get the rest open and keep them working properly. Surely that’s not too much to ask?
Basket case
Who needs a real man when you can have Alexander Skarsgård made entirely of wicker? In the wonderfully bonkers new film Wicker, Olivia Colman plays a fisherwoman who asks a basketmaker (Peter Dinklage) to weave her a husband. The result is Skarsgård, who’s apparently kinder, more attentive and better in bed than the real thing. Colman is brilliant, as always, and the reviews are glowing. Sadly, Joburg audiences will have to wait a little longer. In the meantime, there may be a run on wicker furniture.
When is too far too far?
Just when you thought American politics couldn’t sink any lower. Ohio Republican Vivek Ramaswamy has released an attack ad featuring the estranged mother of his Democrat opponent, Amy Acton, calling her daughter a liar. Acton hasn’t spoken to her mother since childhood, after her stepfather was charged with sexually abusing her. Even some Republicans have condemned the ad. JD Vance told critics to “stop whining”, while President Donald Trump wants it to keep running. Apparently, exploiting someone’s childhood trauma is just another campaign strategy.
