Bruce Stephenson

Kazan’

Chairman Wordsmiths Publishers Ballito KZN

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Articles

#TwoBits: Read the backstory of the GNU in Tony Leon’s new book

1 week ago | citizen.co.za | Bruce Stephenson

Say what you like about Tony Leon, he’s an extremely erudite politician. Not that most politicians aren’t masters at talking about themselves, but Leon at least offers readable insights into other politicians and situations. Being There: Backstories from the Political Front is the sixth book by the former leader of the Democratic Alliance.
#TwoBits: A trip back in time through the Transkei

2 weeks ago | citizen.co.za | Bruce Stephenson

The very big upside of retirement is that you can up sticks and go wherever you want, not a care in the world. So we’ve just been on a jaunt to the Transkei and the Eastern Cape. My family likes taking the road less travelled. So my brother’s party and us took a sha’p right after Flagstaff and headed up the Mzintlava Valley to Ntabankulu. The beauty of the Transkei is that it’s a long way from anywhere.
#TwoBits: Spending other people’s money

Mar 23, 2025 | citizen.co.za | Nothando Mhlongo |Bruce Stephenson

“The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people’s money.”This famous line by former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher reminds us that while government handouts may sound good, someone still has to foot the bill. In all the hanna-hanna over the proposal to increase VAT by 1% over the next two years, it is worth recalling from 2020 Sars data that 5.2 million individuals, (representing about 9% of the population), contribute 40% of South Africa’s total tax revenue.
#TwoBits: Salt Rock StorySlam startup is bringing people together

Mar 8, 2025 | citizen.co.za | Nothando Mhlongo |Bruce Stephenson

It was good, the other night, to see loads of familiar faces that we haven’t seen in ages. Just because Ballito has become so damned big. The latest trick to get us out of our houses and be sociable is StorySlam, brought to our neck of the woods by Brettenwood mover and shaker Karen Doveton. It’s a craze around the world, apparently, and aims at bringing a community together through shared stories. (It’s a new take on what the Courier has been doing for the past 39 years!).
#TwoBits: The English are still getting the short end of the stick

Feb 22, 2025 | citizen.co.za | Nothando Mhlongo |Bruce Stephenson

We English-speakers have been getting the short end of the stick for far too long. When the Nats were running the country, it was payback time for the Boer Wars, so the donderse Engelse had to look out for themselves. Afrikaners made sure they were top dogs in all State enterprises, like the civil service, defence force, railways etc. But did we complain? Never! We maintained a stiff upper lip at all times.
#TwoBits: Paradise is available on our doorstep

Feb 8, 2025 | citizen.co.za | Nothando Mhlongo |Bruce Stephenson

Only five minutes into the gate, we were surrounded by a pack of 12 wild dogs. They were racing up and down alongside the Umfolozi River and around our car. The adults were trying to cross the river while the young ones gambolled on the wide sandbank, doing what wild dogs do. What they were up to – yipping and racing up and down – we had no idea, but it was a magical sighting of these beautiful, painted creatures.
#TwoBits: The birding learning curve is only as hard as you make it

Jan 25, 2025 | citizen.co.za | Kabelo Pheeloane |Bruce Stephenson

Say “retirement village” and I immediately picture somewhere like the older Ambers in Howick, little square houses all the same, chocolate box garden out front, old folks drifting about like memories. What a pleasant surprise then to visit Brettenwood’s retirement village last Saturday. It’s nothing like what I imagined. Most of the houses are well spaced out, hidden from one another by the abundant trees and woody undergrowth.
#TwoBits: The hurrieder we go, the behinder we get

Jan 9, 2025 | citizen.co.za | Nothando Mhlongo |Bruce Stephenson

One news story that particularly horrified me in recent weeks was the shooting of an eThekwini employee who tried to repair a water reservoir in Umlazi. The obvious suspects, according to those who know everything on X, are the water tanker operators who want the system to stay broken. We are very fortunate to have privatised water supply for the Dolphin Coast. Areas under the iLembe district municipality have a torrid time. Around Melville, residents have been without water since September 2023.
#TwoBits: Comrades Marathon greats gather to celebrate Barry Holland

Jun 20, 2024 | citizen.co.za | Bruce Stephenson

If there was ever a time I have been overawed, it was last Tuesday night. Entering Simbithi clubhouse, the first person I greeted was Tim Blankley, the first of many legends there. Tim ran his first Comrades Marathon in 1961 – the year I turned 10 – and went on to amass 34 medals which included five golds and a host of silvers.
#TwoBits: Manifesto madness - sorting through 200 parties' promises for May elections

Mar 30, 2024 | citizen.co.za | Bruce Stephenson

Another weekend, another political party manifesto. With more than 200 parties on the ballot for the May elections, there aren’t enough weekends for the fanfare launches of all their manifestoes. Thank goodness!I have tried to pay attention to those that have been announced so far, but I confess that it’s become a blur. They all promise to do wonderful things for the country, from the seemingly sensible to the absurd, like giving away all the money in social grants.