Table of contents for January - February 2021 in Fairlady

Like most of you, I’m sure, I’m completely delighted to be leaving 2020 – that cheating, sleazy, no-good heartbreaker of a year – behind. But if I’m honest, there are also a few things I’m grateful for: • I’m glad we got the chance to spend proper time with Twenty and Twenty-One before they move out for good. It was a privilege, and they were fabulous, funny, irreverent company. Plus it was quite relaxing not lying awake at 3am wondering if they were okay and when they were coming home. • Working off-site. Of course I miss seeing my colleagues every day, but being 100% in control of my own life and time has been liberating. • My morning walk. Thanks to no commute, I’ve started to go for a…

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Karen Dudley You’re clearly a vintage fan; is there a specific era that you gravitate towards? Not necessarily. I can play with anything, as long as the fabrics and the colours speak to me. Most of the time, it’s a beautiful print or afabric that leads the way. I love colour-blocking, putting texture and patterns together, and accessorising with things that make noise. You mentioned most of your clothing is custom-made… Yes! I have a wonderful dressmaker who lives in Betty’s Bay. There are fabric shops all around Woodstock, so I usually buy some Italian linen, something like a Liberty print, some colour or texture that appeals to me. My favourite place is Studio 47 – it used to be astrip joint, but now it’s a vast fabric place. I…

Not all conspiracy theories are unfounded. How can you tell? In The Conspiracy Theory Handbook, psychology and communication researchers Stephan Lewandowsky and John Cook offer these signs that you’re dealing with a dodgy narrative: • OVERRIDING SUSPICION An automatic rejection of any official or authoritative account. • THE ASSUMPTION OF NEFARIOUS INTENT You seldom hear of conspiracy theories about a benign global elite conspiring for humanity’s betterment, do you? • PERSECUTED HERO Unfounded conspiracy theory proponents generally cast themselves in both victim and hero roles – as a victim of organised persecution and/or a heroic whistle-blower. • IMMUNE TO EVIDENCE Evidence that counters the theory is reinterpreted as originating from the conspiracy. This reflects the belief that the stronger the evidence against a conspiracy (the FBI exonerating a politician from allegations of misusing a…

THE beginning of a new year is the ideal time to give your lifestyle an overhaul. So we’ve come up with some easy New Year’s resolutions we think you’ll love. They’re fun to do and could potentially make a huge difference to your health. 1 TAKE UP PING-PONG This could just be one of the more fun ways to take care of your brain health! A Japanese study comparing the mental ability of table tennis players with that of non-players found the players were more mentally agile, even in older age, which means it could prevent or delay senile dementia. Playing ping-pong enhances the parts of the brain responsible for movement, fine motor skills and strategy, says Dr Wendy Suzuki, professor of neuroscience and psychology at New York University. 2…

I LOVED MY BOOBS when I was a teenager. In fact, I loved my body. Iflaunted it in itsy-bitsy bikinis on Clifton Beach and at Sea Point Pavilion. And then I really flaunted it all on Sandy Bay, lying in the sun from nine to five with just baby oil as my ‘sunscreen’. I remember my older brother remarking how he would hate to be the buttons closing the blouse over my chest, that they spent the whole day gripping onto the buttonholes, surely exhausted after a few hours. Oh, how I laughed. My boobs were me! I loved them and, in turn, I loved myself. One day a pervy photographer asked me to appear in a topless calendar when he was ‘talent-spotting’ on Sandy Bay. My very droll mother…

‘It’s important to consider how and where you want to retire,’ Simon says. ‘Don't leave it for your last day of work. Sure, it’s 10-plus years away, but that means you have the time to decide and implement a plan.’ Many people at 60 or 65 still feel energetic and sharp, and might not want to retire at all. Some might never want to retire to a life of leisure. ‘I think if you don’t have enough retirement savings, you should certainly think about working longer or working past your time of retirement,’ Anthea says. If you’ve only saved X amount and you have to make it last for about 35 years, why not work until 70? Or you could look at side hustles: now could be the perfect opportunity…

AS a daily gym-goer and self-styled Dairy Queen, addicted to all things milky and cheesy, Iblithely thought I was nowhere near the osteoporosis arena. But at 46, while hefting my three-year-old on my hip through the reeds on the shore of Lake St Lucia, I stepped in what I’ve insisted ever since was a hippo footprint, and heard a click like knitting needles. My fibula, the calf bone, had snapped. The shock of almost dropping my son in crocinfested waters and of contemplating a major work assignment in Australia and Fiji the following month with a broken leg was matched only by the shock of my GP insisting on a bone density scan – and flagging me as a possible candidate for osteoporosis. Osteoporosis, which means ‘porous bones’, is the…

DOUGHNUT BATH BOMBS PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES (+ 24 HOURS STANDING) | MAKES 6 Sift 1 cup bicarbonate of soda, ½ cup citric acid, ½ cup Epsom salts and 1 cup cornflour into a medium bowl. Combine 1cup olive oil and 1 teaspoon rose oil (or your favourite essential oil) in a jug. Pour the wet ingredients over the dry; using your hands, combine until the mixture starts to clump. Divide 2 tablespoons dried rose petals (or dried herbs) among 6 holes of a ¼-cup (60ml) silicone doughnut mould (or use a mini muffin pan); spoon in the mixture. Stand for 24 hours to dry, pressing down firmly again after a few hours. Add one or two to a bath of warm water just before getting in. They’ll keep for…

Being in the sun makes you feel healthy, happy and glowing. But I’m sorry to say it’s mostly an unrequited love affair. The sun is just not that into you. You spend winter pining for it, and the minute it starts tip-toeing back in spring after four months spent hobnobbing on the other side of the world with who knows who, you just forget about all your principles and good intentions, and take the unreliable sod back again. But this time, honey, you’ve had a long, hard year to think about things, and from now on the relationship is going to be on your own terms – which means enjoying all the good bits and saving yourself from the bad. Sunscreens Sunblocks have advanced to the point that they now…

MIELLE Looking for longer, stronger, healthier hair? Mielle Organic’s Rosemary Mint products are infused with Biotin to encourage healthy hair growth! Both rosemary and mint essential oils are known to increase blood circulation, which allows for more oxygen to be carried to the scalp - in turn, stimulating the hair follicles leading to faster, thicker hair growth. Follow @mielleorganics_AF Stockists: Clicks UNILEVER SUNLIGHT Liquid Add a cap of Sunlight Summer Sensations Auto Washing Liquid to every laundry wash to give your clothes a sensational clean. Made with the best that Sunlight offers, it cleans your clothes thoroughly and leaves them with a long-lasting fragrance too. Recommended by Hisense. CLOVER Clover Fresh Milk Clover has delivered the best product that nature can provide to South African families for over 120 years:…

Drs Özlem Türeci and Ugur Sahin The married German-Turkish physician couple who made the breakthrough in the Covid-19 vaccine – first, because they’re just so damn clever, and second, because, on the day they got married, they went to the lab first, then popped out to the registry office, then went straight back to the lab again. I imagine they didn’t even need to change out of their white lab coats. I love having people like that in charge. Heavyweight podcast In Heavyweight, Jonathan Goldstein goes back to the moment in someone’s life that changed things for them forever; a moment that continues to weigh heavily on them – hence the name. These are ordinary people with broken relationships, regrets and what-ifs; things they’ve done or didn’t dothat continue to…

SUMMER SKIN Ah, my favourite season, signalling warm days, frilly frocks and bikini weather... The combination of lockdown and winter had not been kind to my skin, and I figured buying myself a little treat was a great way to celebrate summer. I’ve started using Healing Earth Marula & Neroli Body Polish, and it has revolutionised my night-time shower routine. After just one scrub, I could already feel the difference. The crushed grapeseed gives your skin a gentle exfoliation, and your body feels silky smooth and deeply nourished thanks to the marula oil, neroli oil and jojoba oil. The floral, fruity scents fill my apartment with a relaxing aroma. Heaven in a tub! Buy it online at healingearth.co.za for R594,55. – Caroline STOCKPILE STAPLE Last year, waaay back in Marchtember…

Writing & meditation ANS DOKTER Ans Dokter is an avid traveller. She had plans to travel widely in 2020, before Covid-19 put a spanner in the works. She is the owner of Amani House in Hout Bay, an ecofriendly lodge for retreats, and this is where she hunkered down for the better part of the year. To channel her frustration, she started a process of meditation and writing, eventually signing up for a writing process with Christel Janssen, an author, speaker, medium and acupuncture specialist who is based in Hawaii. ‘I’ve known her for quite some time,’ Ans says. ‘I attended a retreat she had arranged in Hawaii afew years ago, which is how I got into contact with her.’ The two of them work through Ans’s writing every day.…

Perhaps you feel your MBTI assessment is spot on – you are an INFJ to the core, damn it! One possible reason for this is the so-called ‘Forer effect’. In 1949, Bertram Forer gave several participants a personality test and later relayed each person’s unique results. Most of the participants were blown away by how much his test revealed of their true selves. There was just one problem. The results were all identical, consisting of several general statements that most people could relate to, such as, ‘You have a great need for other people to like and admire you,’ and ‘You have a tendency to be critical of yourself.’ Well, do you? Amazing! We do too.…

ARIES (21 MAR – 19 APR) You have an advantage this year… As 2021 dawns, the most important thing you can do for yourself is focus on your self-esteem. How good do you feel about who you are? And if you don’t feel all that good, what are you going to do about it? One thing you might need to do in the year ahead is ditch any friends who make you doubt yourself. You don’t have to be cruel, but you do need to be firm. LOVE You have a slight advantage during what will be an intense year for everyone: you have the wounded healer planetoid Chiron in your sign. In other words, 2021 can be a year of healing for you, including when it comes to your…

Women spend a significant amount of time worrying about ageing, often seeing it as the beginning of the end. But how we think about ageing could affect how we actually age, says Dr Louise Wiseman, a former GP who recently published Your Best Life: A Doctor’s Secret Guide to Radiant Health Over 40. In fact, she says, feeling positive about where you are in your life could add seven-and-a-half years to your lifespan! It seems the answer to accepting your age and living a fuller – and longer – life could lie in how we socialise. Studies have shown that it’s beneficial for different generations to interact with one another; people who live in countries where communities support one another regardless of age potentially live longer. The take-home? Stop counting…

Osteoporosis is about having weak bones that break easily. Osteopenia is about low bone mass. ‘It’s basically the same as osteoporosis, but not there yet,’ says Teréza Hough. It’s most common after age 50. Prioritise getting enough calcium and vitamin D into your diet and doing regular weight-bearing exercise to protect the remaining bone. Osteoarthritis refers to a problem with your joints. Protective cartilage covering the ends of all bones (even vertebrae) is worn away with time and intervertebral discs flatten, causing inflammation, swelling and severe pain.…

EXFOLIATING OATMEAL MASK PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES MAKES 2 MASKS Pulse1/3 cup rolled oats, 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon in a food processor until finely ground; tip into a bowl. Stir in 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil, followed by ½ cup water to form a thick paste. To use, spread half the mask on a clean face and neck, and leave on for 20 minutes. Rinse the mask off with warm water, then pat face dry. Place the remaining mask mixture in a small container or jar; cover the surface directly with clingwrap and seal with a lid. It will keep in the fridge for up to three days. SENSITIVE SKIN VANILLA MASK PREP TIME: 5 MINUTES MAKES 2 MASKS Mash 1 large (230g) ripe banana…

OVEN-BAKED POTATO SLICES WITH CAPERS AND ANCHOVIES SERVES 4 This dish is simple and so delicious. It’s perfect on its own with a leafy salad, and a great accompaniment to lamb or fish. If you fancy making it even richer, you can always add a dash of double cream. • 4 medium waxy potatoes, washed and patted dry • 2 green sweet peppers, seeded and sliced into strips • 4 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil • 200g red tomatoes, chopped • 2 tbsp pickled capers • 8 anchovy fillets •4/5 cup (200ml) dry white wine • 2 tsp dried oregano • 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper • sea salt, to taste 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4. 2. Slice the potatoes very thinly using a mandolin or asharp knife and place in acolander with a touch of…

We Are All the Same in the Dark BY JULIA HEABERLIN Wyatt Branson’s sister Trumanell disappeared 10 years ago. Posters of her remain plastered all over the Texas town where he still lives in the family house. Even though he was cleared as a suspect by the police, the people of the town still regard him with suspicion, only heightened by a new TV documentary created on the 10-year anniversary of her disappearance. The last thing Wyatt wants is to find a girl dumped on the side of the road, surrounded by dandelions. He takes her home and tries to keep a low profile, but police officer Odette Tucker hears rumours, so she pays him a visit. Unable to leave either the mystery girl or Trumanell’s disappearance alone, Odette starts…

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WINNING LETTER WHAT 2020 TAUGHT ME Like almost everyone else around the world, I had my fair share of unexpected disappointments and challenges last year, the worst of which was the unexpected loss of my handsome, fit, healthy, hardworking brother to a stroke in August. Both my sister and I had already gone through the trauma of retrenchment. I experienced my first month without a salary in July, after consistently working for 38 years. But being unemployed paled in comparison with the sadness that I now felt. The weeks that followed were mostly a blur filled with tears, disbelief and the deepest loss I have ever known. At my brother’s deathbed we were asked if we would consider organ donation. My sister and I didn’t hesitate to say yes, but…

Bonnie Mbuli ACTRESS, AUTHOR AND QUEEN OF THE UNDERDOGS ‘My style is practical – it reflects the functionality of what the roles in my life demand of me while allowing space for expression and self-discovery.’ Mali Langa INTERIOR STYLIST, BUSINESSWOMAN, PHILANTHROPIST ‘My style is sophisticated and elegant. I try to portray the right image for a businesswoman and philanthropist, but still keep it unique, trendy and exciting.’ Karen Dudley CHEF, FOOD WRITER & FOOD ALCHEMIST ‘My style is best described as colour-centric and vintage inspired. I play with colour – I find it so interesting, the way colours sit next to each other. It’s not necessarily about bright shades; it’s more about the way they speak to one another.’…

1 QANON Interestingly, this global ‘movement’ has its origins in South Africa, and the FBI has classified it as a domestic terror threat in the USA. 2 PLANDEMIC In May 2020, a YouTube video with this title went viral. It showed an interview with a discredited researcher making several false claims, then went on to portray the pandemic as a money-making exercise masterminded by Big Pharma. 3 MICROCHIPS The Covid-19 pandemic has been orchestrated by Bill Gates so that the world’s population will be willing recipients of microchips hidden inside a vaccine. 4 5G TOWERS HELP TO TRANSMIT COVID-19 This theory was so pervasive that in June 2020 the BBC reported that masts in two towns in Bolivia were pulled down during lockdown due to outrage associated with the theory.…

WITH SA CRIPPLED BY Covid-19 containment measures and the ruling African National Congress (ANC) riven by corruption, infighting and flagging support, the next elections stand to be the most crucial since 1994 – ripe for the official opposition to make inroads, if it can show a positive way forward for voters of all persuasions. Mbali Ntuli believes she is the person to do this. And losing the Democratic Alliance (DA) leadership race in October to party veteran John Steenhuisen has not changed her conviction, unTrumpishly gracious as she has been in her defeat. ‘I wish John well,’ she says. ‘I didn’t think I’d win, but I wanted the platform to speak out, because in the leadership race, candidates have carte blanche to say what they can’t say ordinarily. There were…

Essays have been written about the glamour of cross-cultural attraction, and theses on the potential pitfalls of interaction between tourists and locals where there are differences in culture and economic standing. Most recently, in her article ‘The Interplay Between Imaginations and Interactions in Maasai Cultural Tourism’, Vanessa Wijngaarden, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Johannesburg, reported how both sides can fear being viewed as naive or ignorant, and fear being exploited. Yet none of that factored in the romances of Ilaria Beraldi, a hotel school management graduate and chef, and Cristina Pedrinzani, a 34-year-old seamstress with a diploma in linguistics, and the Maasai men, Andrea and Mosses, they each met and fell in love with in Tanzania. Although both women are from Tuscany, they met each other only…

I NEEDED TO BE ALONE. Time alone was not something I’d had in large doses for the previous 14 years – marriage, two children and a business meant I was at the beck and call of others who needed me physically, mentally and emotionally. What I wanted was release from the demands of daily life, from answering to clients, kids and family. I craved, and wanted, me. I decided to do something I’d been wanting to do for years: walk the Camino, or at least a part of it. For me, walking might be monotonous, but it’s never boring. It’s a feast of smells, textures and colours. It’s the variation in the pressure my feet impose on the ground; it’s the earth, the grass and the gravel. It’s the heat…

W e’re all going to continue putting food in our bodies just about every day for the rest of our lives. Most of us will do it several times a day. We’ll chew it, send it down the oesophagus into the stomach, and expose it to gastric juices and digestive enzymes. We’ll strip it of nutrients and send the excess down to the colon for discharge, feeding resident gut bacteria along the way. The whole process should go smoothly. There shouldn’t be any pain or discomfort, bloating or constipation. Oh sure, nobody’s perfect, and there will be slow-downs or speed-ups from time to time, but in general a fundamental process like digestion shouldn’t even register in our waking lives. But sometimes it does. Symptoms of digestion problems Sometimes digestion can…

Having an enviable radiant glow is something many of us aspire to. Yet with our fast-paced lifestyles and daily stressors taking their toll, it can be a challenge to keep our skin in top-notch condition. Aside from drinking plenty of water each day, there are lots of fresh foods you can enjoy that help with maintaining a healthy glow. • Oily fish, such as salmon, sardines, anchovies and tuna, are all high in omega-3s, which reduce inflammation and keep your skin moisturised. They’re also rich in protein, vitamin E and zinc, all of which are essential for supple, soft and clear skin. • Walnuts, chia seeds, linseeds (flaxseeds) and sunflower seeds also contain varying quantities of omega-3s, selenium, zinc and vitamin E to nourish and protect your skin cells. •…

SKIN-PAMPERING WHIP PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES (+ 20 MINUTES STANDING) MAKES 1½ CUPS Place a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of boiling water; take the pan with the bowl off the heat. Add 150g cocoa butter; stir until melted. Take the bowl off the heat. Stir in 2 tablespoons avocado oil or sweet almond oil and 1 teaspoon arrowroot powder. Refrigerate for 20 minutes or until the oil has firmed but not solidified. Add 10 drops essential oil (try lavender for oily skin, rose for dry skin, and bergamot for combination skin). Blend in a high-powered blender until creamy. Spoon into a clean jar. Remove a small amount of whip with a teaspoon; massage into skin, in particular dry feet and elbows. BROWN SUGAR SCRUB PREP TIME: 10 MINUTES MAKES…

SMOKEY AUBERGINE SALAD WITH TAHINI SERVES 8 AS A SIDE DISH PREP + COOKING TIME: 45 MINUTES This recipe is perfect for a picnic. Transport the eggplant salad and yoghurt sauce separately; assemble the salad just before serving. • 1 small (100g) red onion, halved and sliced very thinly • 2 tbsp lemon juice • 5 medium aubergines (1.5kg) • 1½ tbsp tahini • 2 cloves garlic, crushed • 1 cup (280g) Greek-style yoghurt • 2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil • 1 cup loosely packed fresh mint leaves, torn • 1 tsp ground sumac 1. Combine the onion and half the lemon juice in a small bowl. 2. Preheat a grill plate over high heat. Prick the aubergines with a fork, and cook, turning occasionally, for 30 minutes or until the skin is charred and the flesh is very…

Sober January is a huge thing, and whether you’re planning a slow month or cutting alcohol out completely, there are increasingly good alternatives. We’ve been enjoying: ALCOHOL-FREE BEERS • Devil’s Peak Hero (R79 for 6 x330ml) is slightly fruity and very refreshing. • Heineken 0.0 Beer (R79 for 6 x330ml) is an excellent replica of the real thing. DE-ALCOHOLISED WINES • Bonnievale Neat (R65 for 750ml), which contains less than 0.5% alcohol, is a crisp, flavourful de-alcoholised Sauvignon Blanc. • Van Loveren Absolute Zero sparkling wine (R100 for 750ml) contains no alcohol at all – and doesn’t taste like grape juice with delusions of grandeur. LOW-ALCOHOL WINES & VODKA-BASED DRINKS • Frost Sparkles (R20 for 330ml) is a range of vodka-based drinks blended with purified sparkling water, infused with natural flavours and sweetened with fructose.…

CONTENT TEAM EDITOR Suzy Brokensha Managing Editor Crystal Matthews (business@fairlady.com) Production Manager Liezel Dukes (production@fairlady.com) Photographer Liza van Deventer (pix@fairlady.com) Syndication Manager Tasneem Larney (testhouse@fairlady.com) Picture Editor Washiefa Larney (flmag@fairlady.com) Social Media Managers Liesl Robertson (fashion@fairlady.com), Charis Torrance CONTRIBUTORS Design Sarel Greyling, Janine Nortjé (art2@fairlady.com) Fashion Annelee Joubert Subediting Maya Morgan-Skillen, Kay-Ann van Rooyen Features Caroline Petersen, Ashleigh Roman ADVERTISING SALES Head of Advertising Sarah Curtis-Bowles (sarah.curtisbowles@media24.com) Key Account Managers Charlene Meyer (charlene.meyer@media24.com) Daniela Di Giovanni (daniela.digiovanni@media24.com) Susan Pienaar (spienaar@media24.com) FAIRLADY PUBLISHING TEAM Chief Marketing Officer Media24 Lifestyle Nerisa Coetzee Finance Manager Jameelah Conway Commercial Manager Lise Coetsee (lise.coetsee@media24.com) Production Manager: Media24 Magazines Kerry Nash General Enquiries (CPT) Amina Essop (amina.essop@media24.com) MEDIA24 LIFESTYLE CREATE STUDIO Creative Director Michael de Beer (mike.debeer@media24.com) Commercial Managing Editor Gerda Engelbrecht (gerda.engelbrecht@media24.com) MEDIA24 LIVE Head…