We all want to live in Bellville

What you want to know this week

#15 magnet towns for semigration

South Africa has seen a significant trend of homeowners relocating to different provinces, with the Western Cape being the top destination. These are the towns drawing the crowds,  in order of popularity:

#1 Cape Town
#2 Milnerton
#3 Mossel Bay
#4 George

#5 Somerset West
#6 Durbanville
#7 St. Helena Bay
#8 Great Brak River
#9 Knysna
#10 Hermanus

#11 Strand
#12 Stellenbosch
#13 Langebaan
#14 Jeffreys Bay
#15 Bellville

Cameroon: the top tourist destination for 2025

Best in Travel 2025 is Lonely Planet's annual list in which the tourism guide chooses 30 destinations around the world as inspired destinations for adventurous travellers. This year, Cameroon, a land of volcanoes and rainforests and endless pristine beaches (and more or less no tourists), is showing off in first place.

“Cameroon celebrates its 65th anniversary of independence in 2025, bringing overdue, well-deserved attention to the African nation’s extraordinary offerings. Kribi's pristine, unspoiled beaches are more Castaway than Cancún, while cities Douala and Yaoundé pulse with an eclectic soundtrack drawn from the dance-heavy rumba rhythms of Central Africa."

What have we found?

#1 We love the cool graphic look of letters cut from newspapers. The Ransom Note Sticker Book contains thousands of letters from A to Z, plus accents, numbers, and punctuation – in a variety of fonts and writing styles. Ready for any message. R415 on Amazon.

#2 We loved The Doctor of Hiroshima, a powerful and profoundly moving true story of survival about a small, committed band of hospital staff in the face of unthinkable destruction and loss. The writer, Dr. Michihiko Hachiya, was director of the Hiroshima Communications Hospital when the world's first atomic bomb was dropped on the city. R255 at Takealot.

#3 The Fomolistas have a thing for design, and the Dyson Supersonic Hair Dryer is a thing of beauty. It is supposedly the crème de la crème of hair dryers, which, at almost R9 000, it had better be, but we are here for the insanely good looks in Blue Blush.

#4 Finger Lime trees are unique citrus plants native to the rainforests of Australia, and we have always desired one. Their distinctive feature is their fruit, known as “citrus caviar” or “lime caviar”. Finger Lime trees thrive in subtropical and tropical climates and are sensitive to frost. With the ability to grow in containers, these trees are the perfect addition to your garden or patio and can be brought indoors in winter if required. We have found a nursery that stocks them in South Africa. And ships nationwide! Ours is on the way – prices begin at R550 (courier costs excluded).

What are we eating?

Sesame noodles with spicy fried soya mince

From Meera Sodha's stunning new cookbook, Dinner. About this book India Knight says, “My favourite cookbook in years, possibly ever." And Nigella Lawson: “Every page of this hungry-making, mood-enhancing book fills me with joy and greed in equal measure." And our own Fomolista, Anneliese Burgess: “I read more cookbooks than can be considered normal behaviour, but now and then one comes along that grips you not only in the gentle way it is written but also in the inventive, joyous thinking behind the cooking." Dinner comprises vegetarian and vegan recipes. 

Sodha is a food writer for The Guardian. We made the sesame noodles and sweet potato summer rolls from her book.  Both recipes here.

What are we drinking?

Big batch lemon and ginger tea to freeze

• Take four tablespoons of grated ginger and one large lemon, sliced into thin triangles. Your sweetener of choice, agave, date syrup or honey (if you are not vegan).
• Place the grated ginger into a small saucepan with three cups of water. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. 
• Strain and transfer to ice cube trays.
• Add about five lemon triangles to each cube.
• Freeze overnight.
• Now you can make your tea by adding one or two cubes to a mug or insulated bottle and filling it with hot water.
• Enjoy warm or chilled.

See this video on Instagram for instructions (and another great recipe for ginger cranberry cubes).

What are we watching?

On Netflix

Nobody Wants This is a new rom-com series by Erin Foster starring Kristen Bell and Adam Brody and is on everyone's lips. The will-they-won't-they relationship between an agnostic sex podcaster and single rabbi is modern, brash, unpredictable and very funny with an exciting and unconventional storyline. A must-watch for movie freaks. (Rotten Tomatoes gives it 94%).

The Perfect Couple – a new drama mini-series with stars such as Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber and Dakota Fanning takes place against the background of a lavish wedding in Nantucket that is disrupted when one of the guests' body washes up at the harbour. Which, of course, leads to all the guests being suspected and questioned. The characters are chaotic, eccentric and interesting and very reminiscent of the White Lotus series from two years ago. The Perfect Couple is based on the book by Elin Hilderbrand. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 65%.

On Showmax

A Gentleman in Moscow is set against the backdrop of the Russian revolution with Ewan McGregor in the lead role as the gentleman held under house arrest in Moscow's Metropol Hotel for life. Not as good as the book, but beautiful, romantic styling and dressing and delightful story line. If history is your thing, you'll enjoy this. Rotten Tomatoes gives it 92%.

On Apple TV

Disclaimer, a psychological thriller miniseries starring Cate Blanchett just started showing. A new episode is released weekly on Mondays, but the Fomolistas are already pinned in anticipation for episode three.

Book of the week

What Mandela Taught Me by Zelda la Grange

When a thoughtless tweet by Zelda la Grange unleashed a storm, she was asked, “Have you learnt nothing from  Nelson Mandela?" This book is her answer as she shares Madiba's teachings about humility, respect, honesty, and the biases and blind spots we all have.

Sam Woulidge writes on Instagram about the book:

“I am so very proud of our friend @zeldalagrangesa. She has written this incredibly important book and I wish every white South African would read it. Not only because it tells us more about Madiba and the man that he was, as witnessed by Zelda over the many years that she worked with him, but also because we all need to confront and overcome our own racial bias.

“Because we all have racial bias. You cannot be born in this country, with this terrible history and not bear the scars of apartheid. In writing this book, she is brutally honest, introspective and vulnerable. This takes enormous bravery."

Quote of the week

And #10 more from Sontag

#1 My library is an archive of longings.
#2 I haven't been everywhere, but it's on my list.
#3 Do stuff. Be clenched, curious. Do not wait for inspiration's shove or society's kiss on your forehead. Pay attention. It's all about paying attention. 
#5 Depression is melancholy minus its charms.

#6 It hurts to love. It's like giving yourself to be flayed and knowing that at any moment, the other person may just walk off with your skin.
#7 The only interesting answers are those which destroy the questions.
#8 My emotional life: dialectic between craving for privacy and need to submerge myself in a passionate relationship to another.
#9 I'm only interested in people engaged in a project of self-transformation.
#10 I envy paranoids; they actually feel people are paying attention to them.

Last word

Same place. Same time. Next week.

♦ VWB ♦

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