Vol. 1 Streets Paved with Gold
Clive Cooke
- “The
- Kreutzer
- Sonata”
- is
- set
- against
- a
- background
- of
- the
- Mixed
- Marriages
- Act
- and
- the
- Immorality
- Act
- promulgated
- during
- the
- Apartheid
- years.
- A
- young
- black
- man
- by
- the
- name
- of
- Lucky
- takes
- a
- job
- in
- a
- run-down
- hotel
- in
- Johannesburg.
- The
- owner
- is
- an
- Austrian
- who
- is
- more
- interested
- in
- playing
- his
- trumpet
- than
- in
- managing
- his
- hotel.
- Lucky
- finds
- his
- loyalty
- to
- his
- boss
- being
- tested
- when
- he
- is
- a
- witness
- to
- his
- boss
- breaking
- the
- law.
“A
- Hero
- of
- the
- People”
- is
- set
- in
- Moscow
- after
- the
- fall
- of
- the
- Iron
- Curtain
- and
- the
- fall
- of
- Apartheid.
- A
- recently
- released
- South
- African
- political
- prisoner
- is
- invited
- to
- Moscow
- to
- receive
- a
- medal
- for
- his
- services
- to
- the
- Russian
- people.
- Surprisingly,
- his
- handler
- during
- his
- years
- of
- working
- underground
- avoids
- meeting
- him
- and
- he
- is
- left
- to
- be
- entertained
- by
- a
- low-level
- functionary.
- This
- gives
- his
- an
- opportunity
- to
- reflect
- on
- whether
- his
- sacrifice
- was
- worth
- it.
“A
- Day
- in
- the
- Life”
- chronicles
- the
- life
- of
- a
- migrant
- worker
- who
- is
- not
- allowed
- to
- live
- near
- his
- place
- of
- work
- because
- of
- the
- influx
- control
- laws
- current
- at
- that
- time.
“Bootblack”
- is
- a
- humorous
- story
- about
- a
- greedy
- financial
- adviser
- who
- comes
- to
- regret
- not
- taking
- the
- advice
- of
- the
- man
- who
- polishes
- his
- shoes.
“Mother
- Caught
- a
- Flea”
- describes
- a
- day
- in
- the
- life
- of
- a
- Zulu
- herd
- boy.
“Sangoma”
- highlights
- the
- conflict
- between
- traditional
- belief
- systems
- and
- western
- education.
“The
- Stokvel”
- is
- a
- humorous
- story
- about
- savings
- clubs.
- These
- savings
- clubs
- are
- very
- popular
- among
- working-class
- women.
- The
- members
- save
- for
- a
- whole
- variety
- of
- purposes
- such
- as
- buying
- groceries,
- paying
- for
- weddings
- and
- funerals
- and
- so
- forth.
- Miriam’s
- stokvel
- is
- different.
- The
- members
- save
- for
- pure
- extravagance.
“Egoli”
- is
- the
- Zulu
- name
- for
- “The
- City
- of
- Gold”
- otherwise
- known
- as
- Johannesburg.
- The
- streets
- of
- Egoli
- are
- believed
- to
- be
- paved
- with
- gold.
- The
- city
- attracts
- hundreds
- of
- thousands
- of
- migrants
- each
- year
- in
- search
- of
- a
- better
- life.
- But,
- is
- it
- really
- any
- better?
“The
- Second
- New
- Year”
- in
- the
- Cape
- has
- is
- the
- second
- of
- January.
- Originally,
- it
- was
- a
- holiday
- reserved
- for
- servants.
- Nowadays,
- the
- occasion
- is
- celebrated
- by
- the
- Minstrel
- Carnival
- where
- hundreds
- of
- bands,
- dressed
- in
- bright
- costumes,
- parade
- along
- the
- streets
- of
- Cape
- Town,
- competing
- for
- various
- prizes.
- The
- rivalry
- between
- the
- troupes
- is
- intense
- and
- dirty
- tricks
- are
- not
- altogether
- unknown.
“The
- Driving
- Lesson”
- is
- a
- story
- with
- an
- Aids
- background.
“Two
- of
- a
- Kind”
- has
- a
- strong
- ethnic
- flavour,
- involving
- a
- dispute
- over
- a
- Xhosa
- burial.
“The
- Badger
- and
- the
- Honey
- Guide”
- is
- an
- Aesop’s
- Fable
- translated
- into
- an
- African
- setting.
“The
- Snoek
- Run”
- chronicles
- the
- life
- of
- the
- Cape
- fishermen.
- The
- snoek
- is
- a
- barracuda-type
- fish
- which
- can
- grow
- up
- to
- two
- meters
- in
- length
- and
- possesses
- huge
- teeth.
“The
- Richest
- Man
- in
- the
- World”
- is
- about
- the
- alluvial
- diamonds
- found
- in
- the
- sand
- dunes
- of
- the
- Namibian
- coast.
- Which
- are
- more
- valuable
- in
- the
- desert:
- diamonds
- or
- water?
In
- “Run
- Kagiso”,
- the
- crowd
- in
- the
- stadium
- roars
- its
- support
- for
- Kagiso,
- the
- only
- black
- runner
- to
- complete
- the
- ultra-marathon.
In
- “The
- Journey”
- the
- shaman
- of
- a
- Khoi
- Bushman
- clan
- nominates
- !Goab
- to
- undertake
- a
- mission
- to
- plead
- with
- the
- god
- Mantis
- to
- release
- the
- rain
- animal
- thereby
- ending
- the
- drought
- that
- is
- ravaging
- the
- land.
“Friends
- and
- Rivals”
- is
- a
- humorous
- story
- about
- two
- women,
- both
- friends
- and
- rivals.
- Trying
- to
- be
- one-up
- on
- your
- friend
- can
- be
- a
- costly
- exercise.
In
- “Hotazel”
- two
- men
- on
- a
- long
- train
- journey
- share
- a
- compartment.
- They
- talk
- long
- into
- the
- night.
- Both
- come
- from
- completely
- different
- worlds.
- Fifty
- years
- later,
- the
- young
- man,
- now
- old,
- sits
- down
- to
- record
- the
- conversation:
- a
- story
- of
- the
- clash
- between
- two
- cultures.
In
- “Rogue”
- two
- arrogant
- young
- men
- take
- a
- couple
- of
- foreign
- tourists
- on
- safari.
- They
- think
- they
- are
- experts
- in
- understanding
- animal
- behaviour.
- They
- assure
- the
- tourists
- that
- they
- have
- nothing
- to
- worry
- about.
- However,
- their
- knowledge
- of
- animal
- behaviour
- does
- not
- stretch
- as
- far
- as
- rogue
- animals.
- On
- this
- safari,
- the
- arrogant
- young
- men
- have
- to
- learn
- on
- their feet.
