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Stuff from Johannesburg

Minister Lamola says the justice department is on an ‘upward trend’

Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa in the news:

  1. Minister Lamola says the justice department is on an ‘upward trend’: Johannesburg – Justice and Correctional Services Minister Ronald Lamola says despite the challenging circumstances brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic, the department is working to ensure that … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  2. Sort out your staff issues, City Power tells Eskom: City Power has “raised concerns” with Eskom over a go-slow by employees leading to delays lasting hours in the restoration of power after load-shedding in parts of Gauteng. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  3. Vodacom and Remgro make deal on fibre business: Vodacom will be injecting R6-billion in cash and selling its fibre network to Community Investment Ventures Holdings, of which Remgro holds 57-percent. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  4. Keshav Maharaj Announced Captain For South African Team, Wayne Parnell Gets A Recall: Left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj will captain the Proteas in their upcoming home ODI series against the Netherlands from 26 November-1 December. There are also welcome returns to the international fold … – “Johannesburg” – BingNews
  5. Toyota Hilux gets a spec upgrade in response to customer feedback: The Toyota Hilux is already available in a dizzying array of model derivatives, but that hasn’t stopped Toyota’s product planners from tinkering with the formula. – “Johannesburg” – BingNews

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Have you tried: Visiting Port Elizabeth?

Did you know this about Johannesburg? In 1971 the South African Broadcasting Corporation was eventually allowed to introduce a television service. When television was finally introduced, there was only one channel with airtime divided evenly between English and Afrikaans, alternating between the two languages. Test transmissions in Johannesburg began on 5 May 1975, followed in July by ones in Cape Town and Durban. Nationwide services finally commenced on 5 January 1976.

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Top Star Drive-In: The Cinema on the Mountain of Gold

The Ferreira Dump began growing in the late 1800s, composed of the crushed rock and chemical residue left over after early, inefficient mining processes had extracted as much gold as the technology of the time allowed. By the 1960s, it was a flat-topped, man-made mesa overlooking the city. In a stroke of entrepreneurial genius, the surface was tarred and the Top Star Drive-In was opened. It quickly became a South African institution. Its appeal was not just the movies, but the unparalleled view: as the sun set, the massive white screen would flicker to life against a backdrop of the glowing skyscrapers of the Central Business District, separated from the viewer only by the elevated M2 highway.

In the decades before television arrived in South Africa (1976), the Top Star was a primary social hub. It was a democratic space in an undemocratic time; while the city below was strictly segregated, the “car” served as a private bubble that allowed a degree of social freedom not found in traditional theaters. For many Johannesburgers, the Top Star was a site of nostalgic rites of passage—first dates, family outings where children were piled into the back of station wagons with blankets and flasks of tea, and the Saturday “car market” where the parking lot transformed into a sprawling hub for buying and selling second-hand vehicles.