Hermann Kallenbach (1871–1945) was a South African architect who is best known for being a very close friend of Mahatma Gandhi, starting from the latter’s early days in South Africa. Kallenbach was born in 1871 in East Prussia to a German-Jewish family. He went to study architecture in Stuttgart and Munich. In 1896, he went to South Africa, where he …

If you have heard of Dick Whittington at all, then you’ll probably know him as being a pantomime character, with his cat, and the Bow Bells saying those famous words: “Turn again, Whittington, thrice Lord Mayor of London!” Just a story? Well, not quite. Dick, or give him his full name, Sir Richard Whittington, really did exist, although you can …

You may have heard people saying that somebody has an ‘Achilles heel’, which means that they have a weak spot somewhere, either in their personality or their body. Where does that expression come from, and who was Achilles? Achilles was the won of a woman called Thetis, who was told by the Fates, ancient Greek goddesses who controlled people’s destiny, …

When you came into the world, she held you in her arms. You thanked her by wailing like a banshee. When you were 1 year old, she fed you and bathed you. You thanked her by crying all night long. When you were 2 years old, she taught you to walk. You thanked her by running away when she called. …

In 1917 the Bolshevik revolutionaries in Russia forced the Tsar, Nicholas II, to abdicate, and then imprisoned him and his family, his wife, his son and four daughters, in various places in Russia. Then in 1918 an announcement came that all the royal family, as well as four of their servants, had been killed. No bodies were ever found, and …

A stealth shopper is a person who shops secretly to avoid flaunting wealth or to hide expenses from a spouse. It could mean shopping on the net or from catalogues through a friend to avoid being spotted.

Frenemy is made of two opposites – friend and enemy – and is used for a person who appears to be both. A friend who shares similar interests and hangs around with you, but who secretly works against your interests and is fiercely competitive. It came into currency with chicklit and television serials, mostly in the feminine world.

Having faith in Santa Claus Is not for just the young, I know I’ll keep proclaiming him As long as I’iv a tongue. And even though I see the gent Unmasked before my eyes, Revealing some familiar friend Who’s donned the quaint disguise, It doesn’t change my mind a bit; I’ll still believe, because There’s more than whiskers and a …

Hoppiety was a kangaroo, Like the one from London Zoo; One day he jumped into a fog, And bumped into a sausage dog. “Goodness me!” said Heinz a – barking, “This is not the time for parking.” Said Kangaroo, “The fog looks queer, But now I have a good idea.” “Why don’t you hop into my pouch? It’s as comfy …

Fiction’s most famous detective was created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Born in Edinburgh in 1859 he decided to become a doctor, and it was when he was studying medicine at university that he met the man who was to later inspire him to create his most famous character. The man was his professor, Joseph Bell, who was particularly good …