DINNER PARTY INTEL: Dining out à la Shaik

1. Takkies on the ground

The defence force is working on a new everyday uniform to replace its current camouflage one that does not cater for the “African body profile”. The new outfit will also make provision for “female sizes and designs”, according to DefenceWeb.

The new boots on the ground are copies of those preferred in the bush wars when “many SA and Rhodesian soldiers opted to wear physical training footwear instead of issued combat boots”. This has led to the “waxi” boot: a combination of a sneaker and a combat boot.

2. Sarah vs Santa

Sarah Palin is running for Alaska’s sole seat in the US House of Representatives. Even with Donald Trump’s endorsement, she may not be a shoo-in. Her popularity in her home state has dropped to 31%, according to one pollster, and there will be 51 contenders in the special election to pick a successor to Don Young, who died in March.

One of the candidates for the June 11 primary is someone called Santa Claus, who is described as a member of the North Pole council.

3. Dining out à la Shaik

Schabir Shaik, the Durban crook and Jacob Zuma bagman who escaped a long prison term thanks to a sympathetic parole board, is a regular at one of the city’s best-known restaurants, Spiga.

The place is a short walk from Shaik’s luxury home in one of Durban’s affluent suburbs and the restaurant is so delighted with its notorious customer that its menu offers “linguine à la Shaik”, which comes with a sauce of “olive oil, garlic, chilli, plum tomato and sweet basil”.