DINNER PARTY INTEL: Living the sweet life

1. Rhodes Memorial row

South African National Parks says it is finalising a second tender to rebuild one of Cape Town’s most popular venues, the Rhodes Restaurant & Tea Room, but the Friends of Rhodes Memorial organisation has accused it of stalling. The building was razed in the Table Mountain fire of 2021 and the delay in rebuilding has been blamed on apathy when the first tender was issued.

2. SA’s R Kelly jailed

For notoriety, South Africa has its own R Kelly. Raymond Kelly, 34, is also known as R Kelly, the US sex offender and Grammy-winning musician. Last week the local R Kelly was found guilty in the Beaufort West circuit court of two murders and assaulting his girlfriend with a sjambok. He has been sentenced to 34 years. The American R Kelly is serving a 31-year sentence.

3. Take music with food

Listening to certain music while eating can heighten the experience and influence how the food tastes, a study has found. “Justin Timberlake and chocolate go together very well,” says Johan Swahn of Örebro University in Sweden, who led the latest research. “The Timberlake track Can’t Stop the Feeling! — it seems to make chocolate taste sweeter, perhaps fresher.”