DINNER PARTY INTEL: Shaken, but probably undeterred

1. Quaking at the bar

Among those still awake at 2.38am on Sunday when an earthquake hit parts of Gauteng were a group imbibing in a Bedfordview bar. According to emergency services, there were no injuries either in Boksburg, the epicentre of the magnitude 4.4 quake, or elsewhere in Gauteng. A few drinks might have been spilt, however.

2. Hack on South Africa

Welsh rugby writer Stephen Jones’s recent reminiscences about 40 years of reporting on the game were not just about rugby: “And to South Africa which, on every single day of a trip, [was] an education in stunning scenery, wealth, wineries, poverty, politics, history, bitterness, forgiveness, vast crime figures, governmental swindlers, bent presidents, divisions.”

3. Harry and history

Prince Harry is the first British royal in more than a century to give evidence in court. The previous one was the future Edward VII, then Prince of Wales, who testified for a friend accused of cheating at baccarat. The 1891 court found against the friend, Sir William Gordon-Cumming, who was dismissed from the army and ostracised from society. Public opinion was on the side of Gordon-Cumming and the prince was unpopular for years afterwards.