DINNER PARTY INTEL: Searching for clues about this dire statistic

1. Dwindling detectives

A common cliché in cop movies dialogue is “You’d better take a look at this”. It should apply to a shocking statistic recently revealed by national police commissioner Gen Fannie Masemola: South Africa has lost 8,400 detectives in the past seven years, from a force of 26,000. If the trend continues, there might be no-one to have a look at anything.

2. Big celebration in Little Karoo

There was some celebrating in Kammanassie in the Little Karoo last week. The Kammanassie dam was 100% full on the 100th anniversary of its completion — for the first time in eight years, thanks to a good flow of the Kammanassie River, which drains from the Kammanassie Mountains in the Kammanassie catchment area. “An early Kammanassie Krismis,” said a farmer who depends on the dam for irrigation.

3. Town takes on superstars

Residents of Fife in Scotland have complained that plans by Tiger Woods and Justin Timberlake to convert a 1930s cinema in the golf hub of St Andrews into a sports bar are “disrespectful” and “out of keeping”. The golf and music superstars are partners in a gastropub business. The Fife town council has not yet ruled on the application.