DINNER PARTY INTEL: It’s not every day that a Tretchikoff original goes on sale

1. Back on the block

Sales of Tretchikoff originals are rare in the art world. In the past 20 years, only about 100 have appeared at auctions. It makes next week’s auction by Strauss & Co a big event. Vladimir Tretchikoff’s Lady from the Orient (estimated value R5m-7m) will be part of the sale in Joburg on May 27. Prints of his most famous paintings, such as Chinese Girl, were mass-produced in the 1950s and 1960s and became some of the best-selling art prints in history.

2. Cricket’s other Don

The death of Don Mackay-Coghill, 83, went by almost unnoticed last week in Joburg, where he was once a feared fast bowler in the Wanderers bullring and a major figure in marketing Krugerrands. He was lured to Perth to run Gold Corp, where he used his talents to sell Australia’s Krugerrand equivalent, the Nugget. His funeral was held in Perth this week.

3. Baseball blessing

Baseball rivalries in the US, where the game was invented, can be fierce, especially in cities with more than one team. In Chicago, home to the Cubs and the White Sox, it reached papal levels with the election of Pope Leo XIV, who was born there. The Cubs claimed him, but the pope’s brother said the family, who lived in the less-affluent South Side, were lifelong White Sox fans. At least the Cubs still hold the edge in the city, having beaten the White Sox 26 times in 48 head-to-head matches over the past 10 years.