When I drove to work this morning islands in the middle of practically every road were ablaze with flowers, workers were putting finishing touches to landscaped gardens outside one of the new bus stations, paving was being perfected along the highway and freshly tarred roads were being marked out with white paint. In short, Cape Town has seldom looked this spruce – and we all know why.
After all that counting down the World Cup is finally upon us!
Most of the teams have arrived and the excitement is palpable. I didn’t manage to get a ticket (if anyone’s interested) but I will be visiting a fan park to get into the spirit (see our great guide to fan parks on page 16). As is right and fitting we have many football-flavoured features in this issue – we look at the stars of Bafana and tell you what the best bets are if you fancy a flurry at the bookies.
Then there are our winning soccer star lookalikes on page 126 – Booooth, you’ve got competition! For those of you who are a little soccered-out (heaven forbid!) we do of course have other reads too. We examine the crisis in Gaza, bring
you the latest pics of the Brangelina posse and report on Celine Dion’s baby joy after years of trying to conceive.
And next week we’ll have a special treat for fiction-lovers: the first in a three-part story written exclusively for YOU by Deon Meyer, South Africa’s international awardwinning crime writer. It’s called In the Blood and is bound to have you on the edge of your seat.
On a totally different note, don’t forget to cut out your coupons on page 32. In these tough times we need all the help we can get – and with coupons worth R33 you’re getting back twice what you paid for this magazine. Don’t miss the next three issues of YOU for more coupons.