"Here comes another bloody newsletter from my credit card company with a new and improved list of suggestions as to how I should spend more money."

Well, yes and no. Certainly, you can decide for yourselves, but with things like Crocs knocking around, it helps to have a friend close by to remind you that - as comfortable as they might be - you probably don’t want to go out looking like some sort of alien gardener. We aim to be that friend. Of course, nobody likes to be told what to do by someone they consider uncool, so let the following declaration assure you:

We don’t wear socks with our sandals or big red jerseys with pictures of



animals embroidered on them; we don’t think lots of explosions make a good movie, we don’t get our news from one source; we don’t walk with a limp and say things like “bee-atch”; we don’t fly the old South African flag and we don’t drive like idiots.

Convinced? If not, let our first edition do the work for us.

Matthew Freemantle
Editor

We suggest a trip to London that doesn’t include overrated royal buildings or crowded wax museums...

We ask musician Arno Carstens about inappropriate crushes, plastic surgery and his first time in the sack.







We give you the best of what’s around in cinemas, theatre, books and music.

Terrifying, dark, beautifully shot.

Extra: Q&A with Director David Fincher

A hilarious, witty and jubilant celebration of the street culture of South Africa’s most famous town becomes a teary, powerful love story with an ending that will tear you to pieces.

It’s worth having even if you’re a non- English speaking Belgian...

Those of you expecting something along the lines of Arno’s highly successful solo work, think again: this is vintage, hard-as-nails rock.

Finally we have a local pop rock outfit with a female lead singer who doesn’t sound like a prepubescent boy calling for help.

An infectious collection of dreamy, light-hearted pop songs that make you feel as though you’re floating on a cloud.

Ruby, the first single, is currently all over local radio and has the sort of universally pleasing tune.

Every Month we also bring you tips on managing your finances.

Trading currencies on the foreign exchange is for qualified traders, right? Wrong, we’ll tell you how...




More than wanting to recommend cool things to you, Extra Virgin wants to talk to you. We want to know whether we’re on the right track. If we recommend a film and you feel your money would have been better used if folded into a paper jet and tossed from your balcony, tell us. If we tell you leather waistcoats and dog collars are back (we won’t, but we’re talking hypothetically here) and wearing these items causes your friends to stop inviting you to parties, let us have it.

 

If we’re going to be friends, we must at least agree to be honest with each other.

Deal? Deal.