😵 We’re all addicted to our phones

Good morning Stellenbosch,

This week we discuss:
• why scooters are apparently public enemy number one
• how Checkers Sixty60 changed civilisation forever
• why nobody talks to strangers anymore
• and how your phone screen time is probably deeply upsetting.

Also:
Jacks Bagels is for sale, winter has finally relaxed a bit, and somewhere in town a student is still trying to find parking near campus.

Let’s get into it.

Stellenbosch traffic is already held together by prayer, caffeine, and one confused bakkie trying to reverse in Andringa Street.

So naturally, the obvious solution is… fewer scooters.

The university has reportedly asked Go Now, the blue scooter rental service, to remove scooter parking areas from campus, including one of the busiest spots.

Which feels a bit like banning umbrellas during a flood.

Every year we complain about:
traffic,
parking,
students driving 400 metres to class,
and parents in Fortuners doing 11-point turns outside res like they’re docking a cruise ship.

Then a young South African entrepreneur actually builds something useful, affordable, local, and slightly futuristic…

And somehow the scooter is the villain.

Not the traffic.
Not the parking.
Not the person stopping dead in Bird Street because they saw someone they know.

The scooter.

At this rate, Stellenbosch’s official mobility plan will be:
walk,
panic,
circle for parking,
give up,
buy coffee,
and call it “urban planning”.

Surely this is exactly the kind of innovation we should be encouraging?

Not every solution needs a committee, a feasibility study, and a PDF with 46 logos on the front page.

Sometimes progress is blue, electric, and parked slightly badly near the library.

A lot of households in South Africa employ a nanny, domestic worker, cleaner, or gardener…

…and are also quietly hoping they’ve somehow done the UIF correctly.

Because the second you try understand:
• labour law
• payslips
• leave tracking
• UIF registration
• contracts

…you suddenly feel like you should’ve studied HR at Stellenbosch University.

That’s why I thought AskMandla was such a clever local startup idea.

They’ve basically simplified domestic HR through WhatsApp.
Things like contracts, UIF, payslips, payroll, and leave tracking… without needing spreadsheets, panic, or 14 open SARS tabs.

What I like most is that it’s not just helping employers.
It’s also helping domestic workers receive proper contracts, payslips, UIF support, and better financial inclusion.

Honestly, more South African startups should solve real problems like this.
Simple.
Useful.
Local.
And built right here in Stellenbosch.

In what may be the most dangerous business opportunity for anyone with weak self-control around carbs…

Jacks Bagels Stellenbosch is officially for sale for R3.1 million ex VAT.

The deal includes both stores:
• the busy central Stellenbosch branch
• and the legendary Neelsie location, which has probably fuelled approximately 78% of all student exam survival since inception.

Honestly, owning a bagel shop in Stellenbosch feels less like buying a business and more like acquiring a critical piece of local infrastructure.

Because no matter what happens in the economy, students will always need:
• coffee
• WiFi
• emotional support carbs
• and somewhere to sit avoiding their assignments.

The business is part of a national franchise and already fully operational, which means you can theoretically skip the “how do I run a bakery?” phase and move straight into saying things like:
“We need to optimise bagel throughput.”

Also important:
you’re buying the businesses, not the buildings.
So unfortunately you cannot become the landlord of the Neelsie food court and control student civilisation itself.

Still…
for the right entrepreneur, this honestly sounds like a pretty fascinating local opportunity.

Honestly, younger generations will never understand the struggle.

Before Checkers Sixty60 and Woolies Dash, forgetting one ingredient at home basically meant your evening collapsed.

You forgot milk?
Fantastic.
Now you must:
• put real clothes back on
• leave the warmth of your house
• fight Stellenbosch traffic
• search for parking like it’s an Easter egg hunt
• stand behind someone paying municipal accounts
• and somehow leave Woolworths with olives, candles, and a R913 bill.

And there was still a 40% chance you forgot the actual milk.

Now?
You casually say:
“We’re out of butter.”

And before you’ve even emotionally processed the situation, a scooter appears outside your house like a food-delivery ninja.

Honestly, it’s one of South Africa’s greatest achievements.

We can’t organise four-way stops when the traffic lights are out…
but somehow we can deliver sushi, oat milk, and dishwasher tablets to your house in under 60 minutes.

Also slightly terrifying how lazy we’ve become.

People are now ordering:
• one avocado
• toothpaste
• two rolls of toilet paper
• and “something sweet”

…like Victorian aristocrats summoning supplies to the castle.

At this point, Sixty60 drivers probably know shortcuts through Stellenbosch that even the municipality doesn’t know exist.

The greatest addiction of our generation probably isn’t alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs.

It’s this little glowing rectangle in your pocket.

Honestly, check your screen time tonight.
Not quickly.
Really check it.

There’s a very real chance you’ve spent more time staring at your phone this week than speaking to actual human beings.

People now stand in coffee shop queues silently scrolling TikTok while surrounded by:
• attractive people
• potential friends
• actual life happening around them

Meanwhile nobody makes eye contact anymore because we’re all busy watching a 19-year-old explain “5 signs your cortisol is inflamed.”

No wonder so many people are single.

Half the town is waiting to meet “the one” while actively avoiding all eye contact at Plato.

And the scary part?
Phones have become the default setting for even 3 seconds of silence.

Lift arrives?
Phone.
Traffic light?
Phone.
Standing in Woolworths queue?
Phone.
Watching your child at sport?
Also somehow phone.

We’ve reached the point where people can’t even go to the bathroom without bringing entertainment.

Maybe this weekend:
look up a little more.
Talk to strangers.
Smile at someone.
Be bored for 4 minutes.
You never know…
you might accidentally experience real life again.

At some point in life, every single one of us gets brought to our knees.

Not by a bad day.
Not by a small inconvenience.
But by something real.

Loss.
Fear.
Failure.
Heartbreak.
Uncertainty.

And in those moments, success, money, status, followers, and opinions from strangers suddenly become very small things.

What keeps people going is faith.

Faith in God.
Faith in humanity.
Faith in purpose.
Faith that somehow, even when life makes no sense at all, there is still a reason to keep moving forward.

You do not need to have everything figured out to have faith.

Sometimes faith is simply waking up tomorrow and trying again.

And strangely, when people go through the hardest seasons of their lives, they often come out softer, wiser, kinder, and stronger than before.

Maybe because struggle has a way of reminding us what actually matters.

So if life feels heavy right now, keep going.

One small step.
One deep breath.
One more day.

The storm does eventually pass.

🌤️ Friday | 19°C | ⛅
The rain finally leaves Stellenbosch and locals cautiously re-enter society. Expect full coffee shops, muddy trails, and at least one person saying:
“Ag shame we actually needed the rain.”

☀️ Saturday | 22°C | 😎
Absolutely gorgeous weather. Wine farms fully booked. Mountain bikes appearing on car racks. Someone will definitely post:
“Lucky to live here.”

🍷 Sunday | 24°C | ☀️
Warm and sunny. Perfect conditions for “just one glass of wine” turning into a full Sunday situation. Parents across Stellenbosch also expected to spend the afternoon discussing firewood prices like it’s the stock market.

If you enjoy reading the Stellenbosch Brief each week and would like to support it, you can buy me a flat white ☕️

Normal milk.
Nothing fancy.
We’re trying to build a local newsletter here, not open a wellness retreat.

Your support helps cover the coffee, software, and mild emotional damage involved in putting this thing together… and did I mention… the coffee!

No pressure at all.
Just genuinely grateful you’re here reading it.

🤝 SUPPORT THE BRIEF

As always, thanks for reading. If you spot something in town worth knowing, reply and tell us. Half the best Stellenbosch stories begin that way.

See you around town,
Stellenbosch Brief

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