It seems like just yesterday when I was coming back from Cape Town airport and seeing a digital sign that said 'Only 1000 days to the World Cup'. Now those days can be measured in single figures. The World Cup is here.

It's been amazing to see how many cars are flying the South African flag. It seems that people are really looking forward to this World Cup. I have not seen this amount of enthusiasm, not even for the rugby or cricket world cups we've had in this country.

On the subject of sport, the Bulls have done it again. Super 14 Champions for the third time in four years - and they get to keep the trophy. Next year we will have the Super 15 Trophy to fight over. Hard luck to the Stormers, but congratulations on making your first final. Let's hope it's the start of a trend.

Can you believe that we're already halfway throgh the year and winter is really here now? Enjoy the cold and enjoy the World Cup. Go Bafana, we will be cheering you on.

Well April is done and dusted. We've got most of the public holidays out of the way, so no maybe we can concentrate on doing a bit of work. These holidays tend to confuse me and most of the time I don't know if it's a Sunday, Monday, or washing day.

It's just over a month to the World Cup and people seem to be getting excited about it. I just hope that we (as in South Africa) don't end up too badly out of pocket when it is over.

On the sport front the Super 14 is looking good. There is a strong possibility that two South African teams may contest the final for the second time in three years. The Bulls are looking good, but the team that has really impressed me this year is the Stormers. Let's just hope that history does not repeat itself. Remember the last time they got into a home semi-final? They imploded and were on the end of a beating. Let's hope they can keep it up for the last two games and let's see a Bulls/Stormers final this year.

In two months time the Tabloid will be three years old. Hell, has it been that long already?

In just over two months the 2010 World Cup kicks off in South Africa. And while on the subject, the Tabloid's normal theme for the month of April is humour.

With these being humour month we will obviously feature a number of articles on the subject, as well as our usual mix of this and that. There's been quite a bit of sport to watch the past month including the Super 14, IPL, and Formula One.

March was a fairly busy month for us and we spent a bit of time with the South African Navy at sea. We also had the chance to take a look at the elegant and luxurious Queen Mary 2. I would have to work for another 10 lifetimes to avoid a trip on her, but one can dream.

March was also the month when we celebrated St. Patrick's Day. From what I have been told, I enjoyed myself. April seems to have enough public holidays so maybe I can catch up on some much needed sleep.

Thanks for reading the Tabloid, we really do appreciate it. Have a good month.

Three of us, Matt O'Brien, Ryan Murphy and yours truly, have one thing in common - we are all Irish. So naturally March is an important month to us because this is the month when we celebrate the feast day of our patron saint, Saint Patrick.

On March 17 you won't get much sense out of Murphy or myself. O'Brien, however, is a different kettle of fish. He tends to get a head start on St. Patrick's day and usually starts celebrating on about March 10 and continues until the end of the month.

Traditionally we view March as the Tabloid's 'culture' edition. So expect quite a few articles on various cultures. You can also look forward to our normal mix of articles.

The Super 14 is underway and I'm not sure if I'm enjoying it that much. Stix Dlamini wrote an article last month about the Super 14 and I had to agree with a lot of what he said. I also feel that there are too many penalties being awarded and that it is killing the game. The enforcing of the laws at the break down and at scrum time seems to be making the games very stop-start.

While talking about sport, how about that innings from Sanchin Tendulkar? It was sheer class and even though we were on the receiving end, it was a pleasure to watch.

To all our Irish readers, have a good St. Patrick's day.

‘Allo dear readers, zis eez February, ze month of love. Well so much for the atrocious French accent. It sounds a lot better when you say it that when you write it. Be that as it may, this is February – the month that we celebrate Valentine’s Day. Or as the ever-romantic Matt O’Brien calls it; “the greatest commercial rip-off since Christmas.”

There’s a lot on the go for February besides Valentine’s Day. This is also the month that the Super 14 starts and I, along with many of you, can’t wait. Will a South African team lift the trophy once more? Can the Bulls make it two in a row? Time, and a very tough season, will tell.

It also means that the FIFA World Cup is a month closer and everyone is watching and waiting with anticipation, or could that be trepidation? It’s either going to be one of the biggest success stories in South Africa or the biggest balls up since Olaf the Viking ordered 10 000 Viking helmets with the horns on the inside.

In a way I’m rather glad that January is behind us. Now maybe people will actually focus on getting back to work. It seemed to me as if some people decided to extend their vacations this year. Even many of those back at work were still on vacation.

This month you can obviously look forward to a fair number of articles with a Valentine’s theme. Some of them, I must confess, have appeared in the Tabloid before but as they have been removed from the archives we’ve decided to run them again. It will give new readers a chance to see them, and they were pretty popular articles judging from the number of hits they received.

Have a damn fine splendid February. I trust that you will be lucky in love and that Cupid will slot someone with his arrow for you. As long as his aim is straight and he doesn’t hit the wrong person you should be fine.

Do you realise that we're already a decade into the new millenium? Well, a happy New Year to all our readers. May this be the year when all your plans come together and your dreams come true.

Naturally this is also the year that many South Africans have been waiting for. The year of the 2010 World Cup to be held right here in sunny SA. I just hope that everything runs smoothly and we don't blow it. I'm not pessimistic, just realistic. Let's just get on with the game and leave all the other crap behind for the duration of the tournament.

The Tabloid is well into its third year now and to all the sceptics that said we would never last, Póg mo thóin (that's Gaelic for "kiss my arse.") We're still here and we intend to stay right where we are. This year we will be looking at ways to improve the Tabloid and ensure that we bring you content that is interesting, thought provoking, and fun.

2009 was an interesting year for us with quite a few ups and downs. We started off the year full of plans and ambitions, only to walk into a major world-wide recession that hit the media particularly hard. We started two new on-line magazines, the Troubadour and the Techside, and had plans to start another two. The recession soon put paid to that and in the end we decided to can both Troubadour and Techside and concentrate on the Tabloid.

October was a terrible month for us as the site was hijacked for three weeks. It took a lot of time and effort (blood, sweat and beers) to sort it out. It also took the help of Weber from Hetzner and Cliffie and Deon from E-Mouse.

The year was not a total write-off though. In March we established a good relationship with the South African Navy after we covered the Navy Festival in Simon's Town. They have been absolute stars when it comes to PR and it has been a pleasure working with them - especially Lt Sam Khasuli and Lt Commander Grelying van den Berg.

Well, let's see what 2010 has to bring. I trust that you're all going to have a good one and that you'll keep all your New Year's resolutions. I've already broken all of mine and the year is not even 24 hours old. Oh well, I guess I'll try again next year.

Smack me with a bargepole and call me Harry - it's the last month of the year already. It seemed like just the other day that it was January.

It also means that the Tabloid has now been in its present format for a year. It was December last year when we changed from our PDF magazine to the present daily-updated version. What this means is that all the articles from December 2008 that are currently in the archives will be permanently removed from the site in January. So if you haven't read these articles yet now may be a good time to do it.

Can you believe that it is almost Christmas again? I've decided that this year I will buy myself a gift and sod everyone else. It's just getting too expensive to splash out on gifts for all and sundry.

This month will obviously feature plenty of articles to do with Christmas and the festive season. December is sometimes a difficult month to get stories from our writers because most of them seem to go into holiday mode. Still, we will see what we can do.

On the sporting front I was bemused by the Sprinbok's end of year tour. The only game we managed to win was the one against Italy. Watching last Saturday's match between Ireland and South Africa left me with mixed emotions. While I support the Springboks I'm still Irish. So it was difficult knowing which side to cheer. One thing that was pleasing was referee Nigel Owen's handling of the game.

Let me take this occasion to wish all of our readers well over the festive season. If you're going to be on the roads this month, be careful. Other than that, have a good one.

What a month October was! For most of the month the Tabloid site was down. We were hit, and hit very hard, by hijackers. It's bad enough that we live in a country where hijacking is a national sport. Now not even our computers are safe from this scourge.

A Russian outfit managed to hack into the site via our server and they downloaded the index page of the site, added malicious code, and then uploaded it again. Google picked this up and then blocked out site (thanks guys). Not being a propeller head (computer technician) I couldn't make head or tail of what was going on. It took me a bit of time, and the help of Weber from Hetzner, to figure out what was happening. I then had to rebuild the site from scratch - try doing two years worth of work in two weeks. Then I had to reload the site. The next problem was to contact Google and let them know that the site was now clean. This was about as easy as trying to defuse a nuclear device. Once again I had to rely on Weber's help.

At last it seems as though we've sorted out the problem and hopefully we can keep these Russian pillocks off. People like this should be boiled in oil for starters. Still, I'm just happy that we're back and I hope and pray we can stay that way.

Can you believe that in two months time it's Christmas. I still haven't finished paying for the gifts I bought last year and it scares me to think of what it will cost this year. I normal shop once a week and I don't know if it's just my imagination, but every time I go to the supermarket the prices seem to have increased. You buy some milk and a loaf of bread and ask if you can pay a deposit and pay the rest off over six months. It's getting beyond a joke.

September was a so-so month on the sporting field. The good news is that we did win the Tri-Nations for the third time and the 'Boks looked very good. The local Currie Cup competition is also providing some entertaining rugby. At the other sporting codes, however, things did not look as rosy. The Proteas, out cricket boys, got thumped by all and sundry in the ICC Tournament which is being held in South Africa. Bafana Bafana, the national soccer team, still don't look capable of actually beating anyone. I think the last game they lost was to the Outer Uzbekistan U14b team.

As for the rest, have a good month and please keep reading the Tabloid.

So spring is finally here. I wish someone had told the weather about it though. Here in Cape Town it is pouring with rain and still freezing cold.

The big news this month is that the Tabloid is two years old. I mentioned this to a colleague of mine, someone that oftens writes for the Tabloid. "Two years," she said. "It feels more like ten years!"

I can only echo her statement. While it has been fun it has also been challenging and often frustrating. The Tabloid was created to give young writers, especially students, a change to be published and get practical experience. What has always amazed me, and left a bad taste in my mouth, is the total apathy shown by the majority of the colleges and journalism training institutes. Their lack of support and attitude has always left me puzzled. Still, we've managed quite well without them.

We plan to be around for another year, and many years after that. Our readership continues to grow and we will continue trying to give them good articles to read. We value your support, so keep reading and supporting us for the next year.

At the end of this month the Tabloid will be celebrating its second birthday. This month we also celebrate Women's Day, so look out for a number of feature articles focusing on and for the fairer sex.

As the editor of the Tabloid I feel pretty proud of achieving two years on-line. It has been a lot of fun, but never easy. On-line magazines seem to come and go at a rapid rate. Yet one only has to look at the state of the print media currently to realise that on-line publishing is the future.

The Springboks have kicked off this year's Tri-nations on a possitive note, beating the All Blacks twice in a row. If we can keep up this momentum then we have a good shot at lifting the trophy. As any rugby fan will know, the Currie Cup is underway and this year looks as if it could be a good one. At this stage it doesn't look like a one-horse race and this always makes for some exciting rugby.

Please keep reading the Tabloid. You have no idea of just how much we value your readership. For those of us in the Southern Hemisphere this is the last month of winter and we can look forward to Spring next month. With the weather patterns the way they are now, however, it could snow for all we know.

Okay, that's it, half the year is officially gone. I for one am not sure where it went. The only good thing about the march of time is that hopefully it will bring the recession closer to its end. And it is going to end. So many people, especially in South Africa, are so negative about everything. I know it's tough and a lot of people are taking strain, but we will come out the other side.

It was tough making the call to close down the Tech Side and the Troubadour yet in the current economic climate we didn't have much of a choice. The Tabloid, however, will continue to run as it has for the past two years.

June was interesting on the sports front. We blew it in the World 20/20 Championships, won a test series against the British and Irish Lions, and our soccer boys did us really proud in the Confedrations Cup.

We trust that you will keep on reading and supporting the Tabloid. We need all the support we can get.

Can you believe that we're already halfway through the year? Well, in the sixth month of the year anyway. Where has the time gone? I also find it difficult to believe that in two months time the Tabloid will celebrate its 2nd birthday. I'm still recovering from the first birthday bash.

May was a fairly busy month and we published 38 new articles. That's more than an article per day. Not bad going when you consider that the Tabloid is run on a shoe-string budget. That's another topic weighing stronly on our mind at present. When we established the Tabloid a few dedicated people ran the magazine, doing work in their spare time. Granted the majority of our articles are from young journalist and students - people looking at just getting published.

Since then, however, the Tabloid has grown into a bit of a monster. We now have six people working full time on the Tabloid. The site has to be updated every day, articles have to be written and those received have to be edited. We are being asked to go out and cover assignments, often travelling some distance to do these stories. At some stage these staff members expect to get paid for their efforts. So we are going to be launching a drive to bring in a steady income for the Tabloid. Please read the article Qua Vadis the Tabloid?

The Vodacom Super 14 is over for this year. Congratulations to the Bulls on an excellent victory. Hard luck to my team, the Sharks. Better luck next year guys. The IPL tournament is also a thing of the past. Still, we can now look forward to the Lions tour, the Tri-Nations and the World 20/20 Cricket Tournament.

Thanks for your ongoing support. We appreciate it and we want you to continue reading the Tabloid. For those of you living in the southern hempisphere - enjoy winter.

Well, South Africa has held a general election and the country has a new president. Many people are obviously delighted at our new president (hey, they voted for him didn't they?), but many are nervous and are talking about packing for Perth. My personal opinion is that we should give him a chance. Let's see how he does before we start passing judgement on the man.

On the work front April was a bit of a write-off. There were more religious and public holidays in April than a junkyard dog has fleas. So it was difficult getting any business done. Most people just tended to write the entire month off. Hopefully things will get back to normal soon. Doing business in Cape Town is not great at the best of times. Cape Town is known as the 'Mother City'. I think it got this name because it takes nine months for anything to happen here.

One of the things that really gets me hot under the collar is how unprofessional many so-called professional people can be. If someone leaves a message for me on my phone, I will make sure that I return their call. If someone sends me an email I will reply to it. Even if it's to tell them to "piss off!" I hate it when I send an email to someone and they don't even bother to respond. Or when people tell you that they will call you back, and never do so. If these are professional people then it makes me very nervous.

On the sporting front I'm really enjoying the Super 14. We still have two teams that can make the semi-finals, although I am a bit worried about the Sharks. They seem to have gone off the boil and have lost two games that they should have won. Also on the subject of sport the IPL Series has been a pleasure to watch.

Good news is that the African Traveler will soon be ready. The Team is another story. We have always thought that the idea of a magazine devoted entirely to school sports is a great idea. The problem is that we just can't get any response from the schools. We have made hundreds of phone calls, spoken to countless people, and we always seem to get the same attitude; "Yeah, I'll get back to you." Of course they never bother. So we have put this magazine on the back-burned for the moment. Any articles we get on school sports will now go into the sport's section on the Tabloid. We are looking at another magazine and we'll have more on that soon.

That's all from me for this month. Please keep reading the Tabloid and our partner magazines. Remember, you can now leave comments at the end of each story and we look forward to what you have to say.

The third month of 2009 is history and I'm still wondering where it went? Okay, I probably did lose a few days after St. Paddy's Day. Matt O'Brien and I made sure the rest of the Tabloid team celebrated in true style.

This month South Africa holds a general election and we get to elect a new president. At this stage it seems a pretty forgone conclusion that Jacob Zuma will become our next president. Whether this will be a good thing or a bad thing for the country remains open for debate.

While on the subject of governments, I was personally shocked and saddened by the South African government’s decision not to allow the Dali Lama a visa to enter the country to attend a peace conference. Whatever the reasons given by the government, and there have been mixed messages on that front, it still leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Our human rights record is starting to look a bit ragged at the edges and South Africa is already being talked about as a ‘rogue democracy’.

On the work front we have been busy this past month. Among other things we now have a site dedicated to the FIFA 2010 World Cup which will be held in South Africa next year. Also on the work front John Verster has now joined us and already we have benefited from his knowledge and skills. He is a bit of a hard task master though and the Tabloid’s editorial staff have taken to wearing helmets when John is around.

I had the pleasure of attending the South African Navy Festival in Simon’s Town and I must say that I was impressed on all fronts. This is a true community event and it was good to see how many people turned out during the three days of the festival. It’s a pity that the event didn’t get that much coverage from the main stream media.

On the sports front it’s great to see two South African teams doing so well in the Super 14. Both the Sharks and the Bulls are in with a shot at a semi-final berth. Moving to cricket, we may have lost the test series, but we pulled it off in the 20/20 games against Australia. Well done Proteas.

That’s all from me. Keep reading the Tabloid and our other magazines, and tell your friends about it.

March is a special month for myself and my namesake Matt O'Brien. On the 17th we celebrate St. Patrick's Day. And believe me - we celebrate it. Read our special St. Patrick's Day feature and our stories on Irish culture. March is traditionally our 'Culture' issue. So look out for some stories on various cultures in Africa.

As you have probably noticed, two of our new magazines are up and running. The Tech-side and the Troubadour have been up for just over two weeks now. In that short space of time they have both had over 100 000 readers. Thank you!

Our other two mags, the African Traveler and the Team, are still in production. We don't want to put them up before they are ready as there is nothing worse than a half-finished on-line magazine or website. Talking about the Team, I must thank editor Nick Krige for all his hard work. It is not easy dealing with schools. It's rather like beating your head against a brick wall. Still, Nick is doing a fine job.

More good news is that midway through this month John Verster will be joining us. John will be responsible for marketing and advertising and I can't wait for him to get here. I have know John for a number of years and he will be a major asset.

Enjoy this months articles and remember to tell everyone you know about the Tabloid and our other magazines. Have a good month all.

This month is Valentine's Day and the theme of romance will be covered in the Tabloid. For those of you without a romantic bone in your body, don't worry because we will also have all our regular articles and features.

I must confess that Valentine's Day has lost the plot just a little. Like many things, it has become far too commercial. After all, why just spoil your loved one for just one day of the year? If you're going to be romantic, what about the other 364 days?

Valentine's Day this year should be fun and the romantic sparks should fly. The reason I say this is simple. The Super 14 tournament kicks off the day before Valentine's Day and on the 14th there are four games being broadcast live in which three of the South African teams are taking part. Just how many Bulls fans are going to be taking their partners out to supper when the Bulls game against the Reds kicks off at 19h00? This is your big chance to prove how much you really love her. Or you can take her to a nice romantic supper where they have a big-screen television.

Talking about sport, The Team, our new magazine dedicated to school sport kicks off this month. As does the African Traveler and the troubadour. We're all pretty excited about it but it has been a lot of hard work. The regular Tabloid staff have been hard at work and our last strategy meeting turned into a 'Guitar Hero' marathon. Hey, they said it was research for the troubadour.

Talking about staff, this month we welcome Hanno Avenant as part of the full-time staff. Hanno is no stranger to the Tabloid as he has been doing the website for some time. Yet Hanno is more than just a computer techie. He is also a damn good photographer and is no slouch when it comes to writing. Welcome on board Hanno, now get to work damn it.

Please support the new magazines and, as always, we welcome your comments and suggestions. Have a romantic February.

Can you believe another year has come and gone. It seems like just yesterday that it was January. Well actually yesterday was January I suppose. But I'm talking about January 2008.

It would be a safe bet to say that 2009 is going to be a big year for us. In slightly less than a month we will be launching four new on-line magazines and all our magazines will be carrying advertising for the first time.

One of the new magazines, The Team, will concentrate on school sports throughout Africa. One of the things that will make this magazine unique is the fact that most of the content will be written by high school students.

We will also be traveling extensively throughout Africa this year, bringing you the best articles we can find. I am really looking forward to working with new students throughout the continent. In the past 15 months we have discovered some really promising young writers and we know that there are many more out there.

To all our readers, may you have a wonderful 2009. May all your dreams come true. And we thank you for your continuing support. Remember to look at the new magazines next month and, as always, we appreciate your suggestions and comments.