Monocle Weekend
Edition: Saturday

It is a particular kind of reader for whom the pulse quickens while leafing through the pages of a political manifesto (writes Tomos Lewis). But Canada’s Conservative Party is trying to broaden the appeal with its new platform, which it published this week ahead of election day on 20 September.

The manifesto’s cover star is Erin O’Toole (pictured), the Conservative leader, who has been styled like a model for a bootleg edition of Men’s Health magazine. Smiling, he stands with his arms crossed, staring straight at the camera, a hint of biceps straining against the taut sleeves of his plain, navy T-shirt (which seems to be made of the kind of performance fabric that you’d wear to the gym). It looks like a piece of fan art – except it’s not.

Recasting O’Toole as a heartthrob is no small task, particularly since opinion polls suggest that he has failed to quicken the pulse of even the most reliable Conservative voters since his election a year ago. More broadly it is unclear how influential political imagery, style and personae will be for voters in Canada and whether the issues, many of which are profound and far-reaching, will dominate the short campaign season instead.

Incumbent prime minister Justin Trudeau is keeping his campaign style simple. His lockdown locks have been trimmed, his pandemic-era salt-and-pepper beard has been shorn and his shirtsleeves are rolled up, both figuratively and literally. No torso-hugging T-shirts here. Projecting or crafting an image or style is a staple of political life. But it might prove challenging for the Canadian Conservatives if, come election day, voters end up judging the book by its cover.

It’s surprising that anyone sponsors sports teams (writes Andrew Mueller). It is the nature of sport that at some point the team wearing the name of a given entity on their strips is going to get beaten, even properly walloped – at which point their sponsors risk looking like losers by association.

This is tough enough to swallow when the sponsor is a mere corporation. But some teams are sponsored by countries, seeking to enlist the swashbuckle of some or other mob of leather-chasers in the service of their national soft power. One such arrangement is that by which Rwanda advertises itself on the sleeves of the shirts worn by London-based English Premier League club Arsenal.

The team probably seemed a safe bet: it regularly challenges for trophies and often features in European competition. However, they commenced the current season by getting duffed up 2-0 by little-heralded, newly promoted Brentford – and among the unimpressed observers was Rwanda’s president, Paul Kagame (pictured, on right, with Arsenal player David Luiz). “We just must not excuse or accept mediocrity,” he thundered amid a series of anguished outbursts on Twitter. “I am sure we all know on whose shoulders the heaviest burden rests,” he added. “I hope they know too.” If Kagame is worried, Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, may be more so. Kagame, to put it delicately, is not famous for his patience with those who displease him.

Nwabisa Makunga was only 11 years old when she realised that she wanted to be a journalist. She was watching the funeral of anti-apartheid leader Chris Hani and was so impressed by news anchor Noxolo Grootboom’s reporting that she decided to follow in her footsteps. Now in her thirties, Makunga is the editor-in-chief of South African newspaper the Sowetan and is the first woman to take up the role. Founded in 1981 as an anti-apartheid liberation-struggle paper, the daily is one of the country’s most widely circulated publications. With Makunga at the helm it has remained a fixture of South Africa’s media landscape. Here, she tells us about true-crime documentaries, Beyoncé and drinking too much coffee.

What news source do you wake up to?
At the risk of sounding self-congratulatory, the Sowetan. Just because I want to read it with fresh eyes in the morning. And then some of our competitors. Also Twitter.

Coffee, tea or something pressed to go with headlines?
The first thing I have to do is drink water. Then coffee, always with milk and one sweetener. I don’t know how many I drink a day; I should probably cut down.

What’s that you’re humming in the shower?
No. I’d hate to listen to myself do that.

Five magazines for your weekend sofa-side stack?
My stack is mostly books, to be honest. The only magazine I read is the Financial Mail, and that’s a business magazine so it’s hardly leisure. I recently read All Rise, a book by South Africa’s former deputy chief justice Dikgang Moseneke. And at the moment I’m reading Can We be Safe? The Future of Policing in South Africa by Ziyanda Stuurman.

Newspaper that you turn to?
Aside from the Sowetan, I read The Sunday Times.

Is that a podcast in your ear?
I’ve been listening to [South African broadcaster and political analyst] Eusebius McKaiser’s podcast, In The Ring.

What’s the best thing you’ve watched on TV recently?
The true-crime documentary Devilsdorp. It was quite hectic.

Do you have a cultural obsession?
Definitely Beyoncé. I’m a proud member of the global Beyhive.

Do you still make an appointment to watch the nightly news?
I don’t have to make an appointment because the news is constantly on in the background.

What’s on the airwaves before drifting off?
Nothing. If I’m alone, I’m reading. If I’m with my family, we’ll most likely be chatting.

The village of São Jorge sits at the entrance of the Chapada dos Veadeiros, a national park in central Brazil known for its waterfalls, quartz crystals and moonlike rock formations. Originally a small mining settlement, São Jorge now attracts people from all over the country and – for better or for worse – its small population of 600 is likely to increase. Some travel there believing that the Chapada’s ancient plateau holds mystical properties, while others go seeking a change of pace. “I came here from [the state capital] Goiânia in 1997 when my daughter was about to be born. Her mother and I didn’t want to be in an urban centre,” says Juliano Basso, who manages the town’s community station Rádio São Jorge and its parent organisation, the Casa de Cultura Cavaleiro de Jorge. Basso tells us about the history of the station, its roster and a forthcoming book festival.

How did the station start? The idea came in the early 2000s but the project was on hold for years because we had licensing issues. Then last year – at the start of the pandemic – we brought the idea back and the station was born as part of a project led by a non-profit, Turma Que Faz, which offers a range of arts and nature-based activities for kids in the area. It felt like the start of a small revolution and we were able to get the whole community involved.

What is your roster like? We have a show called Studio Chapada, which we use as a platform to share the work of local artists, as well as something called A hora de Reggae [Reggae Hour]. We also do a show that focuses specifically on music that features the viola caipira, an instrument that is very popular in the region. The president of the viola club hosts that one.

Any events coming up? Lots of them. We’ll soon be hosting a festival centred around a type of Brazilian literature called regionalismo. We’ll be working with schools and focusing on the book O Ermitão de Muquém by Bernardo Guimarães. As part of the festival, we’re also doing a play and producing a radionovela [based on the story].

You’d be forgiven for thinking that the latest offerings from Sunspel were designed and made in Japan. In reality, the British heritage brand has teamed up with the London-based label Studio Nicholson, led by its founder and creative director Nick Wakeman. The designer has long drawn inspiration from Japanese culture, architecture and interiors to produce her functional and structured garments.

The collaboration between the brands builds on Wakeman’s influences and combines them with Sunspel’s expertise in working with premium cotton jersey clothing. The result? An elegant collection of black and white jumpers, pants and T-shirts in a mid-weight cotton – perfect for when the temperature drops at the end of a balmy summer day. studionicholson.com; sunspel.com

New sales figures from auction houses including Bonhams, Christie’s, Phillips and Sotheby’s show that the market for luxury watches is ticking along nicely (writes Carolina Abbott Galvão). During the first half of 2021, purchases soared by 239 per cent compared to the previous year – a 49 per cent increase on 2019’s pre-pandemic figures. Richard Lopez, head of online sales and a senior watch specialist at Sotheby’s, says that the trend is unsurprising. “A lot of [people] want to invest their money in something that has a great return and watches are it right now.”

Those who want to tap into this growth need look no further than Sotheby’s Fine Watches sale, which opened on Thursday and continues until the end of September. Among the featured watchmakers, Patek Philippe pieces are expected to do exceptionally well (nine of the 10 most expensive watches sold by auction houses this year were made by the Swiss manufacturer). “They are at the top of the food chain when it comes to watches [because] of the quality of the craftsmanship,” says Lopez, who says the Reference 3940 (lot 23) is the auction’s star Patek Philippe timekeeper.

Made in 1987, the 3940 is a perpetual calendar, which means that unlike most watches it accounts for leap years and lunar phases. Interested parties should plan to spend up to $100,000 (€85,600) – an expense that Lopez says is likely to pay off in the long run. “It’s like buying Porsches or vintage Ferraris. You buy them when they’re cheaper and you can sell them when they’re at the top of the market for a great profit.” So providing that they’re patient, eventual buyers might find themselves in a very favourable situation if they bide their time. sothebys.com