[intro]February is Parliament month. Time to remember that we have not always had a true parliament of the people…[/intro]

We have a fascination with then and now stories. The price of cheese or school fees a generation ago compared with today. How we got by with a heavy typewriter compared with the tablet that goes with us everywhere. And how kids used to listen when you gave them instructions compared to engaging in endless debate.

Now the other day we came across some photos of the South African parliament in 1984. We then decided to source a current pic and found one taken in 2014. These pictures really tell a story about then and now. South Africans will make their own comparisons and give their own different meanings to the pictures. But they are illuminating and point to major shifts in just over two decades.

Then

House of Assembly 1984

Now

Parliament Today

Parliament Today