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Ever wondered who is driving all those fancy cars and lives in the biggest houses in Zimbabwe? This edition of Zimbabwe News Update (get it here: http://odeo.com/show/17692953/view) has a fascinating view of it all. Where Mandebvhu sources his stuff, I shall not ask, but if you are interested in Zimbabwe, give this a listen.
Read the article from SWNEWS – so what would you do with a ten-million dollar note in your pocket? Actually, it would probably not even pay for lunch at a take-away.
Last November, an icon of Rhodesia, Ian Douglas Smith, died. I am not too sentimental about the ‘old Rhodie days’ preferring much more to lament the ‘good Zimbo days’ and the many happy years we had in Zimbabwe between 1980 and 2002. However, Sinclair Ellis wrote the following poem. One interesting memory about Mrs Ellis is that in the 60s and 70s she was well known for her paintings of cats, on copper, and signed SINCLAIR. Like many diaspora communities, the scatterlings of Zimbabwe and Rhodesia, are making new lives in other places, and for the most part, I think those communities are better for their influence.
When our songs will be forgotten,
The peace dream will be dead,
The flame lily will wither,
Our memories have fled.
When the last of our ashes
Is lost in wind and rain,
Yet somewhere in the scatter
Our blood lines will remain.
When the last of us has given
All we had to give,
Within the nations of the earth
Our heritage will live.
by Sinclair Ellis (December 2007)
I was just listening to Robb Ellis’ Zimbabwe News Update, better known as the ZNU podcast, and his round-up of Zimbabwean news during 2007. If you are interested in getting a different take on things than you will get from mainstream news journalism, give ZNU a listen. Robb is not a media professional or a journalist, but his passion for digging into the truth behind current news items is deep, and his podcast is a good source for people wanting or needing to get background information about Zimbabwe. I am hoping to get Robb on the line for a chat to include in my own Paradise Lost podcast, which has taken a bit of a back seat in 2007 because of work pressures, new country, etc.
The 2007 update show is here: http://odeo.com/show/17569493/view
The web pages are here: http://odeo.com/channel/257663/view
Subscribe in iTunes here: itpc://odeo.com/channel/257663/rss.xml
RSS feed is here: http://odeo.com/channel/257663/rss.xml
I have seen similar lists over the years, but this one made me stop and think about things ‘back home’ and say a quick prayer for many people I know still living in Zim … and if some of them mean absolutely nothing to you, find a Zimbo to explain what you missed out on in life!
You played “Bezant” at midnight, full of Castle and ended up in the rockery
You shot every snake you saw even though you knew they were essential to the balance of nature
You argued that Castle was for men and Lion was for kids and pommies
You still refer to felt-tip pens as Neos
You still have Wrex Tarr’s LPs
You remember Christmas beetles
You played in a sand pit and on the jungle jim
You remember Jacaranda trees in full bloom, followed by the Flambouyant trees
You still remember the taste of Mazoe Orange Juice
You still refer to an expert as a “fundi”
You still say “braai” instead of “barbeque”, “kopje” instead of “hill” and “gomo” instead of mountain.
You had waffles and ice-cream soda in the Barbours tea-room whilst your mom had tea and a toasted and buttered fruit bun.
The following names mean something to you: “Archies”, “Sandros” “Bretts” “Le Coq D’or” and “the Tube”
You sat at Castle Corner and don’t remember who won the cricket
match
You were there when the “chicken farmer” beat
You think the “All Blacks” are the Zim tennis team
You thought that an evening at the Reps Theatre was the height of culture
You still call a Mongolian restaurant a “Manchurian”
You loved the Choc 99’s from the Dairy Den
You know at least one person who has streaked at the Harare Cricket
grounds
thought the
You wore Bubblegummers for the first years of your life and Toughees thereafter until your old man thought you were ready for vellies
You cleaned out the stocks of Liqui Fruit, Nik Naks and canned drinks in
You cannot be convinced that anyone other than Lions Den Butchery made the best biltong in the world
You spent 5 glorious days on a houseboat on Kariba, more than once
You own at least 5 different Colmans and they are all decrepit
The best day of your life was when your Dad gave you a 22 to replace that underpowered peashooter of a pellet gun
You see absolutely no use for sun cream
You always thought Simon Parkinson should pack it in and when he did you nearly cried
You owned a pair of blue or red patapatas
You had breakfast at Wimpy at the country’s only
You had to wait for yonks to get your metal ID disk
You freewheeled down any sort of hill to save fuel; you remember petrol rationing coupons
You watched many a movie at the Mabelreign or NiteStar drive-in
You remember when Noreen Welch laughed on national TV and got sacked
You knew someone no matter where you went
You swam in a gala at Les Brown swimming pool
You remember party line telephone and had to listen for your ring before you could answer the phone
You thought Chicken Inn burgers were the best in the world
You remember the socializing that went on in the early petrol queues
You knew Neil at the cricket
Tuesday night this week, my mom took me out for supper – not quite a first, but it has been a while! And it only cost 20 million dollars, for racks of spare ribs, and some strawberries and cream. 20 million smackaroons … well it was not quite £6.00 in real money. The owner of Cafe Med is Lew Hughes, who before it burnt down also owned the much remembered Clovagalix Restuarant that operated in the Avenues. A few years back the menu at Cafe Med was brilliant, but sadly today, Lew was telling me this week, he can offer spare ribs, grilled chicken, or pizza. No ice cream, because the power is not on long enough each day to keep the freezers cold. It was strange to think that I had early morning coffee on the deck at the farm near Pietermaritzburg, lunch in Johannesburg, and supper in Harare.
Came across this photo clipped from Richard Byrom’s flickr feed, which I had noticed in Facebook, because of a Twitter Richard had posted. Interesting how converged the social networking world is becoming, and how fast. Anyway, back to the picture of blushing bride and dapper groom – and wondering if this had appeared in a UK paper, how many health and safety rules might have been broken. Let alone the PC stuff, or the women’s rights. If I close my eyes a bit and imagine the groom is old Comrade Bob and the bride is the long suffering people of Zimbabwe, the photo is an excellent summary of why nothing happens fast in Zim to bring about change.
This is a question I am often asked – Zim is often in the news these days – and there is no easy answer. The poem below arrived in my email today, forwarded by our daughter Michelle, who called it ‘a classic’. Maybe because it gives a hint of the resiliant spirit of many who stay living there during all the current troubles …
I have so much more money in my bank
For all of this, I have you to thank!
I’m saving money at a rate of knots
By the time I’m 40, I’ll really have lots!
I can’t spend it on fags, fine food and fair
‘Cos when I go to TM, the shelves are all bare!
Other shops are quite empty of tempting treats
Who needs dairy products, cokes or sweets?
Standing all day in the queue for maize meal
Mean’s I don’t have to work – wow, what a deal!
I see all my mates there from days gone by
We catch up on news and make plans for a braai!
I can’t find any marg or oil in the shop
My bathroom scales are starting to drop!
When I put on my jeans, they fall to the floor
‘Cos no sugar or flour, means no baking no more!
Now bread, it seems, is a thing of the past
But I’m not worried, ‘cos I’m loosing weight fast!
There’s no need to lose weight by going to a gym
Just live in Zimbabwe and you’ll get real thin!
I walk everywhere; there’s no fuel in my car
I’m really quite fit now, from walking so far!
I spend more time at home than ever before
This is a good thing ‘cos there’s always a chore!
I take time for all the positive things in life
Like my family, reading and staying out of strife!
I’m coping quite well; so it just goes to show
That living with shortages is not such a blow!
Anonymous, Mutare, Zimbabwe
Ready for friends and a braai in Worthing
Yes, it is not quite the same as the ‘old days’ of braais around the pool with loads of good friends around, but after a full day of working in the garden, I was thankful it was a small one. We enjoyed a very convivial meal with Zimbo friends, the Chiketas, and it felt good to be able to just talk lots about things we all had in common. And you know, the meat for the braai was excellent – British beef and lamb – cooked up deliciously. We are getting used to the fact that the sun is still shining bright at dinner time (this photo was taken at a quarter to six), and as the really terrible garden we moved in with a few months back turns into something much nicer, we are enjoying our first full English summer.
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