Archive for the '2012-09' Category

September

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Time To Lock Horns

September 22nd. The 266th day of the year.  September 22nd. World Rhino Day.   Yet as we write this on 22 August, already 281 rhinos have been poached in South Africa this year. More than one Rhino a day! Zimbabwean rhinos are also under siege with reports of light aircraft being used to track down […]

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Pressed Into Service

In December 1976 I was one of a class of high school girls that were bussed and ‘trucked’ hundreds of kilometres from Lusaka for what became popularly known as ‘National Service’. Any decent dictionary will define this as “the system in some countries in which young people have to do military training for a period […]

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Deadly Elixirs

I do miss David Simpson! When I compare my writing to his I could probably have just contributed the title to this piece and his take would have done so much more justice to this subject. But there we are, it is left to lesser scribes to recount the tales of Zambia’s threatened natural treasures […]

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Elephants and Chongololos

The dust is thick in the air, thrown up by spinning tyres on loose rocks. The slope is near precipitous and the heat is beating down relentlessly on six people standing around a stationary vehicle. With blackened faces, they step back to confer. It is another winch job, they mutter. Maybe they should have taken […]

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In the garden

The hot dry season approaches once again… and once again many Lusaka gardeners wish they had more water.  Anyone with a borehole with a good yield can use sprinklers all day long and keep their gardens looking green.  The rest of us sigh as we gaze at the brown grass and wilting plants.   One […]

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Fool on the Hill

It’s always a gamble booking a holiday to somewhere new isn’t it? And when the only way to get there is on Easyjet with herds of real-life British budget package tourists then you start having misgivings pretty early on in the proceedings, spoilt as you are by Indian Ocean beaches, wide open spaces and good […]

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Mole in the Hole

Oh, How are The Mighty Have Fallen   Once upon a time I was elevated to the position of Mine Superintendent (Acting Unpaid) and in that elevated position I was sent to relieve people going on leave or sick or even when they had been very naughty tortoises and had their blasting licences suspended by […]

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When Is The Right Time To Split Up?

The other day I read an article in the glossy magazine Psychologies with the title of this column. I was intrigued by it as I thought that you don’t need a psychologist to realise that your love affair is over. After all, that is either when you pack your bags or are being thrown out […]

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The Easel

Carol Aslin, one of Zambia’s leading artists, will hold her sixteenth exhibition this September. This exhibition is eagerly awaited by her collectors worldwide and has taken two years to come to fruition. It will feature three different media – oil painting, monoprints and sculpture. Carol has spent the last two years honing new skills and […]

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Miracle Miles

Thirteen thousand nautical miles. Sixteen thousand road miles. Two thousand five hundred patients. Seven hundred and thirty operations. Six months. This is the gruelling schedule of the doctors at medical charity, FlySpec.   Up until just a few months ago, I had never heard of FlySpec although I had, of course, heard about the mover […]

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Zombie Nights And Dark Delights

What’s that going bump in the night? Is it the Munsters? Is it the Mummy?   No! Although hopefully they will come along!   It’s the HALLOWEEN BALL!! And yes it’s back at the Hotel InterContinental on Saturday 27 October. Plus it’s going to be lots of fun.   The main point of it all […]

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Art in Livingstone

As Livingstone gears up for the 2012 World Tourism Day, it is certainly not the only thing that is “happening”. Based in Livingstone town is the art studio of Suse Kasokota. Just thirty-two, this young Zambian artist has already exhibited with others at the well-known Henry Tayali Gallery in the Lusaka Showgrounds; Sun Hotel in […]

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Eating Out

Bizzy Bistro   Lunch along the outside veranda of the Alliance Francaise is a perfect choice almost any time of the year. Mariam and Pamela started up their restaurant service over ten years ago to meet the challenge of the varying demands from a regular private and corporate clientele. This keeps both ladies on their […]

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Humping Along

Heading back to the office, I was diverted to pick up a member of staff from their meeting. Turning down a side road, travelling at about 40 kph, I was suddenly confronted by a good-size, unpainted, hidden in the shadows and thus virtually invisible speed hump just three or four metres in front of me. […]

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