Northern Rhodesians Worldwide
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Message Board
Hi Folks
Sorry - I meant to ask, did anyone else buy far too many chockies for all the little trick or treat-ers?
Now I am in danger of turning into a pumpkin myself!
Sue Forde [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Midleton, Co. Cork, Ireland
Saturday, November 01, 2003 at 00:50:00 (UTC)
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Peter G.
Thank you for your very moving words. You obviously love the man and his country.
Sue Forde [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Midleton, Co. Cork, Ireland
Saturday, November 01, 2003 at 00:47:35 (UTC)
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Thanks for the comments, guys. Glad you liked it.
Doug Grewar:
You were asking about Peter Bennett. Peter and I and Arthur Mwenga used to chum around together in Kitwe in the '60's. I'm guessing he was born around 1958. He went to Fred Knap. Two siblings, that I recall, twins...can't recall their names. They were younger. I think his mother was a teacher at Fred Knap, and I seem to recall that his father ran a bookstore. I could be wrong on that. Father's name was Handel Bennett, I think.
Great pics! That's the first time I've seen his face in over 30 years, but I recognized him all the same.
Peter
Peter Gilchrist [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Friday, October 31, 2003 at 18:43:35 (UTC)
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Peter Gilchrist
I also thank you for sharing your incredible tribute to your friend.....your words paint his struggle and kindness so poignantly..........my 16 year old daughter sat there with tears in her eyes reading it......her words were a choked "beautiful"...........
Ali
Ali Key [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Perth, Australia
Friday, October 31, 2003 at 09:06:40 (UTC)
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Campers a thought for the day,
If corn oil is made from corn, and vegetable oil is made from vegetables,
then what is baby oil made from?
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Johnny [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Scarborough, United Kingdom
Friday, October 31, 2003 at 06:28:49 (UTC)
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Peter - I echo what Linda has said. A lovely piece of writing. We obviously have many very talented people on the GNR. Thank you for sharing.
June
June Dobson (née Jocks) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Friday, October 31, 2003 at 05:55:28 (UTC)
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Peter Gilchrist:
What an absolutely amazing and heart tugging piece you have written in tribute of your friend. Thank you so much for sharing.
Linda Hayes (née Dore) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Austin, Texas, United States
Friday, October 31, 2003 at 01:59:22 (UTC)
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John Kapuka was a refugee from Angola who came to us in Kitwe in the mid '60's. He gave us, my siblings and I, a gift that I've never forgotten. I recently wrote a piece about him, and about his gift, which I post below for nostalgia's sake.
Hope you enjoy it.
THE GIFT
He shuffled through the dust on blistered feet
towards a stand of trees that seemed to drift
on endless waves of suffocating heat.
Each painful step he took was one more gift.
A salty crust patrolled the lines that mapped
his leathered neck and rimmed his bloodshot eyes.
An old hyena stopped to watch and snapped
the air behind him. Vultures filled the skies.
He hobbled on. In prison he had learned
that pain is just a fragile state of mind,
but every night his troubled dreams returned:
the maggots gorged on friends he’d left behind.
His only crime was one of faith. He taught
what he had learned: that men should live without
a master’s chains. The ruling class did not
condone that view. Their soldiers sought him out.
The beatings were routine. His ribs were cracked
so many times that pain became a friend,
a sharp, familiar stabbing pain that wracked
his wasting frame and never seemed to end.
His fellow inmates died in swollen mounds
of abject misery. He knew he’d meet
an equal fate. He sensed the coursing hounds
of Death pursuing him on padded feet.
And so he fled. One night when darkness swept
across the veld and clouds blocked out the light
he climbed the prison wall and slowly crept
beneath the waiting camouflage of night.
For months he travelled trails and dried-up streams
that led him south, towards Caprivi Strip.
Each crimson sunset bled from anguished screams
of Africa and stained her battered lip.
He crossed the Okavango after dawn
and walked towards a brilliant golden hand
that reached for him with every ray it shone.
A welcome spread across the glowing land.
He dared to dream of freedom now, and ached
to hear his children chase each other ‘round
the yard outside his home where sunlight baked
the grass that struggled through the trampled ground.
He longed for Flora’s touch each time he slept
to soft cicada symphonies that filled
each lonely night. He prayed, and sometimes wept
in gratitude; the baying hounds were stilled.
By custom, most Umbundu men will break
the ground for garden plots. Their wives will then
maintain the crops. The fathers also make
a plot to give each child who reaches ten.
He wasn’t there to break the ground this year.
His hoe lay idle in the shade beneath
a baobab. A solitary tear
dropped gently into dust and formed a wreath.
A thousand miles, and maybe more, he walked
on feet that bled with every step. His face
was chapped and badly cracked. His mouth was chalked.
He hobbled slowly on in God’s embrace.
One heavy afternoon he saw a mist
ascend above a tall mopane tree.
He knelt and prayed. The smoke that thunders* kissed
the Rev’rend John Kapuka. He was free.
A painting hung within our home, of two
apostles at the tomb of Christ. ‘Though John
was first, it wasn’t he but Peter who
went in to find that Christ’s remains were gone.
In Dondi, Grandpa Sid received a note:
“Remember well the picture on our wall,
the first to come is here”, my father wrote,
and Flora wept when Grandpa came to call.
The months that followed must have dragged for John,
although he never let it show. He found
what work he could, and shortly after dawn
one day I watched him start to break some ground.
He danced across the soil. Each rhythmic swing
his borrowed hoe inscribed implied a hand
above an ochre drum. I heard him sing.
His words of thanks poured out across the land.
His friends had found a way to get his wife
and children out and ‘though he had to wait,
he knew they’d come. A vastly better life
awaited them. He danced to celebrate.
On Christmas Day, when church was done and all
the toys and gifts lay strewn across the floor,
our new adopted uncle came to call.
He stood and smiled and waited at our door.
“I have a gift for each of you.” He said.
His empty hand stretched out to point the way,
and five excited children cheered. He led
our greedy throng to where the presents lay.
A hectare, more or less, of garden spread
in five symmetric plots that greened the land.
I understood. I leaned my tousled head
on Uncle John and gripped his calloused hand.
________________________________
* Mosi-oa-Tunya – “The smoke that thunders” – Victoria Falls
Peter Gilchrist [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
Friday, October 31, 2003 at 00:53:47 (UTC)
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Campers lets start November with a smile I sent this to a few of my friends and they seemed to like it so you can all have a chuckle.
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A mild-mannered man was tired of being bossed around by his wife, so he went to see a psychiatrist. The psychiatrist said he needed to build his self-esteem, so he gave him a book on assertiveness, which he read on the way home.
He had finished the book by the time he got to the house. The man stormed in,walked up to his wife pointing a finger in her face. He said "From now on, I want you to know that I am the man of this house and my word is law! I want YOU to prepare ME a gourmet meal tonight, and when I'm finished, I expect a sumptuous dessert afterwards. Then, after dinner, YOU'RE going to run me a bath so I can relax. And, when Ive finished with my bath, guess who's going to dress me and comb my hair?"
"The bl-----dy funeral director" said his wife.
Johnny [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Scarborough, United Kingdom
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 22:08:54 (UTC)
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Gary
I will personally drive down and collect Linda and see what he** we can raise, er, what we can do today to get ourselves steamed up now as a distraction from anything in the past. It's my duty as a friend and only right.
Tina Magee (née Wallace) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Texas, United States
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 18:07:09 (UTC)
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Tina McGee/Linda Dore!!!!!!
Tina - big favour as U R on same US turf as Lindy. Please can U calm Linda down on the matter of young bucks like me getting her glasses all steamed up back in the 70's & 80's. Rumours will abound ...... hee hee. I like it - at my age I need all the encouragement I can get!!!!! I am however concerned about the effects of this gossip on likeable characters such as my "mate" Johnny.
Johnny ...... in those ole days in Kitwe I always kept a small ladder or empty orange crate (sometimes & large sack of charcoal) in the car boot (or trunk if U R in USA/Canada).
Your mischievous "gnome" Brasso.
Gary Brassington [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Banbury Oxon, United Kingdom
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 15:52:30 (UTC)
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Tina, Barry, Catherine........et al
yes un germane but I suppose I could mention that I had a lovely afternoon tea looking out on the Indian ocean....and I am sure I could see the outline of the African coast...nah....couldn't see the most beautiful continent in the world, but the imagination was there and the ocean...............
*Solar flare brings light show to Perth*
A shockwave from the Sun has hit the Earth, causing a rare phenomenon in the southern skies near Perth.
Perth Observatory director James Biggs says he observed an aurora, seen as whitish milky light in the sky.
"From about 2:30 to about 3:40 [this morning AWST] there was a bit of a glow towards the south in the sky, reasonably high up," he said.
"Until about 3:30 there was definitely a glow with some dark stripes in it. That was the aurora."
Dr Biggs says the aurora is very rare.
Dr Fred Watson from the Anglo-Australian Observatory at Coonabarabran in north-west New South Wales says auroras may be visible elsewhere over Australia over the next few nights.
"If you've got a dark sky, by all means go out and have a look. It's well worth it because if you see an aurora, it's really something to remember," he said.
"They can show brilliant colours and look just like search light beams going right down from the point of your head to the horizon. They're quite spectacular."
The flare is the final burst from a solar hurricane that has hampered some space satellite transmissions and led electric grid operators to curb power transmissions as a precaution.
High speed
Scientists say the cloud of charged particles unleashed at high speeds by a hyperactive Sun and known as a coronal mass ejection (CME) was traveling at more than 8 million kilometres per hour.
It took just 19 hours to reach Earth from the Sun.
"It ... was going much faster than people thought," Dr Mike Hapgood, a space expert at the Appleton Laboratory in England, said.
"There were some problems starting yesterday because of the effects that precede the arrival of this shockwave from the sun."
The flare, thought to be the biggest in 30 years, caused a Japanese satellite to be shut down.
Power plants from Sweden to New Jersey cut production to limit how much electricity was flowing over transmission grids, preparing to absorb any sudden surge in energy that might result in coming days from lingering effects of the storm.
"We expect this storm to continue through the day and tomorrow," said Larry Combs, a space weather forecaster at the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration's Space Environment Centre in the US.
The centre, which acts as the official US space weather watching agency advising power utility, airline and communications network operators of potential threats from space, issued its first warning of the storm a week ago.
The gaseous cloud that dumps energy into the magnetic field that surrounds the Earth, creating a geomagnetic storm, is the final wave in a three-stage solar storm that first began peppering the Earth with X-rays on Tuesday.
These X-rays, which were traveling at the speed of light, forced air traffic controllers to scramble to find alternative communications channels and affected satellite transmissions of images back to Earth.
In the second wave, a pulse of solar radiation hit the Earth.
Ali Key [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Perth, Australia
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 13:19:39 (UTC)
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Linda I noted you remarked that my buddy Brasso used to steam up your glasses you must have been either laid down or Brasso was carrying his ladder with him which was it? Love Johnny.
Johnny [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Scarborough, United Kingdom
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 10:42:28 (UTC)
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Linda, I had trouble for years with a sore on the bridge of my nose that wouldn't heal, it was apparently due to glasses. The doc suggested contact lenses but they didn't hold enough beer
Bob Gillies [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Springs, Gauteng, South Africa
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 09:16:57 (UTC)
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Northern Lights...
I lived in the Yukon for 10 years and saw lots....
For thousands of photos go to Google - click on images - put in "northern lights" and presto.
I also have some taken myself in Whitehorse, Yukon on our wedding day in 1997 right above our house that includes the comet if anyone is interested.
Peter Dielissen [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 09:06:38 (UTC)
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"I've seen them phenomenon" should read "I've never seen the phenomenon" Too much sugar in my tea?
Jill Aplin [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
South Africa
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 06:37:36 (UTC)
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Barry,
Hi - can't you take a picture of the aurora borealis and post it for us - I've seen them phenomenon - and being Southern Hemisphere bound, unlikely to ever see it. I would love to, though.
Hi Pappy, hope you're well!
Jill Aplin [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
South Africa
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 06:34:58 (UTC)
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Cathrine, Tina
Yes, the norðurljós (aurora borealis) was very bright yesterday (29th) morning. When I arrived at the office shortly before 07.00 (GMT) I could see them very clearly despite the street lights.
If I see anything particualrly interesting during this period of sunspot activity then I'll post it - at the risk of being non-germane!
Barry Woodrow [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Reykjavik, Iceland
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 06:01:02 (UTC)
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O.K. PLEASE go here the prediction info is stunning! There are custom maps for other parts of the world.
http://www.gi.alaska.edu/cgi-bin/predict.cgi
Wish I'd found this for us earlier!!! Maybe events will last into the 30th. Still this is a great prediction site for us to watch.
It basically says:
The major solar at 1102 GMT on Oct 28th, facing the Earth was three hours long and left the sun at 1200 to 2000 km per second. The shock was due to arrive at Earth as early as the afternoon of the 29th in Europe (4 PM GMT)and as late as 2 AM GMT on the 30th.
This flare is probably large enough to approach mainland Australia and be visible from the North Island in New Zealand.
Russia will be well placed on the night of the 29/30 to see the aurora from this flare.
This flare is of a magnitude that should lead to aurora visible over the entire continental US on the evening of the 29th. It may be on the northern horizon for those in Florida, Texas, and Southern California, but it should be visible.
The best viewing is from a dark area, even your back yard, with a view to the northern horizon. Look out at the sky every half hour. Typically, an intensification occurs every two hours, lasting about 1/2 hour. The maximum activity is usually around 11pm to midnight.
Tina Magee (née Wallace) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Texas, United States
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 05:27:16 (UTC)
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I'm Back!
by/in spite of popular demand. Take your pick.
Been looking at what, if anything, predicts where aurorae will turn up beyond the usual spots. In short, the greater the sunspot activity the further south (or north in the case of the aurora australis) you might be able to see 'em. Turns out Catherine was very lucky to see aurorae in Maine.
This site talks about predictability and gives you some usual areas of sighting:
www.exploratorium.edu/learning_studio/auroras/seethem.html
TTFN,
Tina Magee (née Wallace) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Texas, United States
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 05:12:36 (UTC)
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Catherine Nelson
You talking of auroras and Iceland just impelled me to answer. You're jogging memories. During the six months I spent in the west fjords of Iceland years ago there were fabulous displays of the "Nordurljos" (sorry Barry in Iceland, had to write that without the proper th symbol and accent). We used to lie out under the sky and watch them as long as we could.
Chances for seeing great northern lights this year should be good. Far as I understand it (and if I'm wrong the GNR will tell us) sunspot activity causes magnetic storms in the Van Allen belts that surround the earth and this increased magnetic electrical activity is thought to be the most likely source of the aurora borealis and australis. Sunspot activity peaks over an 11 year cycle. While the recent sunspot 11 year cycle is just past its peak the papers have been talking of major sunspot activity this October.
Just went looking for a 2003 picture site and found this:
http://www.polarimage.fi/aurora/2003a.htm
I know this doesn't 'zactly answer your question but thanks for the memories and the chance for a natter on a cool subject.
Tina Magee (née Wallace) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Texas, United States
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 04:21:33 (UTC)
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Now, now Gary Brassington...
I resorted to wearing contact lenses because my goggles were always getting steamed up by young pups such as yourself. He! He! Glad you liked the photos.
Linda Hayes (née Dore) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Austin, Texas, United States
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 03:20:18 (UTC)
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Mum, (grovel) please stop looking for the Springbok biltong that Mark and Chris sent you, me and Miceal ate it all when you were at work last Saturday. Uncle Ed, if you read the message board could you ask Mums friend Louvaine who lives in Pinelands to send her some more for her birthday this Saturday. Happy birthday Mum, we love you (but not enough to save you biltong!
Alicia Rybicki-McAuley and Miceal McAuley
Meg Rybicki (formerly Margaret) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Mullanyduff, Co Leitrim, Ireland
Thursday, October 30, 2003 at 00:18:19 (UTC)
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Aurora Borealis
I believe one of our members lives in Iceland and I was wondering if you have seen much in the way of the Northern Lights recently.
I once saw them in Maine, USA and would love to know how/where it would be predicatable to see them again in February.
Thanks, Cathrine
Cathrine Nelson [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Washington, DC, United States
Wednesday, October 29, 2003 at 23:36:58 (UTC)
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Pappy Papier
Welcome back to GNR!!!!! Where U been buddy? Hope Shirley & family are well? If U have changed your e. mail address please let me have it or give me a call either on my mobile or home land line number .... have some news about Cookie for U!
Delectable Linda Dore!!!!!
Thanks for the pictures of the gang at John Jenks's place in 1983. Yes I remember Pam Claussen very well indeed and also Sharon Gower. Sharon's mother Shirley & father Malcome I knew well. Shirley worked with my Grandmother Meg Hendricksen at a ladies outfitters in Kitwe (cant remember shops name). Shirley used to come and visit my mother Yvonne at the family home. I NEVER knew U wore contact lenses banc in 1983 ..... U look good babe! Kids send their love to U all too.
Gary Brassington [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Banbury Oxon, United Kingdom
Wednesday, October 29, 2003 at 20:48:36 (UTC)
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Pappy, Welcome to the GNR. I saw a photo of you and Blackie a while ago on the site, you have not changed. I see Karl from time to time he is only 15 minutes away in a place called Sundra outside Springs, outside Johannesburg inside South Africa. He has started an auto electrical and light engineering shop. Pam went to Australia but last time I saw Karl he said she was back but have not yet seen her yet. I will ring Karl tomorrow for latest news and let you know. I still have a photo of you taken in Salisbury about 1972 or so, I tried to e mail you under 'Contact' but it would not connect, have you an e mail address if so e mail me yours. I see you are in Glasgow. I was born in Paisley in 1949 when it was a bit of a 'location' outside Glasgow but I think now it is all one big area. I left in 1950 cause I couldn't make any money there. 53 years later STILL trying to make some loot! Please use the GNR it is a great site and extremely entertaining and mind refreshing, my lifeline to the past, hated history at school but real life history is great (lekker in Scottish, don't you know the Gillies name goes back to the Battle of Largs in 1200 and something) genuine, I am a Braveheart descendant but the chicken variety. Keep in touch. Tony Edwards, wow I could tell a story about him! Cock D'Or salisbury one weekend cops and all. I wait for your reply!
Bob Gillies [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Springs, Gauteng, South Africa
Wednesday, October 29, 2003 at 16:48:19 (UTC)
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Heather,
Thanks for posting those wonderful photos on Saturday. They took me back to the Luangwa I knew in the 60's and 70's - although the water level does seem to be particularly low this year - much lower than I remember it even towards the end of the dry season.
They do remind me of an occasion in 1965 (I think) when some friends and I, along with Piet de Haas, another Northerner and a member of this site, after a rather heavy and late night at the club in Fort Jameson went down into "the Valley" for the day. It only required a beer or two to return us to the state we'd been in the night before and by lunch-time we were both beyond worrying too much. So much so that we spent the greater part of the afternoon (it was in September and the weather was HOT) sitting in the river up to our necks in water to keep cool - and completely oblivious to the fact that it was a dangerous and totally irresponsible thing to do. Fortunately, the rest of the party were in rather better shape than Piet and I, so they kept a watching eye out for crocs, of which there were plenty, as you know. However, all was well and we returned home in one piece. But, as Piet reported when I contacted him recently, he didn't come away completely unscathed. The following week he was taken to hospital and treated for tetanus - must have been something in the water after all!
I note that you are concerned about Mark Powell acquiring something of an accent when he joins the privileged few (perhaps that should read many, or host or even throng!) of Northerners deciding to settle down-under. He will of course be aware that those who go to the other side - i.e. the East Coast - are much more likely to pick-up the unlovely strains of the true Strine than those of us who opted for the much more select and oh-so-refined West. But I realise I may need a little support from other WA Northerners to drive my point home. What more can I say - only a Sandgroper really knows how low a Banana-Bender can go. And if that makes any sense to anyone but an Aussie, you're a better man than I am Gunga Din!
And I wonder whether I've progressed from being a Northerner to a North-Westerner as a result of now living in WA.
Over to you. Regards, and thanks again.
ps. My own accent is still largely Cheshire rooinek pommie, despite 15 years in NRZam and 25 years in OZ.
I guess some things never change!!!
Ray Wright [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Perth, WA, Australia
Wednesday, October 29, 2003 at 14:08:00 (UTC)
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JOHNNY GREEN...........
A "HUGE' thank you.........there are some very precious people on the GNR.......!!!
Ali
Ali Key [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Perth, Australia
Wednesday, October 29, 2003 at 11:55:45 (UTC)
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Hi Pam,
Don't know if you remember me ,but I used to hang about with Tony Edwards,Kenny Hall and Chris Forde.We used to go to your house quite a lot.Tony was going out with Liz Ellis.Where is Karl these days?
Oh!regarding Mugabe,he is meant to be in 1Military Hospital in South Africa,apparently with a heart attack or something.
Pappy Papier [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Glasgow, United Kingdom
Wednesday, October 29, 2003 at 09:09:32 (UTC)
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Pam (Claussen) Jones.
Pam - welcome to the GNR. Like Linda Dore I remember your brother Karl very well indeed. I have a vague recollection of your good self but if I am correct U were much younger than this old fella posting!!!! Please convey my best wishes to Karl.
Sarkyarthur. Superb postings/reports on your Zambian encounter. When does the book go into print???? I want an autographed 1st edition. Sorry we missed U at Master Powell's leaving party.
To those who have posted pictures recently - THANK YOU ALL. They are superb.
Gary Brassington [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Banbury Oxon, United Kingdom
Tuesday, October 28, 2003 at 22:57:34 (UTC)
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Hi Pam (Claussen) Jones:
Good to see your name on the pending membership list. Tell Karl I said hello.
Linda Hayes (née Dore) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Austin, Texas, United States
Tuesday, October 28, 2003 at 22:31:15 (UTC)
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Sorry to disappoint everyone, but it's one or RGM's old chums.
Quote from allafrica.com
'Eddison Mudadirwa Zvobgo, the Zanu PF founder member long considered the heir apparent to President Robert Mugabe, is seriously ill and had to be flown out of the country to South Africa where he is receiving specialist treatment in a Capetown hospital.
Neil Smith [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Sheffield, United Kingdom
Tuesday, October 28, 2003 at 22:02:48 (UTC)
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RGM
Well, it sounds as though RGM is at least sick, in hospital, in Cape Town, receiving treatment.
Can anyone arrange for a limited duration power outage in the Western Cape, for a few hours?
Chris Tamm [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Hilo, Hawaii, United States
Tuesday, October 28, 2003 at 18:25:21 (UTC)
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high everyone. thanks for sharing you're holiday snaps, with us that could not make the bash for one reason or onother. some of us will never be able to get there, so the photo's and the stories become a wonderful trip for us, once again thank you all.. regards barry
Barry Morton [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Brisbane, Australia
Tuesday, October 28, 2003 at 09:45:35 (UTC)
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Chris, As regards Mugabe nothing on the UK news I would think it is only wishful thinking. Johnny.
Johnny [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Scarborough, United Kingdom
Tuesday, October 28, 2003 at 08:02:59 (UTC)
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With Chris Drake's kind permission to answer his e-mail on the message board, Chris wrote:-
" Hello there Philip, My name is Chris Drake. Just read your story, you name Zack , I knew Zack he was a friend, he and I worked and went out as friends for years. Do you by any chance know if he is still alive?. last I know he lived in Chingola.
I left Kitwe in 1965, worked at Mindola. If you have any news of that man please let me know. I know of his Volvo I used to race him many a time ha you know what young guys are like. ha ha ?. It was white hey. I use to try and get him to buy a Simon Templer type just so I could call him a Saint Ha.
Did he go by the surname of Zackreski or Liebenberg I often wonder'd about that.
I really liked his mother she was a elec. motor winder if I remember.
Thanks if u have time let me know."
Hi Chris,
Thanks for the e-mail. The reason for answering your mail on the message board is that I feel that there may be someone out there who might be able to help us with news of these old friends.
If you remember there were two Liebenburg boys, Titch and Iggy and as you stated Mrs. Liebenburg was a wonderful old lady and did a fantastic job of raising the the boys as a single parent, doing a mans job as an armature winder for a firm in Kitwe.
Iggy told me that his dad died when he was still very young. Mr Liebenburg I believe was a famous hunter in the early days. I recall a picture in their house of him standing amoungst a pride of lions which he had shot.
The last I saw of Iggy was when I left Iscor in Pretoria at the end of 1968 and moved to Welkom. We were appies together at Iscor.
I don't know if Zack is still around as I also left Kitwe in 1965 and don't recall ever seeing him again.
You were right about his Volvo being white. Zack used to wear very thick lensed glasses as he had bad eyesight, which I was told was caused through malnutrition as a baby in in a concentration camp during the second world war. With Zack's poor eyesight and a Left Hand Drive car, made for a very interesting trip to Johannesburg.
As far as I know Zack never changed his surname from Zackreski. We called him Zack as a nickname as his first name was unprouncable.
What has happened to Titch and Iggy I have no idea. The last I heard of Iggy was that he had a road house/take away sonewhere on the road to Sun City outside Rustenburg.
When I think of Titch, I always associate him with his YDS2 Yammaha, red, white and chrome. It could go like a bat out of Hell. His was the only one in Kitwe at the time. The last time I saw Titch he was nursing some serious ROASTIES from a fall with his bike.
Anyone with news please give us a posting.
Cheers
Philip Pain [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Eshowe, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
Tuesday, October 28, 2003 at 05:14:13 (UTC)
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Northerners,
Here is a link to an interesting and sometimes funny article in today's "The Post" (Zambia) that I read about Sara Longwe, a Zambian woman and the challenges she faced in her professional career.
http://www.zamnet.zm/zamnet/post/homenews2.html#HOMED
Chandru Krishna [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Rockville, Maryland, United States
Tuesday, October 28, 2003 at 01:37:45 (UTC)
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RGM Dead??
THere are all kinds of rumors flying around today regarding the passing of Robert Mugabe, along with a few denials.
Can anyone confirm anything at this point?
Chris Tamm [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Hilo, Hawaii, United States
Tuesday, October 28, 2003 at 00:45:20 (UTC)
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Ada Cantrell
Can you email me... do not have you mailing address, great party photo's re Mark and Lizzie's 'do' oh my grief did I really look that bad?
:o)
Graham and Fiona Wall (née Whaits) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Newport South Wales, United Kingdom
Monday, October 27, 2003 at 14:24:25 (UTC)
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Allan Cummings, Bill Jackson, Leslie Andrews
Best Wishes on your Birthday
CRAIG THE GREY-HAIRED ONE
Yes, things have been really bad for Craig and he jests not when he says my internet connection has been bad since he arrived in Lusaka. We have had a power problem with ZESCO blaming it on an internal problem and Behrens, who deal with our internal electrics, blaming ZESCO. Eventually, I got both parties in the same place at the same time and it was established that it was a ZESCO problem - a general overload in the area. But before they could sort it out, and despite having UPS's and surge arrestors, something happened and it burnt out all the equipment. They are now trying to blame it on a lightning strike!! But let's look on the bright side - the telephone is still working.
This was the last I saw of Craig when he could take it no longer.
PHILIP
We don't have Noddy badges any more because he is not PC. Instead we will give you a Kalulu badge. In the next day or two I'll put the photos that I took to the Lark with me on the board. Just have to try to straighten Alix out after her bungy jump.
Heather Chalcraft (née Bender) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Lusaka, Zambia
Monday, October 27, 2003 at 09:08:33 (UTC)
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Philip Pain.
.......Thanks for the nice compliments, the photo you mention is about a year old...I must admit I am still the underside of 50... still a young thing.........giggles
Ali
Ali Key [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Perth, Australia
Monday, October 27, 2003 at 04:47:44 (UTC)
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Hi Bridget - yup computer is fixed now and I don't have to compete with William.
Had a great holiday in Tenerife; did some diving there...feeding stingrays was fantastic.
Yes I saw Peters photos of Vic Falls; the ones of him on the edge are amazing...only 360 feet to the bottom!!!
Neiles Billany [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Hull East Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Sunday, October 26, 2003 at 19:01:51 (UTC)
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More Growing up in Nkana/Kitwe
24th. October 1964
At the start of the school holidays at around August/September 1964 my parents had booked train tickets to South Africa for a holiday and going with us was my friend Iggy Liebenburg. This was to be a great adventure for Iggy and myself as we were both sixteen and rearing to get to Durban.
About a week before we were to depart, there was a strike by the Rhodesian Railways and all rail transport came to a standstill. Well you can immagine the tremendious dissapointment that Iggy and I were experencing.
On the 22nd. of August My brother Arnold and Maggie got married and after the wedding Iggy and I were sulking about our fate, when Iggy's brother Zack offered to drive us down to Johannesburg from where we could catch the train to Durbs. Within an hour we were ready, packed and ready to roll.
Zack owned a Volvo B1800 Hunch back, left hand drive. Going through my old British Northern Rhodesia passport, we passed through Chirundu on the 22nd of August and Beit Bridge on the 23rd. and if I remember correctly it took us about eighteen hours from Kitwe to Johannesburg. (Boy! could that Volvo fly.)
Iggy and I had a fantastic holiday in Durban where we stayed with my sister and brother inlaw. They had left Garneton a few years earlier and had built a house in the new suburb of Yellow Wood Park.
In the meantime my parents had to wait for the strike to end before they could start their holiday and by the time they arrived it was time for Iggy and I to return home.
The return journey from Durban to Nkana by train was another adventure for two sixteen year olds. Again checking my passport we passed through immigration at Bulawayo on the 18th. September '64 and Livingstone on the 19th.
Now while we were away Arnold and Maggie were looking after our house in 4th Avenue and when I arrived home my" Boet" asked me to look after their flat in Gallway Avenue. (I think he just wanted me out of the way of the newly weds.) Now this was was right up my street. Sixteen and your own pad!!!!! (Arnold later made me go and appoligise to his next door neighbours, Mr. and Mrs. Mars for the noise. Mr. Mars ran the Astra ) Arnold's words later were, "you guys do what you want to, just keep it down." ( What a brother?)
As my parents only took leave every second year and took their accumilated package, they were away when Zambia became INDIPENDANT.
On the evening of the 24th. my mates and I had been into Edinbourgh Road and helped ourselves to many of the banners that were hanging from the lamp posts. These later became curtains in my first flat in Pretoria when I became an Appie at ISCOR.
It was about 11.00pm while watching T.V. and after all my friends had left that I heard a noise from the North of Kitwe stream. There was this roar, but distant. I decided to go and investigate, the flat was the second property from the corner of Edinbourgh Rd. and Gallway and when I got to the intersection and looked towards Lywellen Hospital there were thousands of black people comming down the road chanting.
As I stood there and they were getting closer and closer, I realised that they were breaking all the branches off all the trees they could reach and waving them in the air and making a terrible noise.
Well!
As a sixteen year old you might think you are MACHO. But I want to tell all of you that my mind suddenly filled with all the stories of the Mau-Mau's and more recently the Congo and decided that I must find a place to hide if things got nasty. Going back to the flat I decided that the best place to be was on the roof of the verandah, this was made of concerete and had a parapet behind which I could hide. I quickly found my way up and laid there untill the masses had passed by, heart thumping and expecting the worst. (I could see them from the roof )
The next morning when I went to have a look at where they had passed by, I could not believe the devistation of one of the most beautiful avenues in Kitwe, trees and shrubs destroyed, anything that could be broken was broken...........AFRICA !
To answer my own questions:-
I was on the roof of a flat
I was alone
S---ting myself.
I have to live with memories of a wonderful childhood.
Cheers
Philip Pain [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Eshowe, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
Sunday, October 26, 2003 at 18:07:13 (UTC)
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Hi campers I have changed my em address to avoid getting any genuine messages getting mixed up with the spam but any one can still continue to use my old address if they want it just means I have got to look through the spam before deleting, regards to all Johnny.
Johnny [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Scarborough, United Kingdom
Sunday, October 26, 2003 at 13:47:27 (UTC)
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Hey Neiles,
Glad you finally found time to catch up with the message board - I guess that's because you have unlimited access to the computer now William has left for university!! Did you look at the great photos of the Falls etc...? Did you have a good holiday? Is your e-mail working properly yet?
See how great the GNR is - it even helps siblings keep in touch!
Bridget
Bridget Billany [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Blackburn, Lancashire, England
Sunday, October 26, 2003 at 08:24:22 (UTC)
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Heather - thank you so much for the wonderful selection of photographs. I spent a most enjoyable hour and a half going through them, going through them again....and again. A lovely way to spend a lazy Sunday afternoon.
June.
June Dobson (née Jocks) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Christchurch, Canterbury, New Zealand
Sunday, October 26, 2003 at 05:52:48 (UTC)
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Got It!
After a good look at the photo behind mine I see that it has been folded to pocket size and looks like it could have been in Craig's pocket when he jumped from the bridge.
Heather do I get a Noddy badge?
Cheers
Philip Pain [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Eshowe, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
Sunday, October 26, 2003 at 05:38:10 (UTC)
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Hi Arthur
Thank you, I have received the C.D. and can't wait to start exploring this weekend. I hope Lynne is up to doing the braai by herself and making sure there is always a cold beer at my elbow.
To the new members and those with short memories,
This is the C.D. from Arthur on the Rhokana Reviews which was awarded to me for one of my postings on the board about
Growing up in Nkana /Kitwe
"The Roman Candle"
To all the Larkers,
Thank you all who posted photo's and messages about your trip. It left me with some very mixed emotions.
Heather, thank you for taking my pic. to the lark. Who is that in the photo behind mine? ( Not fair, to post pictures of what we looked like when we were teenagers. ) If the picture is a recent one, I have definitely burnt the candle at both ends.
Some food for thought.................
The 24th October 1964.....Where were You?
Who were you with?
What were you doing?
How has your life changed?
Cheers
Philip Pain [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Eshowe, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa
Sunday, October 26, 2003 at 05:12:46 (UTC)
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Just a quick hello
Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated. As I think Heather may have mentioned, her Internet connection in Lusaka has been problematic since the day of my arrival. Coincidence? You decide. I haven't managed to read much more than just Arthur's excellent accounts of our trip, in between trying to do real work and tearing out my rapidly greying hair. I do promise to post my version of all events when I get some time.
Archiving the October Message Board
Archiving the message board is automated but, as many people have discovered in recent months, the most recently archived message board has errors until I come along and fix them manually. I will be away in the Kalahari until November 5th or 6th, or thereabouts, and so Arthur is going to have a go at fixing the problem himself on the 1st. You patience and understanding is appreciated.
Looking for Billy Charlton
I am posting this message on behalf of John McCartney. If you have the information he is looking for, please contact him (not me) directly at profmark@ozemail.com.au.
"Does anyone know where to contact Billy Charlton (Kitwe until at least the 70s)? He was at school at CBC in Kimberley (matric 1970) and the ex-students union would like to catch up with him. We would love to hear from ex-students from any of the CBC colleges in South Africa. Contact John McCartney at profmark@ozemail.com.au."
Craig Hartnett [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Lusaka, Zambia
Sunday, October 26, 2003 at 01:00:28 (UTC)
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Hartley Heatons posting about the Lusaka Diving Club takes me back to wonderful trips to the sunken lakes. I was a member of the Chingola Diving Club and during a long weekend at Kashiba - a sunken lake at St Anthony's Mission near Luansha - we met up with a group from the Lusaka club. I can't remember their names but we had a great time around the camp fire.
Are there any Mufulira contingent of the Chingola Diving Club out there? I remember many a weekend diving with Werner Hock, Alan Vaughan, Bill Gellatly,Pete King, Frank Ingram, Gordon Reed and others. Gill Main and Babs McGloughlin also did some diving. I think Werner Hock and Alan Vaughan were the first people to dive to the bottom of Kashiba (72 metres at the shallow end) not a stunt to be advised.
On one camping trip to Kashiba I went off to collect some firewood to set us up for the week and came across a dead tree close to the camp...a godsend. The tree stood bleached white in the sun and devoid of leaves and bark; perfect. I clambered up with my trusty bow saw and selected a large bough that would suffice. The branches of the bough were jammed in the neighbouring tree but once I cut it, it should fall free. I set to work with the saw until there was a crack of breaking wood. The bough fell away then the whole tree began to topple and crashed to the ground with a splintering of wood and a cloud of dust.
I was dazed, scratched and bruised but otherwise unhurt, The base of the tree was undermined by termites and the bough jammed into its neighbour was holding the tree up.
Neiles Billany [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Hull East Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Saturday, October 25, 2003 at 19:47:32 (UTC)
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Last week I ordered a consignment of Biltong from John Glen. The service was superb... 3 days door to door, it is so professsionally made, excellent stuff but disappearing fast! Darn it....... I suppose I'll have to start rationing myself!
Geraint Lewis [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Paris, France
Saturday, October 25, 2003 at 14:08:25 (UTC)
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ARTHUR
Remind me - who was the unfriendly Zambian that you came into contact with?
MEG RYBICKI
Tom McKenzie, your dad's friend, left here only about 18 months ago and is now living in Jo'burg.
Dennis Liwewe - a coincidence perhaps - Melvin Durai writes a column for the Lowdown every month and the November column is about Dennis.
I have your name on the list for Siavonga
SANDRA HOOPER
Copper clocks? I think so. I shall have a look in the shops.
CHRIS DRAKE
The Boating Club still exists, although it is not very active as a boating club, more the local watering hole.
Peter Bromwich
I guess keeping the mine going to the detriment of the environment and the people of Kabwe would be called mismanagement of the economy? And to think that Roy Welensky was involved in this too!! Ag nee, man!
Mark Powell
Is this move to Australia wise? Have you thought about what it's going to do to your accent?
PHOTOGRAPHS
Last week I promised to scan some of Craig's photos and post them. Sorry, but I ran out of time so will have to wait until Craig is back from South Africa in a few weeks time.
In the meantime, here are some photos taken on our trip to the Luangwa National Park
We saw most of the usual animals
but were also able to see Thornicroft's Giraffe which, like Mosi Lager and Broken Hill Man, is truly Zambian
But the highlights of the trip were:
on the first nightdrive when we managed, after a long search, to see leopard
and the next day when we saw this lion having a hard time of things before he got up and sauntered across the road to start feasting on a buffalo which had died the previous day after having got stuck in the mud of one of the lagoons
under the watchful eye of a vulture
That evening, before the rain started, we were able to see a lioness sauntering along the road
and another lion wandering off into the bush
During the day (and early evening) we were able to enjoy the quiet of the bush
and the Luangwa River
We also saw a python but I was too slow with the camera although Craig might have a semi-suitable picture.
And all the while, Bwana Craig enjoyed some Ting Ling ginger beer,
which was very different to the TingLing in his foot after the scorpion got him
Whilst up at Luangwa, we each bought a CD of African Bush Sounds which includes sounds such as the Ground Hornbill, Scops owl, spotted hyena, elephant's rumbling, fish eagle, Meyer's parrot, hippos and even Matabele ants. I think some of you might be interested.
Heather Chalcraft (née Bender) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Lusaka, Zambia
Saturday, October 25, 2003 at 08:36:54 (UTC)
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Northerners !
I made an exception - here are some photos and images that have jumped the queue.
Liz and Mark
Bon Voyage !
As experienced bash attenders I will expect to to stir the Ozzie GNR's into having a bash as soon as you get over there !
So sorry I could not make it over to your party
Ada & Chris
How about organising a Battle of Hastings ?
Thanks for your e-mail - hope to see you in the not too distant future, I miss you "select" lot, the party pigs.
Scarscalp
I still have your phone number - It has been a dry summer and the salmon have not run yet - we need is plenty of rain in thge next few days - the salmon season closes at the end of the month - forecast looks good - wet and cold. If there's any chance to wet a line I'll give you a call. Other than that we'll just have to wet our throats, I'll call you if I'm up your way. Hugs to Debs.
Mr Knotty !
I never knew you had such talents !
Doug
Just got home for the weekend, if it rains I'm gone. I will post some more about Mark Bennett when the fishing's over.
Bob
Thanks for the contribution !
Happy Birthday Zambia !
Arthur
Please consider posting these Zambian stamps, thanks Arthur.
Cheers
Bob Allan
Melbourne
The GNR's answer to the Naked Chef!
Regards
Bill Hunt
Arthur
On Saturday 18 October 2003 a small, but select, group of GNR members attended Taunton Rugby Football Club to wish Mark and Lizzie Powell and family a fond farewell as they depart these shores for Brisbane, Australia. We presented Mark with an Australian rugby shirt and Lizzie with an Australian cap
Those attending were Graham and Debbie Nelson, Graham and Fiona Wall, Gary Big Man Brassington with Scott and Natasha and Chris and Ada (your photographer).
A wonderful time was had by all. Wish you were there, we missed you.
Love
Ada and Chris Cantrell
Arthur Steevens [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Stockport, United Kingdom
Friday, October 24, 2003 at 22:38:16 (UTC)
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DOUG
I bought some biltong from John Glen - received it on Tuesday. It was very nice I must say. He obviously uses very good quaity beef. If only I had been able to make it last! I finished the last bit this evening sob sob!
Fiona Gayther (née Ferguson) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Tytherington, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
Friday, October 24, 2003 at 18:11:05 (UTC)
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John (Tiger) Glen the son of the late John Glen of Mufulira has started a biltong selling business in the UK. You can visit his site at www.biltongbypost.co.uk
Cheers - Doug
Doug Grewar [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Vryheid, Natal, South Africa
Friday, October 24, 2003 at 18:02:34 (UTC)
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During the 70's whenever there was a job that involved water the Zambian Government called on the assistance of the Lusaka Diving Club. I was not involved in the club but both my brother and brother-in-law were.
One day they had a call because a body had been discovered below the falls and was trapped over on the Zambian side. The only way down was to be lowered from the lip of the gorge in full diving kit to retrieve the body. My brother was involved in this one. The retrienal was done successfully but to all accounts was not a pretty sight. I have a newspaper clipping relating to the incident, not sure if they ever identified the body.
In another incident a bus ended up in the Zambezi at Katima Mulilo and I think it was about 29 persons killed including, I think, a government minister. Once again the Lusaka Diving Club were called on and flown down by the Zambian Airforce. I think the majority, if not all bodies were recovered from what had become a croc infested part of the river. For this my brother-in-law and 4 others were awarded by KK with the presentation of a medal. I think this was about September 1974, once again have newspaper clippings will have to look them up.
Happy Birthday Zambia, is it really 39 years since I sat in the stands just behind the 'royal' box watching proceedings.
It is also a sad day with Concorde making her last flight. She lands as Heathrow at about 4pm and is expected to be accompanied by two other Concords. Isn't it funny that we refer to each plane as if it was the only one.They are expecting in excess on 200,000 people around Heathrow this afternoon to watch the last landing. I think we are going to be unlucky as I thing they will be landing from the East otherwise we would have them aproach Heathrow right above us.
Hartley Heaton [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Binfield, Berkshire, United Kingdom
Friday, October 24, 2003 at 11:41:53 (UTC)
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Great pics and narratives of late - congratulations to Arthur and Heather for their work. Having correspondents of their calibre defines the special quality of this site compared with others - like a quality broadsheet newspaper versus tabloids!
However, I digress. Whilst not wishing to be a spoilsport, I just wanted to add my voice to those warning of the dangers of swimming above the Vic Falls.
In the early seventies, my job required driving from Ndola to Livingstone every 6 weeks. I never missed the opportunity of visiting the awesome falls, and I too walked accross to the large island in the dry season.
However, late one afternoon (just before the sun was handing over to the moon to coin a delightful Zambian phrase), probably in Sept/Oct, I was close to the Knife's Edge Bridge when I saw a young hippo get into trouble with a fast section of river close to the edge of the falls. It struggled for a second, and then a dark shadow shrouded in spray dropped past me. The most vivid memory I have of the event, sadly a gory one, is of a sudden explosion of red on the rocks at the base of the falls, instantly swept away by the immense volume of water.
Be careful. I'd hate to hear that someone, encouraged by visiting our site, has met an untimely end.
Finally, sad to see that today heralds the last flight of Concorde. My brother and I were both fortunate to have flown on the graceful bird in the seventies. Sad to think that like our steam train trips to school in the sixties (Ndola - Bulawayo) we will now only have tales to tell our grandchildren. Coincidentally, the train trips were, of course via the Falls, and some of the trusty old Garratts that pulled us lie rusting nearby at Livingstone station.
Geoff Paynter [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa
Friday, October 24, 2003 at 10:32:28 (UTC)
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Happy Birthday Zambia! Let's hope things continue to improve.
Cheers - Doug
Doug Grewar [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Vryheid, Natal, South Africa
Friday, October 24, 2003 at 08:00:27 (UTC)
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Happy Independence Day, Zambia, home of wonderful people, happy memories, and a good part of our hearts; beautiful land of majestic fauna and flora. May the future bring you growth and prosperity.
Tina Magee (née Wallace) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Texas, United States
Friday, October 24, 2003 at 01:44:38 (UTC)
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This is to remind all members of the G. N. R. today - 24th October is Zambia's 39th Anniversary of Independence.
It is also United Nations Day.
Norman Kenward [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Worcestershire, United Kingdom
Thursday, October 23, 2003 at 23:32:30 (UTC)
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Arthur
Your point about using a Zambian screen saver is well taken and Peter Bennet's magnificent photos give us plenty to choose from.
I met Peter at the Lark and recall that he was a on a trip through Africa, but can you, or anyone else, tell us some more about him. His photos are certainly professional quality.
Cheers - Doug
Doug Grewar [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Vryheid, Natal, South Africa
Thursday, October 23, 2003 at 20:16:05 (UTC)
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Re: swimming at the edge of Victoria Falls.
My daughter and I were in Zambia during December 2002 and spent a few days in the Livingstone area at the Zambezi Waterfront (which was fabulous) and a day at Victoria Falls with my cousin who still lives in Zambia. The rains had just started and luckily we were still able to walk across the top of the Falls and swim at the edge. Getting across the top of the Falls was an experience in itself and took about an hour, as in some spots the water was moving very rapidly and if you’d slipped and fallen, it would have been woopsie, over the edge and gone. We spent about an hour swimming at the edge, I believe near Livingstone Island (??) and it was rather comical, as there were people on the Zimbabwe side taking photo’s and video footage of us, I am sure the resulting images make us look like we are crazy!!! It was a fabulous experience and one that my very Canadian daughter will never forget. I highly recommend that if anyone has the chance to walk across the Falls and has an adventurous streak, to do it but understand that you are at the mercy of nature.
Mirana Beatty [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Canada
Thursday, October 23, 2003 at 18:00:48 (UTC)
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NIAGARA FALLS.
Sadly, I'm an obsessive collector of trivia, which when I was young I used to try and remember so that I could bore acquaintances at a later date. Now, I simply read it. There is a superb collection of facts about going over Niagara Falls in a barrel (or less) on www.straightdope.com. The site is well worth a visit, and I try and go there almost as often as I visit the GNR site. I remember someone planning to go over Victoria Falls in a barrel when I was young, and being stopped.
There is an interesting, if sad, article in the latest New Yorker on suicides from the Golden Gate bridge, which includes a quote from a book that a young child read shortly before she jumped, and which pointed out that jumping from a height into water was usually fatal, and usually more successful than overdoses or poisons. When you jump from a height of more than 250 feet you hit the water at 75 mph, and at that speed there isn't much difference between water and concrete, but should you survive, you usually go so far under that you drown before you resurface.
I don’t know of anyone living after going over Victoria Falls but, even if they survived the drop, some of those who have survived going over Niagara have become trapped under the torrent of water and have suffocated in their barrel before it could pop free and float downstream.
KABWE MINES.
Could I disagree with Heather? I enjoyed the article, and am no defender of Anglo (Luanshya was in the other camp). I was a medical student in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and one of our lecturers had spent many years in Kitwe. During a seminar on meningitis in children he mentioned a condition that resembled childhood meningitis, but was related to lead poisoning, and was common in Kabwe. He mentioned that Anglo had been trying to close Kabwe for years (and I was told this over thirty years ago) but the government would not permit it. Roy Welensky was the first to object, and the others all followed suit. The concern was that closing the mine would be a body blow to Kabwe, and better a loss-making mine than a ghost town. Anglo’s point of view was that the mine was not profitable, was harming the environment, and the best interests of the country and the district would be served by closing it, rather than allowing pollution to continue.
XENOPHOBIC POLICEMEN.
A problem all over the world, and nobody can defend it. I don’t know if it’s the way they are trained, the type of person who becomes a policeman, or the way society treats them, but it happens here as well. Last year I was driving in Barcelona when I was stopped for a non-existent traffic offence. The policeman asked for all my documents, and then said I couldn’t drive in Spain on a British licence. So he confiscated the car.
When Laureen and I went to the pound a few days later to collect the car, and pay the huge fine for setting it free, the pound was full, with a few cars that were obviously death traps and better off the road, but oodles of cars from Belgium, Germany, Switzerland, and the UK. Obviously, foreigners were considered easy targets.
Even if your knowledge of Palestine in the first century AD is limited to dimly-remembered bible stories from school you will know that tax-collectors were then considered the lowest of the low. Governments now repeat the mantra of “No new taxes” or something similar, but then raise money in other ways. If you read the annual budget statements for the UK you find that every year the Chancellor sets the amount to be raised by the police in fines, and sometimes has the cheek to call his targets for them “challenging”. If the police are to be turned into the tax collecting arm of the government it’s hardly surprising that they join together and turn on outsiders.
Peter Bromwich [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Valderrobres, Teruel, Spain
Thursday, October 23, 2003 at 12:00:41 (UTC)
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Northerners,
"Hippo Beach" premiered on the "Nature" program on Public Broadcasting Service last weekend here in the States. It is about a hippo herd in the Luangwa river and I found it good viewing. Here are links to learn more and check local listings:
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/hippo/index.html
Chandru Krishna [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Rockville, Maryland, United States
Thursday, October 23, 2003 at 06:03:14 (UTC)
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Thanks people for all those wonderfull photo's they just Fab. Can any one answer this question Is there still a Rowing and Boating Club on River ?.In the late 50's(late) and early 60's I rowed on the river 8's and 4's> Crazy hey ,one year a Hippo made a womens crew swim ashore and it was no laughing matter.
Just a thought when I look at the Vic Falls of today and think back.
Chris Drake
Christopher Drake [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Quesnel, British Columbia, Canada
Thursday, October 23, 2003 at 05:12:03 (UTC)
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Thank you so much for the latest photos. I am a real sucker for African sunsets and this one is an absolute gem – needless to say it is now the wallpaper on my PC. I showed a couple of my work mates some of the photos which simply took their breath away. My heartfelt thanks to everyone for their postings and photos which stirred up so many memories.
By the way did anyone take any photos of Afcom House, Kaunda Square etc?
Heather
Do you know if one can still buy copper clocks in the shape of Zambia (or Africa)?
Sandra Hooper (née Marsh) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Perth, Western Australia, Australia
Thursday, October 23, 2003 at 04:40:27 (UTC)
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" For a diversion from all the bedlam and meyhem, she sat down and clicked on the eye of the fish eagle, and what she saw through that eye was magic...The garden of eden.....
the power of one drop , and another and another....the mighty Mosi oa Tunya....."
Thankyou Artie and Peter........
Ali
Ali Key [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Perth, Australia
Thursday, October 23, 2003 at 03:42:27 (UTC)
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Arthur,
You are the one with a keen sense of humor. Thanks for posting those great piccies. That Bennett bloke is quite a guy - a kind of a modern day David Livingstone one might say?
Heather,
Good to know there are now a bunch of lodges on the river. I absolutely love that river. After moving to the US in the early 80's, I learned to fall in love with the Colorado river where it flows through the area between California, Arizona, and Nevada. There is a fish in there called Striped Bass (Stripers!). Their markings are remarkebly like the Tiger, sans teeth, and they do not come out the water standing on their tails either. None the less, a nice fish to catch, and great eating. Everytime I caught one, my mind raced back to the Zambezi in earlier years. That river runs mostly through the desert and that in itself makes it stunningly beautiful. There are a number of dams on the Colorado. The Parker dam backs up Lake Havasu, where we camped/fished at every opportunity. (London Bridge is there now. Yes, the real thing).
I have to get back to the Zambezi sometime. So many places to visit, so little time
Cheers
The Hopeless Hilo Monster (Tsk, Tsk!)
Chris Tamm [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Hilo, Hawaii, United States
Thursday, October 23, 2003 at 02:07:27 (UTC)
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Peter Dielissen:
I hope your ex's boyfriend and companion did not have their feet set in concrete in that barrel.
Heather:
Thanks for your report on BH Kabwe Mines, and soil contamination.
Occupational health is certainly a big issue in old lead mining areas, as lead, particularly in the oxidised state, is such a long-lasting danger, and cumulative in the human body.
If the soil really contains up to 20-25% Pb it is worth concentrating!- sulphidising with NaHS and float with butyl or amyl xanthate,. I did some lab work at Mount Isa in the 1980's on this issue. Looked economic, too.
I did not work at Kabwe, just Nchanga on copper.
Not guilty!
Bob A.
Robert Allan [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Melbourne, Australia
Thursday, October 23, 2003 at 01:41:16 (UTC)
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Woo Hoo! All Hail to Artie and Gorilla Pete. Now those are Pictures!!!!!!!! Fabulous selection and gorgeous shots of swimming at Falls edge.
Lovely one of the Bash bunch together too. Heart warming.
Tina Magee (née Wallace) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Texas, United States
Thursday, October 23, 2003 at 00:28:18 (UTC)
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Does anyone remember DENNIS LIWEWE ?
I most certainly do! Especially when commentating on football matches played at Shinde Stadium, Mufulira - home to the:
MIGHTY MUFULIRA WANDERERS !!!!
Every time Sam 'ZOOM' Ndhlovu had the ball at his feet, not only did the crowd roar 'Z O O O O O M'
Dennis Liwewe would continue long afterwards in his own inimitable way - describing his every move - until finally WAIT FOR IT !
G O A L ! ! ! ! ! !
You're right there was only only one Dennis Liwewe, and might I say:
ONLY ONE SAM 'Z O O M' NDHLOVU
Many is the time I had Zoom in my sights ................
Norman Kenward [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Worcestershire, United Kingdom
Wednesday, October 22, 2003 at 23:15:02 (UTC)
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LUMPA UPRISING
My dad was in the Zambian Rifles, and was called on during the "Lumpa Uprising", (he told my mom that he felt terrible about the way the whole episode was dealt with, and also there was unecessary loss of life and unwarrented destruction of Lumpa villages after they had been "neutralised" (his Officer,s words). Mom has an original (and horrifically bloodstained) piece of paper which was stamped and authorized by a senior member of the Lumpa Church, it was meant to give total protection from bullets or weapons; as it was taken as a grizzly souvenir off a dead body, we can only hope that person is at peace.
My dad wrote letters home when he was stationed near Chinsali, and mom wondered whether there was anyone on the GNR who was in the Rifles at that time (the letters are daated August l964, and though he was stationed in Chinsali, the letters had to be sent to Stephenson Barracks, Lusaka. In his letters he mentions a Capt. Deacon winning a shooting competition against a NRP mobile unit, (my dad lost the shooting comp. but won 15 shillings in side bets), he also said that the local population had gotten quite wise, and were selling chickens at 8 shillings instead of 2. Here is a short extract from his last letter home:
Hell, what a day, we went out on intelligence patrol with Capt Sheldon, Officer cadet Alan Foote, Lcpt Musole and self. We ended up in Lumdazi district with DO by the name of Mick Bond. I bought a couple of chicken for 1/3 a piece, and eggs at ld each, we saw about five burnt villages, both Lumpa and UNIP, went to Mulanga Mission where according to the papers ther e are about 2000 refugees, bunkum! There are close to 5000. Some are slowly drifting back, the rest are too scaared.The bush roads are shocking, I sat guard on the back of a landrover with Musale, and got horribly shaken up. We are leaving just now for E.Co with rations, they are camped towards Lumdasi district, 60 miles from here. Met my old pal Tom McKenzie at the 2nd NRR workshops this morning.
Do any of these names ring a bell to anyone out there on the GNR? My dad died when I was 3, and I really do not remember him at all, so it is really strange to read these letters from him, I gather that he was fond of chicken! Sorry to bore anyone who has already covererd the Lumpa story, but I only unearthed dad's letters ect yesterday, and thought I'd post an extract.
In a previous letter dated 27 Aug, 64, he writes, "on the way back to HQ helped to escort about 30 Lumpas to the cage, gave themselves up to "E Com", poor bastards. This morning our prowler guards were slightly confused about challenging intruders on the airstrip who happened to be a herd of 6 rhinos.
My father also mentions his MO, he told my mom that she had met him at the school fete, (Lusaka Boys School) the MO's name was Colin Waldren.
Thanks for the space to reminisce, fuzzily, on my dads behalf, and to thank most of the people who post on the board, this board shouldnt be used to rant or rave on, it is enjoyable because it is non contraversial, and for people who are scattered all around the globe to remind each other of the place we all call home. I got some sad news from an old friend, he visited my childhood home, 20 Sianjalika Road, Woodlands, and our house has been demolished completely! It will live forever in my memories, a big pink bungalow, bedecked with bouganvillia, with a short avenue of Cassia trees on either side of the driveway, and as Woodlands Stadium was right behind it, the roar of thousands of voices screaming G O A L, on match days. Does anyone remember the wonderful Denis Liwewe, the best footballer commentator ever, anywhere!
Heather, count me in for Siavonga! Ciao, Meg
Meg Rybicki (formerly Margaret) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Mullanyduff, Co Leitrim, Ireland
Wednesday, October 22, 2003 at 22:26:30 (UTC)
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Tina and Northerners !
Hah! The picture on the link you posted Tina - looks nothing like Vic Falls to me, very suspicious. Looks like it was posed on the banks of the Kitwe Stream, never trust foreigners from continental Europe. Looks like they all went to Frederick Knapp for English lessons too.
If you're looking for the real thing though, here are a few from Peter Bennett
Peter Bennett asked me to take back to the UK a CD rom with some of his photos to put in the post over here. He had given me the Ok to take a look and post on the GNR whatever I felt may be of interest. The Cd was sat waiting to go until this weekend when I took a look what was on the CD. I think you will all like what I chose to display.
This is my candidate for the best Zambian sunset photo so far, perhaps we should all have a vote !
The Livingstone Lark
This photo I liked best and is now the wallpaper on my PC. Stunning power, a stunning composition Peter.
A few days ago I had an e-mail from Peter and since we dropped him off in Kapiri Mposhi, he tells me he has made his way up to Uganda and is now in the company of gorillas.
By the standard of the photos so far I'm looking forward to hearing from him when he returns to the UK later this year and seeing and hearing a lot more.
Safe journey Peter, and I know you are having a brilliant time.
Doug Grewar,
You greatly disappoint me, using photos for your computer wallpaper from a site in SA? Jislike !
Any of the Zambian photos right here on the GNR can be so used ! Most the ones on display have been reduced to a quarter or third in size of the originals and compressed as far as I dare to make them suitable for web display. If anyone would like a full size uncompressed photo to use as wallpaper for their own PC just send me an e-mail request.
Yukon Pete, Curly George and Chris Tamm,
Name calling ? - Well we all seemed to have picked up an unjustified name on the GNR over the years so about time Chris had his. I think maybe the Hopeless Hilo-monster.
Jesting aside, I am not about to cast a stone at anyone as I have used langauge in the past which could have caused offence and had been racial, we all have done this to some extent to each other and should have known better. But things have changed here and repetition will not be acceptable on the GNR. I hope that is loud and clear.
Ayub,
Granted no police force is without bigots and there are some very bad apples in every barrel, but the perfect Zambian Police don't have to travel that far to start their good work, perhaps they should pay a visit over the border to Zim to do a bit of their training.
As one who has seen the Zambian Police eye to eye in action recently it was very plain to me that a white person was more likely to end up fined at a speed trap and other offenders merely ticked off and walk off scott free. Same at the road blocks, car tax is only important if it has not been paid by a muzungu. Ask the locals. I would add that with one exception I found all the ordinary Zambians I came into contact with during my stay as the most friendly people on earth.
Arthur
Arthur Steevens [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Stockport, United Kingdom
Wednesday, October 22, 2003 at 22:14:34 (UTC)
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Ayub Ismail Zumla
Yes Ayub, it's frightening when the people you rely on to maintain law and order behave like that. I'm sure there is racism everywhere, from every colour and creed but that programme was disgusting. I hope the lot of them got sacked.
Fiona Gayther (née Ferguson) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Tytherington, Gloucestershire, United Kingdom
Wednesday, October 22, 2003 at 18:59:18 (UTC)
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You don't have it so bad in Zambia folks! Here in the UK we appear to have outdated racist thoughts and ideas prevalent in the minds of some members of the Queen's Constabulary. Anyone who watched last night's BBC airing of "The Sleeping Policeman" must shudder at the thought of these scum(s) wanting to "kill Pakis" ....stopping Asian drivers just because of the colour of their skin....glorifying Hitler, condoning the Stephen Lawrence murder... What is more terrifying is the assertion made by these twits that these attitudes are well entrenched in the UK Police Force generally. Isn't it refreshing to know that at least the Zambian Police do not have such malicious attitudes towards non-blacks living in Zambia. Perhaps in this respect, the Zambian Police Force could send some of their training personnell to Manchester and show them that in this day and age..race should not matter. So lets not demean our homeland.
Ayub Ismail Zumla [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Manchester, United Kingdom
Wednesday, October 22, 2003 at 17:05:48 (UTC)
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Information on not quite going over the Falls.
On the Zambian side there are pools where you can swim on the very edge of the Falls in the dry season. Here is one picture of people doing it. There are other sites with pictures. Has anyone on the GNR experienced this?
See the following link, 5th photo down.
http://www.overlandexplorers.com/brian/travels/zambia/victoria_falls.shtml
Tina Magee (née Wallace) [ Profile ] [ Contact ]
Texas, United States
Wednesday, October 22, 2003 at 15:21:24 (UTC)
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Celia Small, Peter Ellis
Best Wishes on your Birthday
Fiona Gayther, Chris Tamm
Helen Kaunda - in the Zambian tradition, mothers are very important and highly respected. Hence the naming of a school and various other places after KK's mother.
Bob Allan
The Kabwe Mines were closed down a few years ago as the mineral deposits left could no longer be economically extracted. This has had very serious implications for the town as the main (almost only) employer is now Zambia Railways. However, I understand that there is a small amount of zinc being mined, more or less manually.
There is currently a lot of work going on in Kabwe because of the high levels of lead being found in the soil to the west of the old mine. This is the article I published earlier this year:
Lusaka residents may feel that the environment within their city has seriously deteriorated over the past few years. But Kabwe residents have much greater cause to complain - the central province HQ has been described as one of the most polluted towns on earth.
The problem is the old lead, cadmium and zinc mining and processing plant that was shut down in 1994. While lead and zinc mining has been going on in the area for centuries, the town grew up round the activities of the Rhodesia Broken Hill Development Company which began commercial exploitation of minerals in the area in 1908. Eventually the company became part of ZCCM.
The issue was brought up by Dr Katele Kalumba recently (another diversion?), and government's response was that it was already taking action. But is that action adequate?
For many years before the closure, the mine had been emitting lead particles which contaminated the air, soil and vegetation around the town. While 0.04 per cent is considered the maximum acceptable soil concentration in residential areas, soil levels of over 500 times that amount have been recorded in areas close to the mine.
This means that the soil in those areas is almost 25 percent lead.
Lead poisoning can affect intelligence, attention span and coordination, and at higher levels, can cause brain damage, kidney problems, anaemia, osteoporosis and death.
The problem was well known to ZCCM, and whenever the company's employees visited its clinics and hospitals, they were routinely tested for lead levels in the blood. Most children reportedly showed levels of between 45 and 100 micrograms per decilitre. The more seriously affected were given chelation therapy (which has its own side effects) to help flush out heavy metals, and were then sent home to accumulate more lead. Education and advice does not seem to have been on ZCCM's programme. In fact concerned senior staff who wanted to see a more responsible attitude were throughout ZCCM's history, ushered out of the division or company.
Although the mine is closed, there are over 200 men, women and children still working as artisan miners on the mine dumps, scavenging for scrap lead and other metals. Blood samples were taken from 16 randomly chosen artisan miners on 21 September 2002, and these were found to contain from 60 to 100 micrograms per deciliter. Nine of them had levels of over 80 and could be classified as medical emergencies. Samples have continued to be taken and all are of grave concern.
Yet there are no doctors in Zambia who are highly conversant with lead poisoning, or who have the relevant medication available. The Central Board of Health does recognise the problem and has placed the initial onus and responsibility of continued health care and remediation on ZCCM-IH. But a clear policy is needed.
According to a paper by the Blacksmith Institute, a US-based environmental organisation, "socialism, government control of the mining company, decades of cover up, and poverty", are all to blame for Kabwe's health problems.
The greatest concern is being shown by two non-governmental organisations - the Kitwe-based Citizens for a Better Environment (CBE), under Peter Sinkamba, and the Kabwe Environmental and Rehabilitation Foundation (KERF), established by Kapumpe Valentine Musakanya who has worked on and studied the environmental and social aspect of Kabwe Mine since 1994, initially as part of the Decommissioning Team. The two organisations have rather different approaches. CBE tends to be confrontational, and together with Afronet it has raised a complaint with the UN. It is proposing to sue Anglo-American for US$250 million for past damage done by the company. "Anglo must not be allowed to run away from its present and past responsibilities," says Sinkamba. However local residents feel that CBE's approach will not benefit them in the end.
KERF favours a softly-softly approach in which education and persuasion are key factors, and the task of finding practical solutions to the problem with all stakeholders, including ZCCM-IH, is high on the agenda. KERF recognises that while the problem is primarily an environmental health problem the solutions fit appropriately into a community and development project for the town. Nutrition for example is a key factor in absorption of lead by the human body.
Unfortunately some of the other key players have not been as cooperative as KERF would have liked. Attempts have been made in the past, by people claiming to represent stakeholders, to prevent KERF field staff from accessing the dumps or working with communities in Chowa.
However the NGO is working to address the matter through improved communication amongst all stakeholders, as the alternative is not in anybody’s interest. The Mines Safety department has been fairly encouraging, but there is not much contact between KERF and the Central Board of Health, the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Environment and Tourism.
Kabwe Municipal Council appreciates the work of KERF, which is currently building a Community and Health Centre in one of the most affected areas to coordinate the work and are planning to provide |
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