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Hilton Williams I nearly forgot Your soapbox driving licence ! Arthur Arthur Steevens [ Profile ] [ Contact ] Stockport, United Kingdom Monday, January 26, 2004 at 00:27:58 (UTC)

Northerners ! Something to get us back on the Great North Road I was pleased to see Peter Bennett's Journal has been updated recently. Peter, if you drop in to the GNR on your travels I for one am really enjoying your magnificent photos and reports as you make your way across Africa. Look forward to seeing a lot more of your photos when you return to the UK. Beth Lloyd brought along these photos for me when I was over at the Livingstone Lark in September. Thanks Beth - I increased the resolution on the scans and was suprised at the detail in the photos. Please drop me a line and I'll post the originals back to you. Neville Cowan I used to live at the second last house on Central Street at one time. I have seen an article or two in the Rhokana Reviews on the farm across the river. I will keep looking and post some up for you. In the meantime I saw this photo, maybe it will bring back a memory or two. Heather Knowles I will drop you a line later this week re the scanning. Keep up the good work ! Birdbrain addicts Waddle along to the headmasters office please. Arthur Hi Arthur, A challenge by Bob Allan In Melbourne, a Drivers licence earlier than 1965. Here's mine, please post at your convenience, BUT I have a licence to race a soap box on a public road in 1955.attach photo of my first drive!! regards Hilton Williams Arty can you put this on for Bob Allan Bob this one is a little older. Arthur Over Christmas whilst at home I was having a little root-around and came across a torn off piece of blue card to which I had stuck the receipts of each year that I played for the works Rugby team whilst undertaking an apprenticeship. Turning the card over I was pleasantly surprised that it had been the front cover of an old exercise school notebook. I have attached and should you believe it may be of interest to remind the GNR members who attended school in those days of good school times and times too when one was in for it then please add to the GNR! Kind regards Bob Eglington Finally overcome the technology and scanned in a couple of photos from school. (Yes it was Kabulonga School for Boys by then!) The first is Max Rush’s class in 1967. Any ideas who is who? Note the sliding wall behind the group. Fantastic bit of architecture in the hot season! The second is the Debating Society started by Doug (Bug) Phillips a Canadian whose father was advising the government. It was sparsely attended, mainly by Doug’s friends and family and by those guys whose bus home was later in the afternoon. Although there, very few boarders ever attended! John Evans Hi Arthur, Someone during the month mentioned a circus. Here are a couple of photos taken during a circus performance in the 1960s. No flash was allowed and the light level was very low so the development of the film had to be forced. The juggler was doing five things at the same time! Regards, Mike Wilson Mike - what was the name of the circus, do you remember ? Thanks to everyone sending stuff in. Arthur Arthur Steevens [ Profile ] [ Contact ] Stockport, United Kingdom Monday, January 26, 2004 at 00:17:38 (UTC)

Hilton Williams Here you go and also £5 and 10 shillings. Heather Chalcraft (née Bender) [ Profile ] [ Contact ] Lusaka, Zambia Wednesday, January 21, 2004 at 12:18:16 (UTC)

Paudie and Sue's Wedding This is a selection of photos from our recent wedding. We met up again through the GNR on 20 January, 2002 and got married at 5pm on Saturday 27 December, 2003. The ceremony took place on the clubhouse jetty at Hillarys Yacht Club here in Perth and the reception was in the clubhouse. There were 80 guests, mostly family and some close friends. Sue has three brothers here in Perth, all ex-Zambia. Chris and Pat Forde are married to ex-Kitwe girls Hazel Dutton and Grace Millar, both of whose parents and siblings also migrated to Perth. Other brother Dennis has a son and daughter born in Kitwe. My brother Eamon was my Best Man. So, many ex-Zambians and their respective progeny helped us celebrate our special day. It doesn't end there - the music was provided by ex-Kitwe musician Noel Daley and his band "Crocodile Rock". The venue was very reminescent of Kitwe's Mindolo Dam - but with bigger boats and real sea! For us, one of the highlights of the evening was Eamon reading out messages of good wishes from so many ex-Zambians (and ex- Zims, Craig) from overseas. A large proportion were old friends and acquaintances we have reconnected with through the GNR, as well as newly made ex-Zambian friends. You were all toasted in the Toast to Absent Friends, Relatives and to our Parents (who are no longer with us). Interestingly, another GNR connection is that Chris and Hazel Forde, Eamon and his fiancée Sarah, and Sue and I were attendees at the very successful Banbury Bash in Sept 2002 in UK. Paudie and his brother and Best Man Eamon waiting for the bride. Sue and the bridal party arrive. Sue's son James walks her down the aisle to her waiting Groom. The ceremony in progress. The day before the wedding the temperatures were in the high 30's. Luckily a change came in the morning of the wedding - a bit cloudy but much cooler at about 25 C. As we said our vows, the sun broke through the clouds. Left to right: Sarah (Eamon's fiancée), Eamon, Paudie, Sue, Sue's daughter Jessica (her bridesmaid) and James. The Celebrant is out of shot to the right. Walking back along the jetty after the vows. Signing on the dotted line. Photo session at the entrance to one of our favourite beaches. We had professional videographers for the video. The still photos were done by friends and relatives. The speeches. Left is Sue's brother Chris Forde, who spoke for their father. Paudie's speech mentioned the GNR and its role in our love story. Eamon was an excellent MC and Best Man. The bridal dance, to Noel Daley's band. It was quite special to get married all the way over here in Perth and have a fellow ex-Kitwe musician and long time friend of the Forde family, provide the music. Cutting the cake. Instead of a formal tiered wedding cake, we decided to have something that really tasted good, and worked in a romantic theme. We settled on a trio of Cherry Chocolate Mud Cake, Boston Mud Cake, and Orange Chocolate Mud Cake, being both extremely tasty, and the trilogy symbolic of our Past, Present and Future. Sue and Paudie dancing, with Noel Daley (centre left) playing and singing in his band. Sue and I first met in December 1973, when she managed a rock band in Kitwe ("Paper Lace") that I joined. So for old time sake, I jammed a few numbers with Noel's band, while Sue danced to the music. Noel had a break from the guitar so that he could show off his frontman vocal and performance talents. Chris and Hazel Forde, who helped us so much with preparations for the wedding, especially initially while we were still over in Ireland. From my beautiful bride and I, a thank you to the GNR. We will also post a link soon to a webpage with a more extensive set of photos for anyone who is interested. Paudie and Sue Coughlan With reference to Wednesday 14 January 2004 and David Gray's remark about the Southern Rhodesia 5/- shilling note being a most unattractive purplish colour. Perhaps this will jog the memory Norman Kenward Paudie & Sue Brilliant, Happy, happy photos. My hope for you both is that the sun continues to shine on you for the rest of your lives. Marilyn, Happy Birthday babe. I always knew you could run fast, but I'm way ahead of you, unfortunately. Arthur Arthur Steevens [ Profile ] [ Contact ] Stockport, United Kingdom Monday, January 19, 2004 at 22:10:05 (UTC)

Penny Giorgioi, Debbie Stewart, Marilyn Noall, John Payne and Anne Bradfield Best wishes on your birthday yesterday and Alan Pascoe for today Arthur, Herewith an old and a recent photo of Manie, who will be remembered by many from Luanshya and Mufulira. Manie etc Sheldon, Charmaine, Manie and wife, June 2001 Regards, Doug Hall Northerners in the Cape Town Area (or anyone who feels like joining us) on Friday 13th February 2004 there will be a get together of all Northerners who are able to attend in Cape Town The venue and time have not yet been finalised but as soon as this is done we will post a message. If you would like to attend or think you might be in the area, please email me. Margaret de Lange Am trying to respond to your email, but it has bounced back. Heather Chalcraft (née Bender) [ Profile ] [ Contact ] Lusaka, Zambia Monday, January 19, 2004 at 06:52:20 (UTC)

Linda Smart, Claire Powell, Trevor Hammond Best wishes on your birthday Northerners The promised photos of my trip to Sinazongwe. I have never been to Sinazongwe although I have been to Maamba Collieries a number of times which is fairly close, but my last visit there was over five years ago when we were carrying out an inspection on the road works that were ongoing at the time. It is an easy drive down and once you turn off the main Lusaka/Livingstone road you hit the escarpment, part of which has the name 'Seven Sisters'. Since you are also heading away from civilisation, there is more forest and the area is not denuded as it is in some other areas. This is the trend throughout the country. I was only down there for two days and had a bit of work to do whilst there (finding out what is in the area for tourists) so didn't have much time for pleasure. The area around Sinazongwe is different to Siavonga. Firstly, as the border follows the river bed, Zambia has a much larger lake area than it does nearer the wall, not that this is a big issue. There are many islands in the area and ironically, in recent years, the islands are being restocked with game (the various antelope and zebra) - precisely the opposite of what Operation Noah did. In the last few years, there have been a large number of elephant coming onto the islands, where they feel safer than they did in Zimbabwe. This restocking does bring its own problems though as there are no predators on the islands, so culling is a necessity. The lake in the Sinazongwe area also has what I always think of as 'Kariba' - the tops of the trees still sticking out. These are not really seen around Siavonga although I am not sure why - whether it is because they have decomposed or whether they have been removed. I would have liked to have got some better photos of the trees, but our planned trip out onto the lake had to be cut short as there was a storm blowing up. We could see it in the distance although the water was still very calm when we set off, but within 30 minutes (and on our way back) we were battling waves of nearly a metre high. Because of the storm, it also meant that we didn't have the time to stop off at any of the islands and wander around. We did however see some game (hartebeest) on one of the beaches. Whilst in Sinazongwe, I visited one of the croc farms - the largest Nile crocdile farm in the world. They have around 100,000 crocs there. They have a large breeding dam where their breeding stock are kept. The eggs are then collected from the fenced in area around the dam and a small percentage of eggs are collected in the wild. These are then put into incubators until hatching. The hatching season has just ended (the last lot hatched two days before I was there). Whilst they are hatching, staff are on hand to assist with breaking the eggs where necessary (as female crocs do in the wild) Once the eggs, hatch, the babies are kept in boxes until the egg sac has been absorbed. The baby crocs are about 9 - 10 inches long at this stage and have little pot bellies until the sac is absorbed. This sac is similar to the colostrum that mammals obtain from their mothers in the their first few days. After that, they are onto 'proper' food which is a mixture of various types of meat including kapenta and are transferred into 'growing' pens. When they reach the right size (about 3 to 4 foot long), they are transferred into others pens where they are 'flooded' i.e. the bottom of the pen is covered with water - only the tops of their bodies and heads stick out. This is done to soften their skins. From there, they are removed, checked over and then they are off to the abattoir. The meat is frozen and exported whilst the skins are salted and also exported. The best part of the croc farm is the visit to the breeding dam. They have different feeding stations along the banks of the dam and the meat is thrown out to them. The move with the speed of lightning to these stations when they see the vehicle coming along. Plus, these crocs had not been fed meat for a number of days (the reason was far too scientific for me to understand) so they were good and hungry. At one of the stations, it is possible for one to get out of the vehicle and stand around whilst the crocs are fed. But after listening to their snapping jaws and turning around and seeing them coming out of the water from all directions, I decided that I would test whether any of the crocs would take a liking to my legs. But it was very nice to see them that close up as in the wild they quietly disappear when you approach. I also managed to get a couple of photos of them doing what is called 'the high walk' (which makes them look particularly sinister). There is apparently much research currently ongoing as it is now believed that their legs are similar to those of birds and that somewhere, millions of years ago, they had a common ancestor. Just imagine - flying crocodiles!! No thank you. I also found this pothole on the little road which leads to the Maamba Colliery weighbridge and a shop at Sinazeze Heather Chalcraft (née Bender) [ Profile ] [ Contact ] Lusaka, Zambia Friday, January 16, 2004 at 07:51:12 (UTC)

Sorry made a mistake on the one link. Here is the correct one Heather Chalcraft (née Bender) [ Profile ] [ Contact ] Lusaka, Zambia Wednesday, January 14, 2004 at 17:59:35 (UTC)

Liz Downing, Christina Estcourt, Glynn Morris Best wishes on your birthday Graham Wall Sorry I didn't post you 'official' birthday greetings, but this is the price you have to pay if your birthday is on a day when I don't come into the office or am away from Lusaka and hence away from my computer. Ted Mills No, no, no. Very little knowledge about seismicity as a subject, but plenty of knowledge (and even more interest) about things Zambian. And thankfully much has been written about the country by those far more knowledgeable than I. I am only glad that I can afford to buy all these books and that I can afford to visit the places mentioned in them and see a lot of it for myself. I am also lucky that when I read things, I remember them and when a few months later somebody mentions something I remember that I have read about it and can usually go straight to the book in which I read it and refresh my memory. Having said that, a few years ago, I did read a fair amount about the Highlands Water Scheme although my interest in it was more to do with the transportation of supplies etc for the construction of it. Dave Gray You are out of date - our new low denomination notes which were released in November are polypropylene and thus do not become dirty and tattered. Zambia is the first country in Africa to introduce these so perhaps we are not languishing as much as some people would think because I haven't seen many polypropylene notes in use in America, Canada or Europe, only in Australia. Another interesting thing was that when they were first released in October, they had to be recalled because all the ink was rubbing off. They were printed in Canada. Doron Grill My hands are up as far as they can reach and that's where they will stay. And you want to know what I feel inside? I am glad that I stayed in this country and didn't take the gap. Where else in the world would I, by the time I was thirty, have owned my own house straight out, no mortage payments; where else would I be able to buy my own business at the age of forty straight off without having to borrow the money to buy it; where else would I be able to travel and visit other continents once or twice a year and countries in the region every year; where else would I be able to travel around my own country and visit almost every corner of it. Yes; sure; I get frustrated and annoyed sometimes; I throw my hands up in despair sometimes; I have to pay expensive school fees to have my daughter educated to an international standard; sometimes I have to pay over the odds for something that I want. But at the end of the day I reckon my quality of life, in the things that really matter, far exceeds the quality of your life. And I do not have to live with intense bitterness, day after day, week after week, because I decided I wasn't prepared to meet the challenges of living in a newly independent country with an inept government. I think you made your bed, now you should lie on it. Northerners My apologies for that little outburst and I am waiting to get my hands slapped by the other members of the Politburo. As you know, at the end of last year, I drove down to Namibia. I shall not be posting any of the photos I took in Namibia, but in a day or two will post a link to some that I will put up on my web page for those that would like to take a look. But I did take these photos on the way down to Kasungula and on the way back through Sesheke: The pontoon and pontoon operator at Kasungula Some flame lillies in the Caprivi Strip - you will notice that they are much more orange than the ones we find around Lusaka Some scenes near the pontoon at Sesheke. They are currently building a bridge over the Zambezi at Sesheke and this should be open within about two months. Some wildlife that greeted me along the road to Livingstone With the rains, we now have all sorts of interesting mushrooms (inedible) springing up A few views of the Falls with a bit more water than during September And of course, the inevitable sunset taken on the banks of the Zambezi I have just spent two incredible days at Sinazongwe on Lake Kariba. Photos to follow tomorrow. Heather Chalcraft (née Bender) [ Profile ] [ Contact ] Lusaka, Zambia Wednesday, January 14, 2004 at 17:52:41 (UTC)

Denise Horton, Chris Tamm et al Just arrived home and saw your posting regarding the NR stamps and first day covers - if you would like to donate these to the GNR website and are willing to post them over to the UK I can certainly use them - we have had quite a number of scans sent in over the years, some have been posted on the message board, others await the New GNR where I can organise them for display better than I can do right now. This applies to old banknotes and coins too - we have quite a large collection waiting to go on display. If you are willing to do this please hit the contact button and I'll send you my snail-mail address. Heather - you've been sleeping on the job again, report to my office please. Talking about sleepy, has anyone ever seen Craig at 6.00am? Bwana Sweety? I'm sure he put down the fish for a few hours. And here's the photo of the giant scorpion that Heather snagged shortly after it got Craig in the Lower region, I mean Zambezi, back in September. Bob Eglington has been busy and sent in these aerial shots of Mazabuka and Broken Hill Also to add to our Maps page is a two part map of Mazabuka. Bob has also sent in a CD full of photos of trees, bushes and shrubbery and suggested we post a few of these up now and again and test the GNR membership out. I will wait until our resident tongululu experts, Hong Kong Ron and Philip Pain get back from wherever they have gone. Philip - note I have never given you a nickname - you don't need one. Bob, thanks again for the brilliant contributions you continue to make to our website. Seems most of the Nkana Kitwe contingent are also asleep, these images might waken some of them up and get some of them start posting again. All the images above were scanned from Rhokana Reviews on loan from David Gray. While I was thumbing through one of the magazines I came across this shot of 4th Avenue Nkana, photo taken from the direction of Harrison Street (which I believe is maybe now under the slag heap) To compare these are the shots I took of the other end of 4th Avenue last year, couple of mine houses included. Quite some time ago there was talk of the "Queens House" on the banks of the Kafue. I found this article. I'm sure if it was being built today they would be using a different name for the building, unless it was in Sydney. Also found this article I have been trying to find for ages - about our own Maz Martin and her yellow MG Maz - I am very impressed. Debbie Stewart I nearly forgot about this one, I saw on a posting you made some time ago that you lived on Geddes Street just down from Riverain, number 149. I passed by your house last September. Paudie & Sue, Standing by for the photos of the nuptuals, congratulations once again. To all the poor sods who have recently passed another birthday, hard luck. That's it from me for now, below are some of the contributions waiting to be posted. Thanks to all who have sent stuff in. Arthur I took these in the two main streets of Kabwe circa 1970 - not all that old but they may bring back memories for some Fr Neil McNicholas Hi Arthur, nice to have you back. Lynne is away for two weeks visiting her Mom and being bored I decided to clean up some junk in boxes around the house and found this old school badge of mine. Thought you might like this pic. for the G.N.R. Cheers Philip Pain Arthur: Inspired by Richard Cain's Zambian Licence, I hereby submit my own much earlier one , no 4012, followed by my wife Karen's no 4011, both issued 2nd October 1965, at Chingola, each costing one pound (prior to kwacha decimalisation), and apparently good forever. Can anyone produce an earlier image of their NR/Zambian licence? Bob Allan Melbourne Arthur Steevens [ Profile ] [ Contact ] Stockport, United Kingdom Monday, January 12, 2004 at 00:16:16 (UTC)