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Hello, I found this old photo while cleaning a cupboard and remembered seeing a burnt out wreck from Lusaka last Aug on the GNR.Taken in Dr. Damie st. in ´66 this was a P.V. 544 with a B18 engine and twin carbs. A classmate, Colin Gray and I once reached 100mph with this car on the Mufulira road. My parents still don´t know. Here is the same model this year. These old cars are still quite common around here although beeing around 40 years old. Very cold Castle. An interesting signpost. I hope these photos are appropriate for the board. Regards Hans Mattsson Uppsala For the more widespread of you GNRers, including those from Leicester, who haven’t heard of the High Peak, this is a typical shack that the local hillbillies live in……. John Evans (Not me… I live in Chester!) Here`s firstly a photo of Dad, Mum, myself on car bonnet, Bob kneeling holding Butch, (no Linda not That Butch) taken as I remember in Parklands Lusaka around 1963. The next two photo`s are of the Marrionettes with me on drums. Lets see if anybody can identify the players? Mum as she is now. She luvvves trees! Angie the wife in our back garden! I swear, honest, really. OK I lie! Me as I am now, worse luck. Wish I was skinny again. Rosley Gillies Hi Artie: Jilly Aplin has asked me to send this photo to you. It is coming from me as she was not able to cull it from several that were in a batch together, so I did it for her. I am not sure what she wanted posted with it, but this is what she sent to me: "Tiger was caught in the Chobe River – weighed 6.5 kilos. I think that’s about 16 and a half pounds." As with all other fisherpeople I know, she has exaggerated the converted size. 6.5 kilos is actually 14.33 pounds. (grin) I hope it comes out okay as I had to lighten up the background considerably to make the photo clearer. It must have been taken indoors, but unlike your outdoor one held right up against the camera lens to give it the allusion of being a large fish, hers as you can see is kept close to the body. Infact, I think she finally stumbled over backwards under the weight.. (grin) Take care and I hope you are able to post this some time soon. Bye for now Linda Hayes Arthur Steevens [ Profile ] [ Contact ] Stockport, United Kingdom Monday, February 23, 2004 at 22:08:33 (UTC)

Dennis Pigrum, John Bourne, Albert Calderbank, Carl Davies Best wishes on your birthday THE CAPE TOWN CAPER Herewith the photos of the Cape Town Caper which was very ably and effciently organised by Charlie Cartmill. Well done Charlie ! Hover your mouse over the eagle's eye and you will find details of who is in the photo And a flag you will all remember. Thanks for bringing it along Skatie. Present were Tess and Charles Cartmill (BH) Theo Mavronikolas (BH) Ron and Clifford Clibborn-Dyer (Lusaka) David and Anne Gray (C/Belt) Mike and Paula Barron (BH) Ron and Jennifer Sayer (Lusaka) Rowena (nee Cartmill) and Roger Tiffin (BH) Tony and Linda Weinand (BH) Jill Mortimer (nee Deippe (sp?) (BH) Ian Logan (BH) Patrick Barron (BH) Skattie Fourie (C/Belt) Peter and Stephanie (?) Nupen (C/Belt) Alf and Felicity Vismer (BH) Sharon Panicco (BH) Barry Jackson (C/Belt)and his wife whose name I can't remember (sorry) The Waldrons whose names I also can't remember (sorry again) Barry Freed and his wife (BH and C/Belt) Also have a couple of other photos which I have been struggling to find the time to post: Geoff Gogle in Swakopmund And these photos, sent to me by Bob Allan, and scanned from "Steam Locomotives of Rhodesia Railways" by Rev Edward Hamer. This book is available from Books Of Zimbabwe On-Line On the subject of books and railways - when I was in South Africa last week, I bought a book entitled 'The Cape To Cairo Railway' by George Tabor (published by Genta Publications Email gentauk AT yahoo,co.uk ISBN 0-9544847-0-3). It not only covers the railway, but also the river routes and the hotels associated with the railways such as the Victoria Falls Hotel. KATHY SMITH That is one of the most important tips for making koeksisters - the temperature of the syrup. This should not only be coolish, it should be freezing. When (which is not very often) I make koeksisters, I make the syrup the day before and put it in the freezer for at least 24 hours. Then, when frying the koeksisters, I split the syrup into a number of different bowls which I rotate after each batch in the fryer. When the koeksisters are plunged into the syrup, they need to hiss as they draw in the syrup. I'm also fairly certain that the traditional recipe was a yeast dough rather than using baking powder - it gives a much lighter dough to absorb the syrup. Unfortunately, I don't know what I have done with my recipe book that has my recipe in it. When I find it, I'll let you know. They store very well in the freezer and can be eaten as soon as you take them out because the syrup does not freeze solid. JANE TODD Protests were about an increase in the PAYE rates in our last budget, but it was carried out in a very orderly manner. ROSSLEY GILLIES The Comano family still own the Honda agency in Lusaka, and it is probably still in the same place - Kalambo Road (the road going west from northend roundabout) Heather Chalcraft (née Bender) [ Profile ] [ Contact ] Lusaka, Zambia Friday, February 20, 2004 at 05:36:55 (UTC)

Northerners ! Arriving this week in the post was a Cd containing the photos taken by David Gray last September when he travelled home to Nkana Kitwe after a long absence similar to my own. The photographs really belong to the poignant words Dave posted on the 3rd October last year to give them all a true meaning through his eyes and thoughts. To this end I am re-posting Dave's narrative and his photographs together. His trip home, although to Nkana Kitwe, could relate to any of us here going home too. Dave, my thanks - you did what I could not. Please accept my apologies if I mis-named any of your photos or put them in the wrong context. Arthur Home Again! I have just returned from an absolutely fabulous "Lark" and full marks to Heather and her team for really efficient planning and logistics. Livingstone and the Falls were tremendous with the African Queen cruise and dinner being the highlight. The braai was equally enjoyable but in a more muted way. The band reduced volume so I could converse without the possibility of losing my voice. I met up with Steve and Margaret de Lange plus son Art and daughter-in- law Cathy, and had a great time catching up! We certainly covered a lot of ground! Sunday saw Des, Fiona, Johnny, Franz and I being driven to Ndola by super driver Keith Slone. Next morning we collected Voyager cars and set off to brave the police road blocks, the draconian traffic regulations and traffic lights which could hardly be seen due to the use of low powered frosted bulbs and the absence in most cases of the red/amber/green lenses!!! From Livingstone and on the road home What can I say? Yes, it has changed sometimes almost out of all recognition. The once dense forests between Ndola and Kitwe have been stripped out and converted to charcoal. The Kafue bridge is within the city limits now and looks bare and forlorn without the bush around it. There is grinding poverty and many buildings look run down and threadbare. But there is also a positive spirit evident. I kicked off my pilgrimage with a visit to the Kitwe Boys High School and found to my surprise that the Head Boys "Roll of Honour" was still in place and being updated annually. My name was there for the first year of 1957. The headmaster Mr. Mporokosa asked me to return next day to address the Assembly. This I gladly agreed to. I then visited the old Frederick Knapp School which is now called the Rokana Medium School. I saw the class room where I first attended Sub A and noted that the brass bell from one of the old "Coffee Pot" Mine Locomotives was still in place. This is amazing as anything metal takes wings and is sold for scrap. Around Nkana Kitwe, Town Centre, Frederick Knapp School, Kitwe Boys High, Anglican Church, Rhokana and surrounds I then went looking for our first house No. 54/4th Avenue. Alas, most of the houses between 2nd and 6th Avenues from Club to Harrison Streets have been pulled down to make way for the new cobalt plant. So Emily, June and Margaret (Jocks), your old home No 46/4th Avenue has disappeared completely. I next visited the Mine Club which is sadly falling into disrepair. I met up with the barman and together we climbed to the top of the tower from where an excellent panorama of the mine was visible. The old swimming pool is partly filled with green water - the diving boards have disappeared. I had a Fanta at the massive bar counter and watched cockroaches scuttle by. The barman said that business hotted up round about 4 PM and that he normally sold 120 quarts of Chibuku. The snooker room is intact but no one knows where to find the light switch!!! I was told that the owner of the mine mess had the key to the old Rhokana Cinema so I attempted to get a look inside. No luck, the owner was in Livingstone and no one knew where the keys were. The Mine mess stopped feeding miners some six years back and is currently winding down operations. I drove up and down the avenues remembering where friends once lived. I photographed David Thomas' old home on 3rd Avenue and noted that Philip Pains first house, immediately behind, had been knocked down and only the foundations remained. Are you sure you didn't blow it up Philip - is that why you had to move next door??? The Gothan home is also just a foundation (as are many houses throughout the town) The new owners of the houses often incorporate a small sales outlet on the front boundary in an effort to eke out a better existance. My next port of call was the mine cemetery - I had in mind to visit the grave of a school friend of mine, Ann Baske, who died tragically at the intersection of Club and 7th Avenue when she failed to stop at the stop sign there. I couldn't find her grave as all the brass name plates have been stolen. Sad. I did find our second house No.1 Stanley Street although it is cracking badly and has been unoccupied for two years. Des Kenny's house next door (No.3) is occupied and in good order. Market stalls have mushroomed along Central Street between 21st and 23rd Avenues. It had been a long, hot day and I then repaired to the Copperfields Guesthouse and slept like a log. Next morning saw me at Kitwe Boys High ready to address the assembly. We gathered in the staff room (the old library) and waited for the teachers to drift in. When sufficient had arrived we marched on to the stage, I was introduced by the head master and I launced into my address, a stirring piece on the benefits of obtaining a good education. I spoke for 10 to 15 minutes and sat down to thunderous aplause from the 1200 students packing the hall. I could get used to this!!! I next visited the Saint Michaels and All Angels Anglican Church. Apart from the high concrete wall running round the front of the church and dividing it from the teaming taxi rank in front, St. Michaels has changed little. I wanted to relive my early Christian 'walk' and to tell them of a very special church service which had taken place two days previously on the other side of the world. My good friend David Thomas had celebrated 50 years of his church music ministry at St. Margarets, Birkdale, Queensland. It had all started in St. Michaels in 1953 when Mrs Lilian Burns the church organist, had identified David's talent and soon had him playing for sunday school and Evensong. 50 years later David Thomas is still at it - Congratulations! I looked at the church organ - it hadn't worked in years I was told. The piano too is in a sorry state being badly out of tune and with keys pointing in a variety of directions. They do have a drum set and I'm certain that their services really go with a swing! Parking in town is a bit of an eye opener. Regent Street is now an enclosed parking area closed off at the now nonexistent Astra end and requiring payment of K 1 000 on exit. The department stores have long gone, their place taken by many smaller shops. Shop Rite has replaced the OK Bazaars. One can still buy a foot powered treadle sewing machine - not a Singer but a "Flying Dove" made in China. I had wanted to visit the station but couldn't find a place to park amongst the teaming taxi multitudes. I visited the pump station - houses everywhere! I went to the Kafue bridge and took a picture. A distant charcoal burner took exception to being included in the picture and was all agrieved. He demanded payment to make himself feel better so knowing that these things can turn nasty I agreed to give him K 5 000 if he posed for me. Amazing how his manner improved. Charcoal costs K 8 500 a large bag. I had no luck getting the coffin makers of Wusikili to allow me to photograph their labours so they will now never be famous and featured in the GNR! Coffins cost K125 000 each. The AIDS pandemic is making itself felt with HIV + numbers at the 50% level. I had quite forgotten the beauty of the bush in the pockets that remain along the road to the Mindola Dam. The lush shades of green and the occasional splash of red as the trees burst into leaf in anticipation of the rains which should break the heat at the end of the month. The cicadas were in full song and I was transported back to those long gone days of my childhood. My final duty in Kitwe was to visit the Rotary Club of Central Kitwe which is poised to celebrate its 50th Anniversary. 45 years ago they gave me a small bursary to attend Varsity and for the last 25 years I have been "paying it back" in service to the community. I exchanged Club Banners and formally thanked them for the bursary then took my leave and joined the remnants of the Larkers at the Mona Lisa restaurant for a final dinner. I had one final thing to do in Zambia - I wanted to find the old family farm near Mazabuka and to try to locate the graves of my Grand Parents and Uncle Jack. I flew Zambian Airways to Lusaka and picked up another hire car. I finally located Nega Nega and found that the single Indian Shop had mushroomed into a main street which even boasted a night club! After a false start I homed in on familiar hills and using roads covered with talcum powder dust I finally made it to the old "Honiton Farm" homestead. The buildings have been remodelled but I located the old generator room and the foundations of the dining and sitting room. I set off to find the graves and immediately ran into problems - my childhood memories told me to look in a certain area but the graves were not there. Some children passed and I tried to talk to them but they didn't understand. I was picking my way back to the car, ready to accept defeat when the children's father dashed up. Was I looking for graves? He knew where they were!!! I followed him to an unfamiliar grove of trees and there I discovered the graves of my Grand Father and Grand Mother and my Uncle Jack who had been killed by a crocodile some 70 years ago. The kindly farmer's 10 hectare subdivision of the old farm contained the graves and he had been keeping them clear. Thank you for that kindness - you are one of natures true gentlemen. Nega-Nega My pilgrimage to Zambia was at an end. I had achieved much of what I had set out to do and had enjoyed every second of my brief week back in the land of my childhood. Things are certainly different but all is not doom and gloom. The spirit of the people will pull them through. Thank you Heather and Keith for your many kindnesses. Thank you to Craig and Arthur - it was a pleasure meeting you. Thanks to all the new friends I have met Des, Fiona, Johnny and others too numerous to mention - we will keep in touch. And to my old friends Steve and Margaret thanks for that trip down memory lane. David Gray South Africa Friday, October 03, 2003 at 18:15:58 (UTC) Arthur Steevens [ Profile ] [ Contact ] Stockport, United Kingdom Thursday, February 12, 2004 at 23:31:29 (UTC)

Craig OK,OK, you caught the biggest tiger fish on the first day, but here's a photo Shadrack took of one of the smaller ones I caught and we threw back on the second day. The fish were in a lot better mood when they discovered you'd gone up river in a canoe. Any further arguments about this and I will invoke one of my Crocodile Man guarantees. Here's Craig and his large tiger, Shadrack looking on. David Hoyle Your quote "I used to have a photograph of myself holding what I would have said was identical to yours but the wife ate the photograph in a fit of pique" I say no more. My tiger was bigger, obviously. Linda Nothing is bigger in Texas, vundu catfish, or tigers. Arthur Arthur Steevens [ Profile ] [ Contact ] Stockport, United Kingdom Sunday, February 08, 2004 at 22:25:32 (UTC)

Northerners ! Back on the GNR again for a flying visit to catch up on some e-mail and waiting images to be posted. I came home to find Denise Horton had sent me a small package in the post, I dusted of the ricin and found instead stamps and some photos of Kitwe. I'm posting up Denise's photos for now, stamps to go to the archive for future use. Here are the photos from Denise. Denise - thank you for these especially around the town centre which I missed on my visit in September - Arthur Hi Arthur, Talking of "Tickie", Here is "Tickie" having his newspaper (Northern News?) set alight. He was a great favourite of the children and it was a sad day when it was reported that he had died. This made me smile when I read the small print. Regards Mike Wilson Thanks Mike - I also scratched out this photo from a 1955 Rhokana Review The Zambian Airways option looks brilliant in comparison with what I got for my money from British Airways! Arthur Of interest? Source unknown but looks familiar. Peter Hills Peter - looks like that shot was taken on the Wirral - a well known haunt of kidnappers and scallies. Hi Arthur Barbara D and Pappy have been discussing a Triumph Spitfire so I thought I would send you a photo of mine - can't remember if it is the first or second one. But I think this photo was taken in our front garden (about 1975) 42 Amazon Crescent. Slán Sue Coughlan Talking of cars, does anyone from Kitwe remember this car? (Arthur, it’s not a great picture, so I won’t be surprised if you don’t post it) Jilly Dear Arthur, In the early 70's for 4 Kwachas I remember being issued with a driving licence after driving my Landrover from the Kabwe Police Station (Shell Road) down to the high street, park and then back to the Station. At the time K4 was worth nearly £3 (Stg). 1970 Kabwe N.C.C.M. (Nchanga Consolidated Copper Mines). Boarding House Road, Accommodation for single gentlemen. 1971 Self as the proud owner of a ex Army 1957 Series 2 Landrover 2.5Litre as rebuilt by Dougy Brandt ex NCCM Kabwe. 1972. Self outside of Meikles Hotel, Salisbury. Wearing my favorite gear i.e. bush boots, knee length socks and what was called the Independance Suit (3 piece safari outfit). Absolute fluke, but I caught this 4½lb bream from the bank at Mulungushi Dam (and yes there is a story behind this but I will spill later it later provided there is an interest) but it was the biggest catch of the year, actually upset the Kabwe Mine Manager at the time. Does anybody from Kabwe remember or have a story about Bunny (Barlin spl.?). Thank you, David Hoyle David - not bad for a first try - especially as you're from BH. Good fish, all gums - no teeth, but weighed correctly on the Imperial scale, and I'm now waiting for the story. Sue - I would have given my eye teeth for a Triumph Spitfire - you had two? How come ? You lived over in Kitwe. Jilly - Only posted that tiny photo of a FORD Escort cos I'm still waiting for that pic of your "giant" metric tigerfish. Still waiting. Lynthia - good to see you posting again - we missed you loads - did you see that pic I posted of you last month? Lastly, Bob - with a name like yours I'd be very careful with your Artiejokes. Sark Arthur Steevens [ Profile ] [ Contact ] Stockport, United Kingdom Thursday, February 05, 2004 at 22:45:15 (UTC)

Heather I am enclosing a few pictures that we took in Kitwe. Margaret de Lange 1. Catholic Church - Kitwe 2. Regent Street from Barclays Bank 3. Regent Street from Post Office side 4. St. Michaels Church Hall - on Friday nights there used to be a session there, today it is a school or day care centre. 5. St. Michaels Church Hall from the outside. Heather Chalcraft (née Bender) [ Profile ] [ Contact ] Lusaka, Zambia Wednesday, February 04, 2004 at 06:41:04 (UTC)