Our Man in Reykjavik

From Great North Road

By: Barry Woodrow

Hi all from sunny Iceland!

I missed NR and the Federation although I guess there was still a lot of the flavour around in the time I lived in Kitwe -- Feb '71 through Jan '79.

Many fond memories of Kitwe -- in particular Kitwe Playing Fields Cricket Club (now a housing estate I'm told), Nkana-Kitwe Arts Society (Kitwe Little Theatre) where I was very active, the Kitwe Club and many other places too numerous to mention just now.

I lived in Nkana-West in 9th Ave for three years, then Adriatic Court opposite Freedom Park (Kent Park to most of you, I guess) for a couple more years, and finally in Riverside.

I remember Mufulira well -- used to glide there in '71-'72 before private flying was shut down as a security risk! Also used to do a lot of my shopping in the supermarket in Muf -- MacCraes I think it was.

Bancroft -- a nice little town (now newly named Chililabombwe). And Kalulushi Gymkhana Club (my first wife, Canadian, was an avid horsewomen... I used to help behind the bar!)

And Luanshya (RADOS) and Chingola Theatre Clubs were frequent hang-outs. And as for good old Kapiri Mposhi -- how many of you saw the big expansion with the glassworks and the Chinese railway to Dar?

Rokana (changed from RHokana by then) wanted me in a hurry so I never did get to sail the promised liner to Durban -- Zambia Airways to Lusaka from London via Rome, Entebbe was my route southbound for the first time.

I got around the country quite a lot in my eight years there -- Livingstone regularly (and Vic Falls Township until the border was finally closed to individuals in Sept '72), Kasama and Kasaba Bay, Mbala (Abercorn as was), Kafue National Park, everywhere on the Copperbelt...

I could tell you lots about the Zambia theatre scene in the 70's (quite a lot of it probably libellous) and probably quite a bit about the Copperbelt in general at that time. I just missed the 1970 Muf mine disaster (tailings dam flood underground) but was there when the explosives plant on the Kitwe-Muf road blew up in December '71. Then there was the Times of Zambia headline of the month award -- such as "Zambia Air Force Pilots take Crash Course"! And about my trip to near Mbala (Abercorn) in a truck to buy 5 tonnes of potatoes (which were still in the ground), how we dug them up (25 casual labourers) and how we got them back to Kitwe (with some difficulty!)

Finally resigned after nearly getting lynched in Lusaka one afternoon when I was minding my own business in Cairo Road and the Rhodesian Air Force came over and bombed one of Nkomo's camps just west of Lusaka.

Nearly four years in Kenya, a year in Nigeria and finally to Iceland 12 years ago to cool off for a while.

How did I end up in Iceland? Simple, really -- my second wife (who I met in Kenya) is Icelandic. As for the Vikings -- they're really quite cultured, except when then set off a a bit of "rape and pillage", which seems to be every Friday night!

So, not really a Rhodie, but like to think of myself as one.

Greetings to all of you from the Winter Wonderland!