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In August Alex returned to the UK to try and make some long term decisions . . . I spent most of August in the UK trying to take the decision as to whether to commit myself to Zambia for the longer term or whether to call the whole thing quits in March next year when my lease expires here at Nyala Tents. The flat in Bloomsbury felt like a cage and I found it hard to concentrate on the important decisions I had to make yet knew in my heart that there is nothing for me in London now. Within this short span of eighteen months I have established a new life of sorts on my little patch of Africa. My two hectares of land have become more of a home than I ever anticipated and I will be greatly distressed to leave it. Yet it is not mine to keep. On the other hand the flat is now a liability. It costs money in service charges, rates and bills to keep empty and I cannot let it again for another year because of the specific clauses in the lease that forbid me to do so. So there I would be, pacing up and down my London cage, looking out at the view – an unoccupied flat in the apartment block opposite with no neighbours to spy on and dream up my own “Rear Window” fantasy. The agent said that there would be no difficulty selling the flat but in the end I did not let it go yet. I had to wait till I got back to Africa to get that perspective again. This indecision has cost me a great deal of money because now I shall have to return to the UK in October to finalise my decisions. According to the British Airways website I shall personally be contributing 1.27 tonnes of carbon dioxide towards global warming with this extra trip too. I am not being a particularly brilliant conservationist right now. When I returned to Lusaka and checked in at the Intercontinental Hotel, I was greeted like a long lost friend, upgraded to a suite, given a bottle of wine and generally pampered. If I had not made a decision yet, it was pretty much made for me then. I am basically a simple soul. My future is here, certainly for the next few years and now the question is how to make it work? |
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© Afrikeye 1999 - 2007 (certain items under permission of original copyright owner) |
