March 2006

Alex begins a second year in Africa and doesn't seem to be thinking much about the book he is supposed to be writing . . .

Thursday, 02 March 2006

"I am sitting on BA254 to London typing on my laptop in a squashed up economy seat. It is not the most comfortable of positions but there is little else to do on this daytime flight. I have no interest in watching television and so just nap, read and now type.

"Chris Liedenberg is sitting behind me on the other side of the bulkhead. He is off to the States for a marketing trip and to catch a bit of skiing. Because the Chongwe House is so far behind schedule and a whole bunch of magazines are going to be there taking pictures of it next week the Chongwe River Camp people are a bit upset with him for running out on them at a critical time.

"The plane is, as always, completely full but no one else I know is on it. I expect there will be a few on the return leg as the timing for that will be bringing this year’s batch of UK staff for the lodges."

Friday, 17 March 2006

"I did not write anything in here while I was in the UK. It was, quite simply, a difficult trip. To raise funds for the coming year, I needed to sell some New Star shares. I thought that this would be a pretty straightforward procedure but it turned out to be a lot more difficult than I anticipated. Because Clydesdale no longer does share dealing I had to try and open a dealing account at a stockbroker. None of the walk-in share shops of the Thatcher era exist any more and there is now only one stockbroker that deals on behalf of the little guy. By the time I got all the paper together for Killik and Company, including utility bills and so forth to prove my ownership and residence at Russell Court, it was almost too late. I had to sign a blank stock transfer form and hand over the share certificate. I can only hope that it all goes smoothly and that I do eventually get the money...

"Last night I was back in my own bed at last and can truly say, having gone back to London, that this feels like home now."

Sunday, 26 March 2006

"It seems that this month I am not coming to this diary very often. This is partly because I have been rushing around in circles and secondly that those circles have not been particularly interesting to write about.

"Phase two is now underway with the guys honing the carpentry skills on my new water tower. This is to be a wood construction of gumpoles and mupapa which will stand three metres high and so needs to be a very sturdy construction. The guys do not have many tools to work with and it is going to be a long slow task but fortunately the one thing we do have is time.

"We have also got the bases for the satellite system and base set radio. Fortunately I remembered the stacks of building sand round at CC Camp otherwise there could have been a bit of embarrassment as my team regarded their newly dug holes."

Monday, 27 March 2006

"The guys are happy to be working on something constructive again. It is much more fulfilling than the daily chores that have become so routine. There will be a lot of work for them if things do go to plan. They are turning up for work early now which is catching me off guard and I need to catch that enthusiasm and use it.

"One of things I have been looking forward to for months is the melons being ready and now they are we have too much. We have three massive melons which are going to be a problem to eat before they go off and so I am going to have to give some away.

"I got some good news this morning; my shares are ready to sell. I just need now to decide how much to sell to ensure a safe few months before I start to worry again. Actually, I’ll worry anyway as my plans do not fit my wallet anyway. Jones Katiyo has suggested that I take on the whole site which is very tempting. To develop the site to a standard that I deem acceptable could take quite a few thousand dollars and I suppose I could go with the begging bowl to some donors but I hate handling other peoples’ money."

Tuesday, 28 March 2006

"The bush telegraph is a wonderful and frustrating thing. Word has got around that I am planning works and, every few hours, people turn up asking for a job. I have now got to the two second assessment where I judge a person on his appearance and posture before even speaking to them. As unfair as this is, it seems as effective a way as any to judge who will or will not be a good worker.

"Anyway, it looks as though I have a team already, three casual workers, two builders, my staff, and CC staff who I will temporarily hire as casuals...

"I had a bat in my tent last night. It had somehow got confused and it took ages to get the poor thing to fly out again."

Wednesday, 29 March 2006

"I am not happy with the water tower. The guys have built it in too much of a hurry without caring for the finish of the job and its appearance. It should hold up and be strong but good enough is not perfect and I do not know how to get a sense of pride in their work instilled into the team.

"These guys are not casuals and it will be even harder when the casuals join up next month to start work next door. I will only be supervising from here and will not be able to keep my eye on them all the time. That is essentially the problem, I do not want to have to watch over them all the time but if Kelvin, my supposed number two, cannot see what I want how am I supposed to delegate? Maybe I have reached the limit of their capabilities and they actually cannot do better than this but I really do not see that as being the case. I think it is more that these guys do only think of this as a job and not as anything more substantial than that. There is no reason why they should after all."

Thursday, 30 March 2006

"I could not get to sleep last night because of the water tower. I have decided that we have to take it down and start again. Just OK is not going to make it this time, this is going to have to be as good as we can make it.

"My design is simple so it should not be too hard for the guys to put it together. The question is whether I can instil a sense of pride into the workers. I have advised Kelvin and I think he has got the message that we will do this again and again until it is right.

"In the meantime, the final rains do not seem to want to leave. There has been drizzle on and off for the last couple of days which will not be good for the road. It was my plan to drive up to Chirundu on the 1^st April when Patros goes for his off days but maybe I will leave it till later. Actually the 5^th April looks better being a week day so I can at least hope to get my always low beer supply replenished."

Friday, 31 March 2006

"This rain is persistent. It started to rain again gently during the early hours of the morning and the day dawned grey and overcast. It is also a bit chilly.

"Anna, next door has now gone down with malaria taking over from Adrian who has just come out of a bout. It is a bit surprising that CLZ has no treatment in their well stocked medicine cabinets but fortunately I have a course of Coartem that I can lend them. I just hope I do not go down with it next as all I have left is Sulphadar which apparently is a horrible treatment."

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