A very Special day :)

Today the girl child turned 18!

No longer a child and legally an adult - how time seems to have flown by! Seems not so long ago she was still that little blond, pigtailed girl climbing trees, riding her little shetland pony and singing loudly in the bath :)

Now I look at her and see a beautiful young woman - kind and brave, generous and strong. I see a talented artist, a wicked sense of humour and a strength of character that makes me very proud to be her mother.

Most of all, I see this wonderful person that is my daughter!

Happy Birthday :)

Yes! I saw The Tortoise!

It turns out that a friend of mine , who is a wildlife warden, has The Tortoise living a safe and comfortable life at her house until further notice. So....I not only saw The Tortoise but the tiny skeleton too! :)

Shame, poor thing came to her with the skull (only, very disappointing!) of some medium sized animal GLUED to its back. It was swathed in feathers and other black magical items and was obviously sent as a very important 'final warning' indeed! She tells me this is actually the third tortoise to have been used in this manner (she has them all in her garden) and that they all look as if they have come from the very same witchdoctor/traditional healer and that it is unlikely that the case will be solved as the police are rather scared and would prefer for it all to just go away.

She has promised copies of the pictures she took when the tortoise arrived so, as soon as I get them I will post them here for you.

Isn't it exciting to know a 'celebrity' ?

Another day in the life...

So much to do, so little time to get it all done so it seems! The Jayne family are moving yet again, and this time it's to the other side of the world - not just a little further north in Africa!

The final decision has been made - we are moving to the UK and expect to be gone by January. It's been a tough decision but, I really do believe, the right decision for us at this time in our lives. The girl child is ready to start a new phase in her education and this means an Art College in the UK. The two boys are already settled over there and this mother feels a need to be with her whole family now - there are no more Jayne family members left here in Africa, so time to move.

I will still keep in touch with the happenings in Zambia and I will continue to post about them but there will also be a whole new exciting phase of my life starting - in Eastbourne, UK! One part of me is excitedly looking forward to the change in direction, the other is clinging rather apprehensively to the old.

Whatever the future brings, you can be sure I will share it with you here - on my blog :)

A tale of a tortoise and a pigeon...

Ndola family in bizarre find

By Times Reporter

NDOLA residents were yesterday shocked when they found a tortoise carrying a tiny unidentified animal skeleton and a letter demanding payment of over K38 million from a local businessman. The tortoise was discovered by some people going for work around 06:00 hours outside the gate of 7 President Avenue and carrying a letter addressed to the occupant of the house. The workers then decided to inform the occupants of the house and later Ndola Central police station about the tortoise which kept on moving around outside the black gate. Copperbelt Province police chief, Anthoniel Mutentwa said police were keeping the tortoise as further investigations were still being carried out.

“The letter is meant for a local businessman Mumena Mushinge written in a foreign language. As at now all I can say is that we have made efforts to get in touch with Mr Mushinge but he is out of town,” he said. Mr Mutentwa said police would finally decide the fate of the tortoise and the unidentified tiny animal skeleton after completing their investigations.

The letter which was written in Swahili a native language of Tanzania reminded Mr Mushinge to pay back the K38,480,000 debt as promised. The author of the letter did not put his name but only left his phone number, a number believed to be serviced by Vodacom in Tanzania.

A Times crew that rushed to the house found the workers and police officers guarding the house. At Central Police Station, Ndola district police chief, Stella Libongani and her men had a tough time to disperse the crowd, which besieged the station wanting to have a glimpse of the tortoise from an unnamed businessman from Sumbawanga in Tanzania. Part of the crowd outside the police station starting chanting ‘‘we want to see the tortoise! We want to see the tortoise! Give us chance to see the tortoise!”

After persistent pressure from the uncompromising crowd, police decided to display the tortoise to the curious on-lookers around 08:00 hours. Mr Mutentwa also confirmed that police were also investigating a similar incident in which a pigeon delivered a letter under suspicious circumstances to house number 14 Katuba street in Luanshya. He said a team of police officers from Luanshya was still pursuing the matter.

A genuine report from our local Newspaper - thought it may amuse and entertain :)

Beautiful Zambia!

Night falls over the mighty Zambezi.
Gentle lapping water on the river bank.
The sky in hues of orange and gold,
plays tribute to the night

And here I am again....a beggin and a pleadin :)

Remember, remember to VOTE in November! Gunpowder, treason and plot!

Well maybe that's a bit strong but please carry on voting oh faithful friends - as of today, the new count starts and this humble (ever so humble!) little blog stands yet another chance of getting into the Top 10 - BUT only with your very much appreciated help.

Now wouldn't that be SO cool? :)

SO - CLICK HERE TO VOTE
or you can use the handy dandy link , top left on my sidebar :)
THANKS!

For every time..... there is a Season....

And in Zambia, it is the rainy season! Well almost! We have had a few thundery showers in October which is a little early but has been very pleasant and has settled the dust a little at least. Just hope it doesn't portend a bad season - last year we had an enormous amount of rain, with even a few rivers flooding. There were days when I wondered if we would ever see the sun again - it was way too much!

So here's to the start of a normal rainy season, green grass and lots of mud!