Morning Mirror 30 - 28th November 2002 |
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REPORT BACK ON THE WARTHOG EXPRESS Just back! It has been a very successful day on the Warthog Special organised to commemorate the 30th anniversary of the opening of the Railway Museum. The train was packed, with over 500 passengers for the short trip to Khami. It left Bulawayo just five minutes late and went like a bat out of hell to past Westgate and then got into its stride to arrive five minutes early. The wait at Khami was longer than scheduled passengers were enjoying the trip and unconcerned by this. Many were watching the manoeuvres of the 12th Class engine, No. 190, driven by Driver Ndlovu with its special commemorative plate on the front, and the return trip was uneventful. Although organised in three weeks the response was very good with queues actually on Friday at the Library for tickets and others arriving very early to secure their places. We had a full train of 9 very mixed coaches, 2 very economy class with their squat pans! Two dining cars, 1 second class sleeper and 4 other economy class, clean but rather scruffy and all exit doors had no locks and swung open all the time, somewhat dangerous with so many children but all children were very well behaved fortunately. However, for a longer trip we would try to ensure better security in this respect but we hear that theft of locks is a very big problem. The children were very excited and enjoyed hearing their echo when they screamed as the train went through a tunnel. For many it was their first experience of being on a train, let alone a steam train. We had advised for people to bring their own refreshments but Jabulani, one of our Members, was kept very busy selling cool drinks,freezits, choc. biscuits and chips and had in fact run out of drinks by the time we arrived at Khami. I must say there was a festive mood and a sense of relief, I felt, that people had a chance to get out and enjoy themselves and get away from the all engulfing sense of gloom prevailing at this time. We received very vocal thanks and applause as the train arrived back in Bulawayo with many passengers asking when we can run the next train and suggesting how best to advertise it. The braai fires were well used and the cool drinks at the Museum disappeared rapidy and the Museum staff were all smiles and expressed the wish that the place could be like that more often. Many blackened faces were proof how the children were enjoying themselves climbing over the exhibits and running riot. Mr John Fitzpatrick made a short speech and received the stolen and returned plates on behalf of the Historical Committee. Last year one of the "Friends" in England noticed engine works plates being offered at an auction and recognised them as having emanated from the Railway Museum! He contacted Members here and the NRZ and Interpol were involved in stopping them being sold and ensuring that they were returned. Mr Fitzpatrick is quite favourably inclined to the idea of a Santa Special to Figtree if we can get it organised in time. No peace for the wicked! This Figtree idea has been scuppered twice so far this year so here's hoping it might come off this time. The intention is that this is run with the co-operation of farmers at Figtree who would provide stalls, entertainment etc. On my return I found I had acquired a rather nice floral china plate and a very nice dessert spoon obviously from a good set. Anyone wanting to claim these please contact Juliet Rickwood - Tel: 255611 or e-mail: rickwood@gatorzw.com
FROM A ZIMBABWEAN SON TO DAD WITH LOVE Dear Dad, I really enjoyed talking to you the other night at the Harare Club and appreciated your visit and the time you spent with me - it was like those old times again. As I mentioned that night, the hardest thing about you folks being in Bulawayo and us being so far away in Headlands is not being able to ask your advice or not being able to ask your opinion or how you coped with a very similar situation in 1980. Our main concerns now, as yours were, are for our kid's futures - How will we keep our schools open? How do we maintain a decent standard of health care? Are we to be the only ones left at the end of this ? How will we afford to feed the kids, let alone dress them? These are a few of the nagging questions that torment us each day, more so than the likely hood of us losing our farm and our home!! And yet with all these negatives, we have no desire or wish to leave. This is our home and country and we need to make our future here work for ourselves and our kids. Maybe I'm lazy, but I still believe that it is easier here than over seas to bring up functional children who won't be exposed to "1st world life" here in our little backwoods country. Perhaps I'm more fortunate than some, thanks to you parents, in that I've been to Aussie with the Boy Scouts to attend the Scout Jamboree, farmed in Canada, visited America, worked in England played rugby for CBC in Ireland, stopped over in Portugal while on Martin Sanderson and Erith Harris's School tours and toured extensively in Southern Africa - Kenya, Malawi, Namibia, Zambia, Botswana with yourself and the Boy Scouts and recently spent some time in South Africa. I have fished in Mozambique, the Zambesi and local waters and have hunted in the Valley so I've got a pretty good idea as to what our and those countries have to offer me and my family. There is no doubt in my mind that we could settle overseas, and make a go of it, but I also know that I would never truly be happy, and my kids would never lead the carefree life that I can offer them here. I still believe things will come right, not right as we knew it but right as it is meant to be, and so I want to stick it out to the end or the new beginning. I'm pretty sure that the misgivings we have were much the same as yours in 1980 and beyond, but I thank you for "sticking it out" and letting me have the life and education I've had thus far. I have no regrets for having lived in Zim all my life and I only hope that one day my kids can say the same. I have just received my Section 7 which is Governments answer to my appeal against acquisition. We withdrew the appeal when agreed to subdivided so it just goes to show how the system works!!!!!! I will let you all know how things go from here. Love from all of us. Cc - a special thanks for having the forethought to let us kids learn the African languages - it must have cost you a fortune at todays exchange rate for every poem, story or song you paid our domestic staff to teach us. Speaking both languages fluently has stood me in good
stead both on the farm, in business and socially. I wish that all
Makiwas would take the opportunity to learn to speak at least one of our
languages while they are young. How can we understand and be respected
by our fellow people if we can't even communicate with them ?
Plumtree School OP Society - Eclipse Programme Monday 2nd December, 2002. Busters / Brass Monkey Zambezi ‘Eclipse’ Bar
Opens.20.30 21.15 Light musical entertainmen 0830 0930 Thanksgiving – Chapel Buster’s / Brass Monkey will man 4 x Zambezi Lager “Eclipse” Bars at the field. School exhibits open all day (Senior pupils will man
these) Swimming Pools open all day – Interact Soft Drinks stand at Pool deck, and at Gaul Lawns. School Interact Club to run two tours during the day, times to be announced. 1730 Astronomical Society Presentation on the Eclipse Phenomenon – Lloyd House front Lawns. 1900 OP Spit Braai Dinner to be served outside Beit Hall – followed by full Social Function in school quad. Commercial guests welcome at $ 500 per head covert charge. Musical Entertainment – 2 live bands. 2 x Buster’s / Brass Monkey Zambezi Lager ‘Eclipse’ Bar open – Late Licence. Wednesday 4th Coffee and nibbles available – Athletics Track;
Eclipse viewing area 0928 Eclipse ends 1000 OP Brunch at Hammond Hall Dining Room. Buster’s / Brass Monkey Zambezi Lager ‘Eclipse’ Bar opens at Hammond Hall quad. 1400 Disperse, depart for Bulawayo. NB: There will be supervised entertainment at the ART BLOCK for ‘little-ees’ up to the ages of 8/9 from 1900 to 2200 on Tuesday evening for a modest charge. This will probably be in the form of suitable videos. Plumtree School Interact will be organizing a dance and ‘Coke and Chip’ evening in the HAMMOND HALL QUAD from 1900 – 2300, for the 9/10 year olds to 15 year-olds for a modest charge. COZ (Tina Pigors) is taking the Commercial Bookings for
Hostels and Campsites - Byo coz@gatorzzw.com
or Byo Telephone 242298,
243064. There is still quite a lot of room available, very reasonable
costs. Meals are available through Hester Venter (afternoons and
evenings) call Byo Telephone 246634 - these can all be pre-paid. Full
Bar service available throughout the programme. Commercial guests will
be welcome to join in the various functions - some will have a nominal
entrance charge.
WOMEN AND CONCERNED CITIZENS OF BULAWAYO LET US ALL JOIN TOGETHER LET US MARCH TOGETHER FOR POSITIVE CHANGE FOR KNOWLEDGE FOR THE WORLD TO KNOW .When….. 3 December 2002 It's Not The Caffeine That Raises Blood Pressure DALLAS, Nov. 19 – People who enjoy the occasional decaf latte may be getting more of a lift than they know, scientists report in today's rapid access issue of Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association. Swiss scientists studying caffeine's effects in a small group of people report markedly elevated blood pressure and increased nervous system activity when occasional coffee drinkers drank a triple espresso, regardless of whether or not it contained caffeine. Surprisingly, people who drank coffee on a regular basis showed increased stimulation of sympathetic nerve pathways – but no increase in blood pressure. This is the first time such disparities in reactions to coffee have been reported, says lead researcher Roberto Corti, M.D., a cardiologist at University Hospital in Zurich. The results suggest that some unknown ingredient or ingredients in coffee – not caffeine – is responsible for cardiovascular activation, he explains. Coffee contains several hundred different substances. "Until now we have attributed the cardiovascular effects of coffee to caffeine, but we found non-coffee drinkers given decaffeinated coffee also display these effects," Corti says. "This demonstrates how little we know about the effects of one of our most popular beverages and the most abundantly consumed stimulant worldwide. "Coffee's cardiovascular safety remains controversial," he says. "The possible health hazards have been related to its main ingredient – caffeine." The researchers measured blood pressure, heart rate and muscle sympathetic nervous system activity (MSA) in 15 healthy volunteers (ages 27 to 38) – six habitual coffee drinkers and nine who either abstained or drank coffee only occasionally. Measurements were recorded before, during and after participants consumed a triple espresso, a decaf triple espresso or intravenous administration of the equivalent amount of caffeine, or a placebo. None of the subjects knew whether they were receiving caffeine. Sympathetic nervous system activity plays an important role in the regulation of blood pressure and over-activation has been linked with high blood pressure. The non-habitual or occasional coffee drinkers had systolic blood pressure (the top number in a blood pressure reading) increases of 12 millimeters of mercury (mm Hg) after 60 minutes. No significant change was observed in habitual drinkers' blood pressure. MSA increased in both caffeine and decaffeinated coffee groups by 29 percent after 30 minutes and 53 percent after 60 minutes, with almost identical activation times. In non-habitual coffee drinkers given decaffeinated espresso, systolic blood pressure increased despite no increase in blood concentrations of caffeine. MSA activity was only marginally increased, and heart rate and diastolic blood pressure remained unchanged. "Recent epidemiological studies have revealed a possible beneficial effect on cardiovascular disease and deaths in habitual coffee drinkers," he says. "But our study strongly supports the hypothesis that ingredients other than caffeine are responsible for the stimulating effects of coffee on the cardiovascular system." The lack of blood pressure elevation in coffee drinkers suggests the effects may be mediated through increased tolerance, the researcher notes. However, sympathetic nerve activation occurred in both groups when caffeine was administered intravenously, and habitual drinkers' MSA increased after drinking caffeinated espresso, both of which suggest tolerance to coffee does not appear to be related to caffeine. He concludes that the potential adverse effects attributed to coffee could be less hazardous in regular consumers with normal blood pressure. In such people, especially those without a hereditary predisposition to hypertension, coffee drinking can't be considered a risk factor for hypertension. What remains to be seen is whether people with hypertension should be advised to avoid decaffeinated coffee as well, Corti says. The American Heart Association says studies investigating a direct link between caffeine, coffee drinking and coronary heart disease have produced conflicting results. However, moderate coffee drinking (one – two cups per day) doesn't seem harmful.
Are you, a subscriber to Econet SIBONGELI NEEDS A JOB PLEASE I am a farmer's wife in Karoi who isn't farming. I have a maid who is originally from Bulawayo and wishes to go back. Sibongeli has worked on the farm for the last 7 years, and after been beaten up by warvets this last weekend, has said she would like to return to Bulawyo. She was prepared before the beating to stay and work. Understandably she has changed her mind. Sibongeli has mainly been in charge of washing, ironing and cleaning. She cannot cook although she can do breakfast and makes brilliant french toast. We would like to try and find her a position as she has been incredible loyal in these difficult times and has ignored labour strikes and been supportive during warvet trouble. She is a cheerful and hardworking lady. Unfortunately English isn't her strong suit. I would appriciate it if you think you might be able to
help. You can contact me at the above email address or by cell phone on 011
219 434, or at P.O. Box 184 Karoi. STRESS and TENSION? Back, neck, shoulders, muscular pains, headaches, nervous stomachs, etc…? The therapies I offer can help. All the therapies are gentle and relaxing, non invasive and are performed through clothing. BOWEN therapy consists of gentle movements, over specific key points, which release blocked energy, allowing maximum healing to take place. Bowen therapy is characterized by 2 min pauses between movements, giving the body time to respond. REIKI is a very subtle, but powerful form of natural healing. It induces deep relaxation and relieves stress and tension. Reiki is not a religion or belief system, and anyone can do it, providing they have been Initiated by a Reiki Master. BOWEN/REIKI Combination is the ultimate in Relaxation treatments. REFLEXOLOGY is a form of healing in which the feet are gently stimulated to promote natural healing. For any of the above, or Combination treatments, make an appointment with; SUE BRIDGEFORD (Reiki Master) Tel Bulawayo 241199 KINDNESS FOR NEW IMMIGRANTS TO N.Z. Thought this could be of interest. I had the first Christmas card from NZ from a good friend who was a teacher at Redcliff when we were there but who moved to NZ probably 20 years ago now. She was brought up on a farm here and her brother was still farming here when last mentioned. She writes: "Oh my - so many pouring in from Zim. A system has been set up to meet that midnight plane and take them home till they are sorted out and supply them with whatever they may need. All are bomb shocked and upset and just need comfort really. A family is coming here this weekend as they have no family in NZ but will stay till their son arrives to help them." Nice to know there are such good and considerate people around. Contact GARDENER NEEDED Our gardener recently died - had been with us for 9 years but was still only 32. He was also very active politically so is sadly missed on many fronts. We are looking for another one. He would also be required to do some messenger work.. Trustworthiness and a bit of common sense are more important than gardening knowledge, though some of that would obviously be an asset too! In return we offer good pay and conditions. Our staff tend to stay with us a long time. There is pleasant accommodation if required. We are in Hillside, near the Church of the Ascension, telephone 244155. We are also looking fior work for his widow. She has worked as a housemaid in the past, but is not greatly experienced. We think she is honest and would give of her best, being keen to educate her two little girls. Carole Johnstone BRASS MONKEY
Gayl Smythe REFEXOLOGY COURSE 1 Year part time OLD PRUNITIANS Pre-Eclipse Social Busters Club, Byo |
