General Chat

It sure was, Joy.....just goes to prove that fate can have an happy side :-)

A lucky escape, Belle.

I know someone who fled South Africa with his family when that country's troubles began and they weren't allowed to take anything with them from their bank accounts nor funds from any other source.

They had to start all over again in the UK and they were not in the springtime of their years. 'Twas a struggle for them. I knew the father more than the others and he was such a nice man. I felt so sorry for them.

If they'd left 20 years earlier, as did another friend, they'd have been alright. Sadly, they left it too long - hoping to give the country a chance, I expect, as until then they'd been very happy.

Life has some nasty turns for some people.

My Father was seriously thinking of upping sticks and moving the Family to Rhodesia (Zimbabwe as it is now) in the late 1950s. Over the years as I've watched the country slowly disintegrate I'm just so pleased my Mother's wishes prevailed and we remained in the UK. :-)

That just compounded the problems caused when the farms were snatched and given to Zimbabwean nationals.
That might not have been such a good thing had the Zimbabwean nationals first been given any kind of agricultural training.

Last month, a report claimed that Zimbabwe residents were on the brink of starvation with more than a third of the population in need of food aid. More than five million people will face severe hunger.

Last year's harvest failed largely due to extreme weather, ranging from droughts that lasted for months, to flooding which wiped out entire villages.

Now that Robert Mugabe has died, I very much doubt that she will be wanting to step into anonymity.

Zimbabwe might not be free of it all yet.