Trees Must Fall
This 35-year-old tree had been leaning over at an increasingly alarming angle and finally snapped at the base.
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Memory Project: Gwelo Swimming Pool
The Municipal Swimming Baths in Gwelo were the first to be built in Rhodesia. I don't know when exactly that was, but in the late 1950s they seemed both new and modern.
Post Coital Dysphoria
I recently picked up my mother's copy of the Complete Works of Shakespeare, which was awarded to her as a prize while she was attending the Keaton's Road School for Girls in Bermondsey, London.
Frikkie and Plug Join the Army
When Frikkie and Plug were in Matric the SANDF visited their school on a recruitment drive. After listening to the presentation they both decided it would be a good idea to join the Army for a year.
My Military Career
The Defence Amendment Bill, designed to make military service compulsory for White men, was passed on 9 June 1967. I turned 17 five months later.
Memory Project: The .22 Pistol
During my childhood I saw my mother in tears on many occasions.
Nursing Notes
Henry F*ckit (my alter ego) worked as an orderly at Groote Schuur Hospital in the late 1970s. When he applied for the position he was interviewed by Matron Sharp, who described the duties of a nurse and what would be expected from a nursing assistant...
Memory Project: W Martin Contractor
What prompted my father to move to Southern Rhodesia in 1956 was the news that good money was to be made from carting gravel for the construction of the country's expanding road network.
Beyond Redemption
The war in Ukraine has confirmed my belief that as members of the human race we will never be able to suppress our brutish tendencies and that civilization is merely a veneer that hides our true nature.
Down and Out
Half a century ago, at the age of 21, I travelled around the UK and Europe for a year. Because I arrived without any money, I had to take temporary menial jobs to finance my stay.
Crumbling Infrastructure
While I was building, I learned a few things about reinforced concrete. Eventually, depending on proximity to the sea and thickness of concrete cover, the steel will begin to corrode.