Tuesday, April 21, 1998 

Can it get any worse?

It is becoming increasingly hard to maintain a sense of humour at the moment. The last month can only be described as some kind of horrific nightmare that will not go away. For those of us left trying to keep our ships afloat we are nearing desperation. We have had to put up with banks closing down which means you now have no access to funds. Exporters under investigation by CIO, the land grab continuing and the blatant theft of equipment or whatever takes their fancy. We look at each other and wonder how have we have carried on for so long without being wheeled in to the Psychiatric wing of the local hospital. Lying in bed at night staring at the ceiling hoping it might reveal some clue as how to extricate ourselves out of this ungodly mess. Then in the morning as you reach for the valium, you look out of the window and watch the sun coming up over the mountains which are shrouded in a pinky mist you listen to the pigeons cooing, breathe in the sharply fresh Bvumba air and somehow the horror of the previous days disappears. 

I am grateful that we live in such a beautiful place surrounded by such lovely people who like us struggle on with such a wonderful sense of humour. So taking all this in account we threw a impromptu lunch party. Who to invite at such short notice was a problem but soon solved. The gorgeous Kate and friends. A beloved niece and husband were already on hand. They were swiftly followed by a gay Indian dentist and his partner. An art curator and her diplomatic husband and some loyal friends who can always be relied upon to join us at short notice. As our guests prepared to wend there way up to the Bvumba Pat and I collapsed on the sofa pouring over Indian Cookbooks. If you are in a hurry go for curry. There was a flurry of activity in the kitchen as we chopped and mixed and mashed things frantically. In no time at all a warm spicy aroma filled the house. Chairs were carted outside, flowers arranged, wine chilled and as the first car bumped down the drive we were ready. It was the most perfect day and as we sat looking across the mountains watching two eagles swirling in flight, laughing at the sheer joy of being alive I turned to Pat and whispered can it get any better than this ! No he agreed but it can get a lot worse so lets enjoy it while we can!!!. 

 Mandy Retzlaff
Bvumba
Zimbabwe