A Wonderful Beginning
Zimbabwe can be summed up in the words that Bill Clinton’s secretary of state, the late Madeleine Albright, once quoted:
“God made a wonderful beginning,
But man spoiled it all by sinning.
We hope that the story will end in God’s glory,
But, at the moment, the other side’s winning!”
And how! A once wonderful country has been reduced to a comprehensive ruin!
So, Jane and I – along with Moses, the dog – walk to draw attention to the plight of those in Zimbabwe who are trapped in penury and destitution. All too many of them look to ZANE as their only lifeline.
As Stiff as Stoats
The setting for our fourteenth walk is Norfolk – and to be honest, it’s getting harder to find locations we haven’t already covered! This time, I demanded our walk planner look for a route that didn’t involve major roads – in the past, we’ve nearly been mown down by lunatics. Then we proscribed major hills for we’re running out of puff, and told him no plough, for it clogs up our boots. And then last – and pleeease – no minor, overgrown paths that make the job of getting lost all too easy!
Someone asked me why the walks continue to be popular. I reckon loyal supporters assume that after all these years Tom and Jane must be as stiff as stoats – so they back us “one last time”. And then, guess what? The following year, we pop up again like a jack in the box with, “Hello! Here we go again!” And so, our supporters think, “Gosh, one more time it is, where’s the cheque book?” And the process repeats itself!
So, it’s the same old boots, the same old sticks, the same old trousers and the same old dog – and off we go!
Postcard from Paris
I saw a postcard that made me smile. An elderly couple are eating breakfast and she says, “Darling… when one of us dies, I’m going to live in Paris!”
A couple of our closest friends are celebrating 45 years of a wonderful marriage. They told me that before they had even decided on a date for their wedding, James suggested to Mary, “Let’s anticipate the marriage. Come and live with me now?”
“Oh, no,” she replied. “I’m far too fond of you to do that.”
I suggest that this story would be incomprehensible to today’s young.