(P.S. - I loved Months of the Sun, one of the best around. I have many times wondered what Ian is like in person, and whether he would be amenable to having another tourist visit him for a spell.)

An Ar member the other day was worried because he had not recieved a reply to an email and commented "here in the US if we don't get an answer to a mail in 30 mins we assume it has got lost".

We live in different worlds - appart from the fact that we have no 24hr internet conections and a 7-12 hr time difference... which brings me on to how far we have developed in the last two centuries...

A runner, bare foot, and clad in a leopard skin loin cloth (covering a pair of shorts I noticed), and carrying a cleft stick with a letter in it arrived at my door this lunchtime.

IAn Nychens (Author of theat excellent book- Months of the Sun- needed some old photo's I have for his new book. After having tried to phone me for an hour during which time no connection held for more than 30 seconds he accertained that I was in town and so "Sent a Runner". I dug out the Photo's and sent the lad on his way - A round trip of 30 miles!

Just now I got Ian on the Phone and it worked. Why not buy the lad a bike I asked. ..."Well then I would have to find something else for him to do" Says Ian. With over 1 million unemployed and hungry in the capital Ian believes in creating work and is old and eccentric enough to belive that bare foor native runner, wearing Fez and carrying mail in cleft stick is where we have got back to!

Why didn't Ian jump in his car an come round - well there is no petrol(Gass) available this week. What did Zimbabweans use before we had candles? - Electric lights...
How did we travel before we had bicycles? In cars.. etc

So, next time you are trying to contact one of us in any of the darker (and conciquently more interesting) places in Africa, Please be Patient

Africa does move at it's own, unique time table.

Ganyana, how do all of you FIND the required patience?

That certainly puts it in perspective.

Ian Nychens is coming out with a new book - awesome! I enjoyed his little piece about buffalo hunting in one of the latest issues of The African Hunter.



For anybody hunting, or considering hunting in the Zambezi Valley, his first book, Months in the Sun, is "the Bible".



Unfortunately it was a limited production run by Safari Press and is sold out...although I bet Ian has a few copies.



I hope to meet up with him this coming July.

Ha ha, Ganyana.



I think I will use that philosophy too on why I haven't got back to you as promised .



People expecting instant answers to emails is one reason I no longer work from a desk. No emails under the sun and clouds.



Was reading a book set in Botswana the other day where it was stated "if a person has a job, they are considered selfish not to hire a gardener and a maid". In order to help out other African families and unemployment. Compared to the West, at least around here where doing the same you are considered lazy. My wife liked the Bots philosophy.



Like your 'new Zimbabwe' posts . Very droll.

Certainly puts things in perspective. Truly a different world than the laptop, blackberry, cell phone, and fax machine world that consumes most of us...............

My brother and I had an interest in an African business for a time. Whenever I got frustrated with the pace of things he would say: " in Africa the sun comes up and the sun goes down". I'm not sure what that statement precisely meant, but I got the idea. By the way, Africa is the only place where my employees actually broke an anvil. I was afraid to ask how.
TerryR

Bill - Ian is a 5'5" pice of biltong who loves to wander arround the bush. You two might actually get along!

His new book is going to be fantastic. Wife is helping him proof read it at the moment so have had a 'seak" preview'.

Ian, in the spirit of helping the homeless and hungry has one youngster to tend his two goats (which he bought as petrol-less lawn mowers) one to open the gate, one to tend what bit of the garden the goats leave, and one to ensure that the fire in the lounge is kept going. If the temperature is below 100F he will have a fire burning to warm up the cottage. - oh and the appropriatly clad messanger. He just needs one in suitable white uniform to bring the drinks ... but I have only ever seen Ian drink tea and never heard of him offering anything stronger!

Most of the world runs on GMT - Grenwich Mean Time. We work on AMT - African Mean Time which is about 1 century and some days behind

Hi Ganyana

You most sertainly know the local way, if your working on a job and it's late or don't feel like it, well heck there is allways tomorrow, and that is what is driving me to tears

cheers

Flip

Well, I haven't been to Africa yet, but I did live in Mississippi for a few years and the pace sounds about the same.

Rural Oklahoma is the same. Go slow, have fun, relax.

Dogcat,

Only here the runner would be clad in cut-off jeans, a sleeveless western snap front shirt and rubber ditch boots if it is spring or summer or a Carhart jacket, plaid shirt, dirty Wranglers and Wal Mart lace up boots if it were fall or winter. The runner will certainly be wearing either a NASCAR or favorite feed store ball cap anytime of the year, night or day, regardless of the situation. Also, he is more likely to stroll, saunter or wander than run regardless of the season.

Perry

PWN,

You just described my entire wardrobe. Excepting for "I ain't been able to `ford nun them fanci wal-mart shoes and such." But I gots me a realtree scentlock cap and I swagger.

He would be wearing the ball cap backwards and just recently failed a drug test. Oh well.

Come to think of it, that would qualify him to play in the NBA.