Good day everyone,

I would like to apologize to all those who have been trying to contact me since just before Christmas. I have not been ignoring your messages - I haven't seen them as I haven't been online since that time. The reason for this is that on Christmas eve thieves broke into the house where I was staying and stole both my laptop and my external hard drive with almost all my info, and that act sent me into a serious decline. By the grace of God, I took the precaution of storing all the Borderline photos on yet another hard drive, so I still have those, but everything else is gone - years of photos, some writing....

Anyway, the point of this post is to apologize to certain people - Dulcinea, Mjines, Jytte, Saeed, adamhunter - who are still waiting for their pictures/books/calendars. I don't like to make excuses, but I was devastated by the loss of my writing/photos and have not been myself lately. Rest assured that I am myself again and have everything back in hand. The last batch of books/calendars posted to me in Harare took an age to arrive and I thought they never would, but I heard a couple days ago that they have, so that is good news. Books/calendars and picture prints will be en route shortly, my word.

I hope everyone who ordered signed hardcover books received them, you should have by now. Please let me know.

I hope you all had a happy Christmas and I hope you enjoy a prosperous new year.

Best regards, David

Dave,

Very sorry to hear about your misfortune...may the thieves toast there toes in Satan's coals!

I got book and calendar...thank you!!!

Saw Jonny at DSC...but he was always busy...so never got to say hello.

Keep well my friend and if I can help...just holler!!!

Sorry to hear about your difficulties David. No apology necessary in my case. Keep moving forward and do not let the foolish act of another wreck your outlook. Best wishes for a great 2013.

Good to have you back David. I was thinking that maybe you were off wrestling crocs or something! It's too bad the selfishness of others has to be endured from time to time. I have no time for thieves, let's hope they "get theirs" soon enough.

Bill

Sad thing is that the pics and writing and other data will be of no use to them-just the computer for a quick buck to someone else. Don't worry about me 'cause Jonny is bringing my book to SCI. May 2012 still turn out to be great for you! Hang in there, my friend!

Sorry to hear about your misfortune. I was wondering what ever happened to that book and calendar I ordered. Stay in the fight and good luck to you.

David-
I'm sorry for the loss of your photos and writing. Glad you are getting back on your feet.
I haven't seen my book and calendar yet.
I am reminded of the Buddhist vacuum cleaner- no attachments.

That is a sad loss.
Glad you are back on your feet.

David no apologies necessary. We can understand the doldrums one would have after losing everything.

Better new year,

Mike

Good to have you back David. I was wondering what happened to you. Sorry for your misfortune.

Wonderful Africa, everyday a challenge, know the feeling of utter helpless anger. Hang in there.

David,

Sorry to hear about the scum breaking in. This is just bad.

On the positive side, the calendar was a big hit during our Christmas. Everyone liked the pictures and they were thrilled to hear the story about Jimmy. They especially liked that we were supporting the anti-poaching patrols in the Save Conservancy by buying the calendar and the book.

All the best!

Sherrill

Very sorry to hear about your loss.Hope you will find them again and the thieves get eaten by hyenas.


Best-
Locksley,R.

Cheers, thank you gentlemen, your understanding is appreciated. Re the laptop loss, I have another one and am over it, starting again, so all square there. I just thank God that I had 3 copies of the borderline photo collection and only 2 were stolen, because losing those pictures would have sent me into a new dimension...


Mike, your order is in Harare right now, as is yours BigBore and yours Mark Young. They arrived a few days ago, I had already given them up for lost...I am going to dash to Harare this week to deal with it all.

I will conduct a precise inventory of everything and everyone tomorrow and let you know my findings. Thank God for the internet. Once I have all the gen in order, I will send the money made so far to the Save conservancy.

I will be heading off to resume the borderline walk this forthcoming weekend, if all goes according to plan. My cousin in Harare will tie up any loose ends. She is 1000 times more organized than I am so the loose ends will be in good hands.

Cheers, David

Good luck and be safe on the walk. I'll look for your brother at SCI. Best regards to you David.

quote:

Originally posted by David Hulme:
Cheers, thank you gentlemen, your understanding is appreciated. Re the laptop loss, I have another one and am over it, starting again, so all square there. I just thank God that I had 3 copies of the borderline photo collection and only 2 were stolen, because losing those pictures would have sent me into a new dimension...


Mike, your order is in Harare right now, as is yours BigBore and yours Mark Young. They arrived a few days ago, I had already given them up for lost...I am going to dash to Harare this week to deal with it all.

I will conduct a precise inventory of everything and everyone tomorrow and let you know my findings. Thank God for the internet. Once I have all the gen in order, I will send the money made so far to the Save conservancy.

I will be heading off to resume the borderline walk this forthcoming weekend, if all goes according to plan. My cousin in Harare will tie up any loose ends. She is 1000 times more organized than I am so the loose ends will be in good hands.

Cheers, David

David,

Sorry some people feel the need to prey on others. It certainly feels very personal when someone steals from you. It's not just words in newsprint any longer. I'm glad you are moving past the loss.

My order is also AWOL if you have a chance to check into it.

Cheers
Jim

David, Sorry to hear of your loss, which is a bummer in these circumstances. Im new to AR so im not sure exactly if this could work, but there are guys on here who might.
Is it possible that all the photoes you posted and were collected by others on AR over the years, could be downloaded onto a thread here, for you to collect again.
I had dozens of audio tapes stolen that l could not replace(recorded in Tomales Ca.in 1980's)so l have empathy. Good luck anyway.jc

Hi David. I am sorry to hear of your troubles. How totally annoying and sad for you. Please do not feel any pressure, I'm fine with waiting and look forward to receiving my picture when the time comes.
Kindest regards
Jytte

Hey David,
Very sorry to hear about the theft, but glad you are doing better in spite of it. No apologies needed with regards to the Jimmy stuff. Hope you have great 2012!

Thanks!

Adam

Thank you once again for the understanding friends. All of your orders have either been shipped or are in Harare, except for Oday450's hardcovers which have not yet arrived... I am communicating with him about that...

The last batch of 4 paperback books and 8 calendars arrived a few days ago after being in outer space for God knows how long. Don't think I'll employ this Zimpost strategy again...Anyway, I am off to Harare day after tomorrow and will post books/calendars to those who haven't received. The picture prints will be shipped at the same time. I am truly sorry for the delay. Insofar as the calendars are concerned, pity about January but I think you'll find the rest of the year worthwhile.

Cheers, David

Any guess as to when a book may arrive here in the States?

Got my hardbound, autographed copy of The Shangaan Song from Thiery today at the SCI Show!

Thumb drives or flash drives work wonders for backing up your work. I try to back up pics etc frequently and keep a copy in my fire safe.

Jeff

That sux dave.
I know exactly how you feel. I just lost ALL my hunting photos, photos of my kids as toddlers, referance photos of the bush in droughts and after rains etc. had it all backed up on an external hard drive in my safe.

... but one of my kids dropped it and smashed it and nobody can put humpty together again.

I give all my clients a CD with all the photos of the safari both mine and theirs, so im busy e-mailing to try and recover some of the copies.
good luck and hang in there.

Davis !sorry for your lost!any progress with my book and calender?

I am reading the book now and enjoying it. For anyone on the fence, David's book is a very nice addition to your library. Get it.

Also, David, your bro was in top form in Vegas. He, Al, and Thierry did very well.

Still waiting for the picture I paid for in November!!!

Not happy at all!

Dulcinea

Cool down things come when they come......

David,

Absolutely love the calendars that Thierry delivered. Perfect images of a very unique rhino. Thank you so much for chronicling those special moments in Jimmy's life. Sadie and I will always cherish our short time with him as a juvenile. One of those incredible moments that can make a safari so much more than shooting animals.

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by Dulcinea:
Still waiting for the picture I paid for in November!!!

Not happy at all!

Dulcinea

Dulcinea,

Please send your contact details to my email address: editorusa(at)africanxmag(dot)com

David is back in the bush completing the Borderline Walk, but he does have people in Zim who are handling the shipping for him. Mailing anything out of Zim is a hit or miss proposition, and was further compromised by the theft of his laptop which had all his orders and emails on it.

This is just the nature of the beast when dealing with Africa, where everything has to have a fence around it and every door has to have a lock. When the blacks electrocute themselves stealing the wires off of high power lines, you know you are dealing with a culture of thieves who make normal business practices very difficult.

Anyhow, tell me what you want and where to send it, and I will attempt to sort out your problem.

Bravo, Alan.

Alan sendt you a email

Donner,

Yes, I got your email, sent it on, and copied it to you.

Anyone who is missing an order feel free to contact me for help.


Thanks Will,

I'm always glad to help a fellow hunter if I can. Over the years, I've had quite a bit of experience dealing with items from Africa that have gone astray.

Things coming from Africa can disappear & reappear sometimes.

My Jimmy calendar and book arrived today. Thanks David and Alan!

My Jimmy calendar arrived today as well. What a pleasant trip to the mailbox!

I got mine too! Put me down for the 2013 edition.

Hello Mr. Hulme:

Really very sorry to hear about your troubles, but glad to hear that you are well.

About 4 years ago, some friends of mine near Banket were robbed at gunpoint, and beaten up quite badly. I was in ZA at the time and spoke with them the day after it happened.

They had the unfortunate luck to have been at home at the time. Jewelry, weapons, passports...all gone.

BTW - Not sure if I am too late, but I would love to order a signed copy of the book. Any effort to support wildlife conservation and hunting in Zim is a cause I want to support.

Got my book and calender today thanks

Good day everyone,

Thank you all very much for your understanding with the delays, and thank you Alan for covering while I was away.

Has everyone but Bryce received their books and/or calendars? There have been issues with printing and mailing the pictures, though I now have that in hand, but I just want to make certain that everyone else has received their orders. Bryce, I have messaged you, is it only a book you are missing or a calendar too? Oday450, I have messaged you about your signed hardcover books, they are ready to ship, either to you or Gary Hopkins. Jytte, Dulcinea, Saeed...what can I say about your prints except my sincere apologies for the ridiculous delay. I could whine a bit about what went wrong but won't, suffice it to say at this stage they are en route...Jytte and Dulcinea, I have messaged you, thanks for accepting the apology Dulcinea..Saeed, I will PM you soon, have you received your books, I sure hope so...

The raffle was a small success from the SVC's point of view as I sent them $1400 a few months ago...From my point of view it wasn't a great success as I didn't do the groundwork properly and miscalculated everything...Anyway, we live and learn and thank you all for the support. It goes without saying that 95% of the support came from hunters on AR, although I promoted it to the best of my ability on Facebook etc.. It is obvious to me who really cares about the wildlife. I will announce a raffle winner in due course.

If anyone else besides the mentioned folks has any problems with delivery please PM me. Ken W, never too late to order a book sir, I will PM you.

Regards to you all, David