Category Archives: Socks, spoons, stones and sunsets

Africa. Archaeology. Adventures. Misadventures. Romance. Joy. Fear. etc.

Mr Sledge sings thrice & the Land Rover doesn’t turn into a pumpkin

Posted on September 4, 2012 by memoirsofahusk

‘When a ma-an loves a wom-an . . . ’ Percy’s warming up, the same song three times, the same lines three times, testing the sound system. Not sure we can stay till he does his thing for real because … Continue reading →

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Tapeworm eggs, Sheba’s Breasts and Waiting for a Friend

Posted on August 4, 2012 by memoirsofahusk

I’m  having a flashback to the weekend before the exile. I’m all alone, kneeling in front of a tarpaulin, staring at a huge chunk of bloody flesh and bone – an impala’s hindquarters. Impalas leap as they run, springing off … Continue reading →

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Sex, politics and Marvin Gaye

Posted on July 31, 2012 by memoirsofahusk

The phone rings at the pineapple farm. It’s for me – but I’m not there. To use the parlance of our times* – this is epic. To understand why, imagine a world where there’s no email, a world where every … Continue reading →

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Banished

Posted on July 22, 2012 by memoirsofahusk

My last night in the bush. Last bath in a tin tub, perched on a ledge, way above the plain. By day you might see zebras as you wash away the dust. By night you lie back, gazing on shooting … Continue reading →

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A sinister cave, the Twins at St Clare’s & a rather radical departure

Posted on July 13, 2012 by memoirsofahusk

I don’t like caves. There’s one in Zambia I never want to see again, a jagged hole in a shard of grey rock that punctures a flat horizon. At night sometimes it hums. A jackal lives there – he ventures … Continue reading →

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Socks and drugs and rocks that roll

Posted on July 5, 2012 by memoirsofahusk

Baby elephants are cute, yes? Ever been knocked flying by one? I have. Through a fence. I was leaning on it at the time. He was being ‘introduced’ back into the wild. I’d been feeding him oranges. That’s gratitude for … Continue reading →

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Anyone for brains?

Posted on July 2, 2012 by memoirsofahusk

I’ve never eaten brains, but I did once watch someone do it. I remember the meal through a retrospective filter of nausea, not because of the brains, but because next morning  I flew into Matsapha, Swaziland, in a small plane. … Continue reading →

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