Quick Trip to Zimbabwe

Had a good drive from Lusaka to Harare yesterday. Loved being in the Zambezi Valley again with huge mopani trees and baobabs - one huge baobab seen in the photo - then climbing up the escarpment onto the high veldt and the scenic drive to Harare. Great evening with friends not seen in many years but one would hardly ...know that it had been so long as we were able to pick up with each other so comfortably. Interesting to share life's experiences of the intervening years. Zimbabwe is SO different to Zambia - I will make more detailed comments after my trip. Having fun finding my way around places I have not been in for 24 years !

Zambia February 3

Still no solution for high speed Internet connection so it has been another couple of weeks since I was able to do a posting. Things have continued to go well and I have been having a busy and productive time. Apart from daily work for the farm I have been taking our English friend, Ann, to visit different aspects of the SPF project.

One of the highlights was a visit to the Chilunga area - another section of the community. It is across the Mulungushi river which bi-sects the community and the river is running too deep at the moment to cross in a vehicle. So we had to park at the river, cross on a wooden foot bridge made from poles cut from the bush and then walk the 4 km to the school which is the focal point of the community. The school is a community school which caters for children on that side of the river from Grade 1 to 7. There was only one teacher (out of 4) with a small class of about 12 kids in session so we sat in on the lesson. Apparently a lot of kids - and the other teachers - were unable to get to school that morning as there had been a heavy storm during the night and other rivers in the area were flooded. Anyway it was good to see the place again and we enjoyed the walk there and back in the sunshine. On our way back, at a village near the river, we were presented with a live chicken - to be taken home to eat ! Ann was thrilled and got to carry it under her arm back to the car !

We also visited some of the people that have benefitted from the micro loan fund - always good to see how they are doing with their small businesses or farming as a result of being able to borrow money to get started. That evening we had supper with Banda and Tsitsi who had cooked the chicken we had been given - it was very tasty with the sadza/nshima !

Ann flew out of Ndola on Sunday January 30 to head back to UK. She thoroughly enjoyed her stay in Zambia as a whole and particularly at Kakulu. She is sure that she will be back sometime in the near future to do some actual project work with SPF. It will be great to have her as part of our UK "team".

Three young men - Kody, Ryan and BJ - arrived safely from Canada today. It is great to see them here and the community is going to be very excited to see them moving around exploring everything and inter-acting with the people. They are here for most of February so it will be a busy time.

Zambia January 19

My first couple of weeks in Zambia have gone well overall. I spent a few days in Lusaka as I had several things to get done there. It was quite tough getting adjusted to the time change and the weather change - such a contrast coming from minus 20C and snow in Canada to plus 28C and rain in Zambia.

I was very glad to leave Lusaka and get to Kakulu on Thursday January 6. Great to be back in the community and to my final destination, after the last few weeks of intensity in preparing for the move here. The farm is very quiet and peaceful so I am lucky to have such a nice place to live.

I have been settling into the new routine and starting the work that I need to get done. Mike is very pleased to have me here and is already keeping me busy with many tasks. The crops are looking great and everything in full swing with the tobacco harvest under way and ongoing maintenance on the maize (corn).

I have been able to spend a bit of time in the community catching up with a few people and starting to asses what the immediate priorities are for SPF. As usual I have spent quite a bit of time with Pastor Justin who has brought me up to date on a number of issues. I will give more details of things as I get to visit places and people to see myself what's going on.

So far I have visited the clinic and Sungula school. Ednah has been transferred to another clinic in the region and a new sister-in-charge has been brought in. She was actually here before, in 2006 standing in for Ednah during her long leave, so is familiar with the community. Things are ticking along okay at the clinic - nothing major to report and I've got a list of a few things to consider for us to work on.

At the school I found that Kirby has been replaced as head teacher. (Kirby and Stella are still living at the school - she is still teaching there and the Ministry of Education is trying to find a placement for him although he is keen to retire he tells me.) The new head teacher seems to be good although we only had a short meeting this first time round. We had a quick tour of the school grounds. They have got to roof-level on another teacher house - similar to the one SPF/Taylor built in 2008 - this new one funded by the government. No other major developments at the school but, again, a few items on the list to consider for future work.

Ann Hendry is the niece of a good friend of ours and recently graduated from university in England with a degree in Environmental Science. She spent a couple of months in Kitwe - a city North of here - at the end of 2010 on a student exchange program. During that time she did a research project on the effects of the copper mining activities on the water quality of the rivers in that area. After going to South Africa for the Christmas holidays she came back to Zambia to spend a couple of weeks with us to learn about SPF work in the community. She is interested in doing what she can to help the Foundation once she goes back to UK.

As predicted in my last posting Internet access is very sporadic so further updates will be done as the opportunity allows. Even e-mail is a struggle so I will respond to messages as quickly as I can. We are working on some other options to improve Internet access at the farm so hopefully something will come about soon.

Cheers, Gordon

Happy New Year 2011

My trip from Canada to Zambia went well. Thanks to Milt for driving me down to Calgary on Thursday December 30 and dropping me at the airport. Although I had a few hours to wait until flight time it was good to relax after the past several weeks of hectic activity as I packed up and prepared to leave. Also a chance to make a few last minute phone calls to some people. The flight left on time at 8:30 pm and was full, but it went smoothly and I was able to get 2-3 hours of sleep on and off.

We arrived at London Heathrow at Noon their time on Friday. Fortunately I only had 5 hours to wait for the next flight and didn’t have to change terminals. It would have been nice to get out of the building for some fresh air but it was foggy and rainy so I didn’t bother with all the formalities of having to check out through immigration and then back in. As it was I did a lot of walking in the terminal to stretch the body out, in between making calls to a few people in the UK to catch up with them and wish them a happy new year. Also had pint of English beer for old time sake – and to celebrate new year in Hong Kong at that particular time !

The flight for Lusaka left on time at 6:30 p.m. – this time the flight only at about 70% full. Initially I was in an aisle seat next to another person on one side of the plane – a Boeing 767 so just two seats next to the window. I then moved across to the middle row of three seats as they were all open and thought that I would be able to stretch right out for a sleep. About 30 minutes after take-off the flight director came to me and asked if I would mind moving up to Executive/Club Class – she wanted to give the row of three seats to a woman with a small boy as they only had two seats. What a question – I couldn’t move fast enough ! There were only 7 people in total in that section so I got two seats to myself – what a blessing having the extra space with a foot rest and further tilt of the seat, as well as fancy headphones ! The food was no different to what was served to the “back” but more enjoyable in the comfort. After dinner I slept for a couple of hours. I happened to wake up just before mid-night UK time and was given a (real) glass of champagne to welcome the new year in – along with a few others who were awake in executive class. (Nothing much happened back in economy class as the lights were off and most people were sleeping !) So although nothing spectacular it was still fun to bid 2010 farewell and spend a bit of time wondering what 2011 has in store for me.

I only managed to doze for another couple of hours before we landed in Lusaka right on time at 6:30 a.m. local time – 9 hours time difference to Alberta so I had been on the go for 36 hours ! No problems getting through formalities and Chris Rogers was there to meet me. We went to his place for a great egg and bacon breakfast and a decent cup of tea before he dropped me off at Bob and Mary’s house. (They are away in the USA on furlough until end of January so I have the place to myself. Well except that they left their little dog, Nick, so I have a bit of company.) I took a bit of time to do some unpacking then had a much-needed shower followed by a snooze for a couple of hours. Then ventured out in the vehicle – no problem getting back to driving on the left had side of the road ! – to do some grocery shopping. The traffic was relatively light being a public holiday and the two malls I visited were not too crowded so it went well.

Most of the day has been cloudy with some signs – including thunder – of rain but nothing materialised here. It was 25C when we landed this morning and was up to 31C by the afternoon when I went out. Now, early evening, it has cooled off to 23C – which is actually very pleasant since there is a cool breeze blowing. As I write there are the bangs of fireworks going off around the neighbourhood – people obviously still celebrating new year tonight !

As I commented on Facebook yesterday (and many times before), flying always amazes me. That 200-300 people can get inside a metal cylinder, get off the ground, cruise through the air to half-way round the world, and then land on the ground again is always a miracle to me ! When I am up at 35,000 feet with just the throb of the engines outside, it seems so surreal to me.

Anyway I hope that you had a great new year celebration wherever you happened to be. In case you don’t already have it my Zambian mobile number is (260) 976-198-207 if you need to get hold of me by voice or by text message. (260 is the Zambia country code).

As usual, access to the Internet is going to be sporadic. E-mailing should be no problem on a regular basis with a cellular Internet stick but access to the web to do blog and FB updates will have to wait until I am in a town and can connect to high speed.

TED Talk about training sniffer rats !

It always amazes me how some people think way out of the proverbial box .....

Bart Weetjens: How I taught rats to sniff out land mines | Video on TED.com

Rainbow in Yellowknife

Photo of Gordon taking a photo of the double rainbow in Yellowknife in late August - by Bronwen

"And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain, there would be no rainbow." Gilbert K. Chesterton

Saying of the Week

The truth is, you're not defeated until your doubts and regrets take the place of your dreams. Anon

Mark Smith Visit

I had a fun week-end with Mark and a new Zambian friend : Bullocks, several pubs around YK, the drive and hike to Cameron Falls and taking in the sights of YK.

The Dog Days of Yellowknife

Seems like most people in Yellowknife have a dog, some 2 or 3. You see them everywhere being walked, in cars, in the back of pick-ups, even a few wandering around on their own. I wonder how many thousands of dogs that would be given that there are 20,000 people in Yellowknife ?

Yellowknife, Northwest Territories

I have accepted the job of Branch manager with Matco Transportation at their Yellowknife Branch and flew up on June 10. Yellowknife, a city of 20,000 and the capital of the Northwest Territories, is 1,000 km North of Edmonton. It is a very cosmopolitan city having attracted people from all over the world to work in jobs dominated by diamond mining, government departments (federal and territorial), air lines, trucking and tourism and all the related services for the community. It is situated on the north shore of Great Slave Lake which is the ninth largest lake in the world.

I had been to Yellowknife several times when I worked for Matco before so I knew what I was coming to. It is a very friendly and casual place and still has a feel of being on the frontier. It is relatively compact so doesn’t take long to get around and you don’t have to go very far to be out in the wilderness.

The townhouse that Matco rented for me to stay in with another member of staff is in good shape but not in a very good location - on a rocky slope right next to the main road into town so pretty noisy at night especially with sirens from emergency vehicles passing by ! Also I am having trouble sleeping because of the light. This time of the year – mid-summer - the sun rises at 3:30 am and only sets at 11:30 pm but even between those hours it is not completely dark as there is a heavy twilight.

I was lucky enough in the very first week here to get on a helicopter ride over the city and surrounding area so it was good to get that perspective from the air.

More photos of my time in Yellowknife can be seen in the Facebook album Yellowknife 2010

Blast from the Past

Canada Day 18 years ago - where have all the years gone ?

Road Trip to Yellowknife

On the afternoon of Wednesday June 23 Johanna and I set out in a brand new Dodge Caravan for the drive to Yellowknife. (I had flown back to Edmonton for a few days and the van needed to be brought back to YK for the Matco branch). We stopped for supper with Bronwen in High Prairie at the local Chinese restaurant which was very good. Nice to see where she has been working for the past few weeks on her university practicum as part of her masters degree in Occupational Therapy . We continued on for a few more hours and stopped for the night at a motel in Manning - not the greatest place but all we needed was a bed to sleep.


Thursday we were up early for the continental breakfast and were on our way again by 7:00 a.m. Made good progress with stops along the way for breaks, fuel and some sight seeing. Amazing to again see such vast expanses of countryside totally uninhabited and so few vehicles on the roads. It was an experience that very many Canadians do not get and gave us a better appreciation of what the truck drivers have to contend with in getting up to Yellowknife and back. The winter driving must be brutal.

We got into YK at about 5:30 pm – 16 hours of actual driving and 1,476 km - and I gave Johanna quick tour of the place. We went for supper at one of the unique YK eateries called "Bullocks Bistro". It is in a small old log cabin and they serve just 2-3 kinds of fish – either deep fried, grilled or pan fried - and venison steak of some kind - whatever they can get hold of seasonally - all with a heap of green salad and a pile of hand-cut fries. Three women run the place - the owner who is the chef and two waitresses - and it is an incredible experience. We sat at the bar which is just a long kitchen counter next to the cooking area so we could chat with the chef and waitress and watch everything going on while we waited for our order to come along in the line-up. We chose pan fried Arctic Char - it was to die for and well worth the hour-long wait. YK time is like Africa time - so I am really enjoying it !

Friday I had to go to work so Johanna just chilled out on her own and did some walking around the town. In the evening we met up with a friend of Bronwen's who is doing her practicum up here and went for sushi and then a few drinks with her. Saturday morning we did some other touristy things - including breakfast at the most Northerly McDonald's in Canada !

For more photos of the trip visit the Facebook album Road Trip

UK Sojourn

On my way over to Zambia and on the way back to Canada I stopped in UK for a week each time. As usual I stayed with my good friends Roger and Marinda Hiscoe in their lovely old house near Twyford – always a home away from home.


It was a busy time catching up with some family members and African friends. One of them – Willem Pietersen (below) - I hadn’t seen in over 22 years ! It was great to reminisce about all the crazy things we did during our teenage years especially the unforgettable cross country trip to the Chimanimani Mountains !

I also did two presentations about the Foundation to two separate groups. There were not many people at both as it was quite short notice but those that did attend were very interested and we will no doubt get some support and donations from them. I get a sense that UK is going to grow into a strong support base for us now that SPF is registered there as a charity and I look forward to future visits there to do more presentations and connecting.

During the time in UK I managed to visit three Rotary Clubs for their weekly meetings - Bath (in photo below), Beckenham and Reading Abbey. Great to be able to experience one of the key aspects of Rotary – visiting other clubs throughout the world and connecting with fellow Rotarians.

Zambia – March & April 2010

Gordon was in Zambia for March and April visiting and working on the SPF Isaiah Project there. It was an incredible time and as always more transpired than had been anticipated with many new connections and opportunities.

For more details about the trip please download his report (PDF) and visit the photo albums listed on the right hand side of the blog.

Mighty Men’s Conference 2010

In mid-April I had the opportunity to do a road trip from Zambia to South Africa and back over 7 days in order to attend the Angus Buchan Mighty Men’s conference. The magnitude of camping with some 400,000 other men and boys and joining them in worship, hearing the preaching and prayer is too great to adequately describe. It was the experience of a lifetime and one that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

For more details and the photos please visit the Facebook photo album : MMC2010

Saying of the Week

"There is more to life than just increasing its speed" - Mahatma Gandhi

A Muppet Family Christmas Part 1 of 5

An annual classic

Pancake Breakfast # 15

At the annual Rotary Run for Life in Stony Plain. As usual an incredible meal put on by William Choy of Bings #1 Restaurant in Stony Plain and the amazing crew of volunteers mostly from the Rotary Clubs of Stony and Spruce Grove. If we weren't biased towards this event I would vote this the best breakfast of the year from the quality and the amount of food. However you do have to "pay" for it by either running or walking (5km, 10km or half marathon) or volunteering some time, so that does add a degree of difficulty to the overall judging ! In attendance - Bronwen, Brennan, Johanna and Gordon

Rotary Run for Life - 6th Annual

As usual we participated in the annual Rotary Run for Life to raise funds for CSPP which is now a project of The Simon Poultney Foundation.

Johanna and Brennan ran 5km, Gordon ran/walked 5km and Carol and Bronwen walked 5km - in memory of Simon.

Saying for the Week

"The difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world's problems." - Mahatma Gandhi

"When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us." - Helen Keller