The Lowdown - 2015-05 May

Vol. 21, No. 05, 2015

May

Orchestra At Ababa House

3

Getting Started

18

Competition Corner

4

Book Review

21

Away With The Birds

6

The Easel

24

Star Gazer

7

Relieve Pain with MSM

24

In the Garden

9

What’s Happening

27

Birds, Bugs and Bushes

10

Restaurants

40

Getting Out

11

Employment Sought

42

Fool On The Hill

13

Small Adverts

43

Mole In The Hole

16

Front Cover Photograph: Black- Headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala), South Luangwa, Zambia,

by L Chalcraft Editor: Heather Bender Chalcraft Layout & Design: Louann Chalcraft Published by: LH Publications Limited, 25 Joseph Mwilwa Road, Rhodes Park, Lusaka.

PO Box 36666, Lusaka, Zambia. +26 0966 821-290 / +26 0965 821-290 editor@lowdownzambia.com www.lowdownzambia.com Winners of the 2011 Africast Tourism Journalist of the Year Award Advertising, Subscriptions and Distribution: ads@lowdownzambia.com Printed by: New Horizon Printing Press Ltd, PO Box 38871, Lusaka, Zambia. +260 211 236-637 1

Orchestra At Ababa House This May 30th at Zebra Crossings Cafe you will have a special opportunity to listen to the Westwood Chamber Orchestra. The ensemble has 15 regular members who practice at least twice a week together under the auspices of the head of music at Matero Boys. They perform classical music guided by Blesswell, violinist, who is one of the most senior of this very youthful group.

In one of the words of the group, they are an ‘endangered species’ in Zambia where not only is access to training, instruments and other basics expensive, but there is a populist notion that classical music is part of a colonial hangover.

This goes firmly against the more convincing argument that the language of music, particularly classical music is actually universal.

The Westwood Chamber Orchestra is a continuing evolving project that is giving musically gifted youth a chance to perform and practice their art together. One young lady ‘taught herself’ the

by Mel Phiri flute, when she was given the instrument by a church member at the age of 14.

Another female, a vocalist, first discovered her soprano voice when asked to sing the National Anthem at her Lusaka boarding school in the 8th Grade.

This event will be one of the first opportunities to take their indoor performance into the garden – they are not afraid of the challenge this may present.

Everybody in the orchestra is selfinspired, ready to innovate and we agreed by the end of my short interview with them that they were going for better and would be getting to BEST. This performance will take place from 11.30 am to 1 pm, Saturday 30 May against the backdrop of the winning entries of an African Freedom Day abstract art exhibit organised by The Art Shop at Ababa House. Don’t miss this opportunity for lovely coffee, inspiring artwork and exquisite classical music all at once at Ababa House. Further Info: mel@lowdownzambia.com

3

Competition Corner

The Art Shop Ltd at Ababa House is holding an Africa Freedom Day art competition titled ‘Abstract’ on the Africa Freedom theme.

Artworks can be in Mixed Media but are to be A2 sized (Canvas: 457 x 610 mm or 18 x 24 inches – Enquire at The Art Shop about discounts on Stretched Canvas).

The below voucher must be completed and accompany each Entry. Please include the class you are entering. Only one Entry per person. Entry Fee’s are K100 for adults and K50 for children under 12, proceeds will go to our chosen charity, the Special Hope Network which supports the education of mentally disabled children.

Submissions of Artworks are to be made from Monday 11 – Friday 15 May at The Art Shop at Ababa House. Following that, the entry’s will be judged and there will be a Public Exhibition of the artworks in the Garden of Ababa House and Zebra Crossings Cafe premises on Saturday 30 May. The Westwood Chamber Orchestra will be performing from 11.30 - 1 pm.

First, Second and Third Prizes will be awarded to each category. The categories are: Children, Teenagers, and Over 21.

If you require any further information, please email info@theartshopltd.com or call 0974 279-107.

Event Management: The Art Shop Ltd, Zebra Crossings Café and the Lowdown Magazine Artwork’s Title: Artists Name: Category:

Children

Teenagers

Over 21

Contact Number: Email Address: If under 18, Parent / Guardian’s Name & Phone Number: Artwork For Sale:

Yes

No

Selling Price:

Artwork’s Title: Artists Name: Category:

Children

Artwork For Sale:

Yes

4

Teenagers No

Selling Price:

Over 21

Away With The Birds

World Migratory Bird Day (WMBD) is a two day event that was initiated in 2006.

It is an annual awareness-raising campaign highlighting the need for the protection of migratory birds and their habitats. Every second weekend in May, people around the world take action and organize public events such as bird festivals, education programmes and birdwatching excursions to celebrate WMBD. Birds need to follow food supplies and due to the harsh northern winters they have adapted over the millennia to take the long journey south to enjoy the southern summers and the burst of growth that goes with the end of their cold season. Most of these birds breed in the north and then travel with their young once the weather turns cooler and the food supply falls off.

Birds arriving in Africa come from Europe and Asia while birds in North America travel to the warmer South American countries to escape the cold winters there.

Scientists are now able to track migratory species by attaching small transmitters to their backs which send back information as to their position. These can be tracked over their whole migration and this helps plan their protection during the arduous journey.

The Amur falcon is a small raptor of the falcon family. It breeds in south-eastern Siberia and Northern China before migrating in large flocks across India and over the Arabian Sea to winter in Southern Africa.

We see them here in large flocks at

dusk congregating at communal roosts which are usually very tall trees that they feel safe in.

Migrant birds to Zambia do not only come from so far away, they also arrive from further north in Africa and are thus called Inter-Africa migrants. They arrive from across the equator to enjoy the insect flush that comes with the rains. The Southern Carmine Bee-eaters are an example of this – such beautiful birds that arrive in the Luangwa and Zambezi Valleys in October/ November to breed and migrate in March/ April to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon and Kenya.

This year World Migratory Bird Day falls on the weekend of the 9th and 10th of May. BirdWatch Zambia will be working with some of the schools in the IBAs initialising the Spring Alive programme which focuses on 5 of the more common European migratory species namely the White Stork, Barn Swallow, Common Cuckoo, Common Swift and European Bee-eater.

The programme really only can take off in Zambia in September when these species are returning back but if the homework is done in advance the children will be more aware and know what to look out for when the birds do arrive.

BirdWatch will also be having a Birdtalk to celebrate WBMD on ‘Migration’ presented by Carl Beel. There will be a Birdwalk the following weekend. For further updated information please visit our webpage www.birdwatchzambia.org 6

The Sky in May

by Gwyn Thomas Dwarf Planets & Pluto

DWARF PLANETS A dwarf planet is defined as a planetary-mass object that is neither a planet nor a natural satellite.

PLUTO Pluto (minor-planet designation: 134340 Pluto) is smaller than many of the moons, including Earth’s, in the Solar System and has a highly eccentric and inclined orbit around the Sun. Pluto is primarily made of rock and ice, and is relatively small, about 1/6 the mass of the Moon and 1/3 its volume.

Pluto’s orbit is eccentric and highly inclined which takes it from 30 to 49 AU (4.4–7.4 billion km) from the Sun. Pluto periodically comes closer to the Sun than Neptune, but an orbital resonance with Neptune prevents the bodies from colliding. In 2014 it was 32.6 AU from the Sun. Light from the Sun takes about 5.5 hours to reach Pluto at its average distance (39.4 AU).

It was discovered in 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh and was originally thought to be the ninth planet in the Solar System, but in 2006 the IAU (International Astronomical Union) designated as a dwarf planet. Using a machine called a blink comparator, Tombaugh rapidly shifted back and forth between

views of each of the plates to create the illusion of movement of any objects that had changed position or appearance between photographs.

The name Pluto, after the Roman god of the Б underworld and its astronomical symbol ( ) is a monogram constructed from the letters ‘PL’ for Percival Lowell.

Pluto has at least 5 known moons: Charon (the largest, with a diameter just over half that of Pluto discovered in 1978) and Nix, Hydra, Kerberos, and Styx, all discovered since 2000 by astronomers using the Hubble Space Telescope.

Pluto and Charon are sometimes described as a

This diagram shows the relative positions of Pluto (red) and Neptune (blue) on selected dates. The size of Neptune and Pluto is depicted as inversely proportional to the distance between them to emphasise the closest approach in 1896.

7

binary system because the barycenter of their orbits does not lie within either body.

On July 14, 2015, Pluto’s system is due to be visited by spacecraft for the first time. The New Horizons probe will perform a flyby during which it will attempt to take detailed measurements and images of Pluto and its moons.

Orbital Characteristics - Epoch J2000 7 311 000 000 km Aphelion

Perihelion

4 437 000 000 km

Semi-major axis

5 874 000 000 km

Eccentricity

0.248 807 66 (mean)

Orbital period

247.68 yrs / 90465 d / 14164.4 Pluto days 366.73 days

Synodic period Average orbital speed

4.7 km/s

Mean anomaly

14.86012204°

Inclination

17.151394° (11.88° to Sun's equator) 110.28683° Longitude of ascending node 113.76349° Argument of perihelion Known satellites

Diary of Astronomical Phenomena

During May the 5 major planets: • Mercury will be moving from Taurus into Aries. Visible in the early evening sky in the first half of the month.

• Venus will be moving from Taurus into Gemini. Visible in the evening sky.

• Mars will be moving from Taurus. Barely visible in the early evening sky.

• Jupiter is moving through Cancer and is prominent the first half of the night • Saturn is in Scorpio and is visible after midnight until morning.

Meteor Showers Eta Aquariids

Visible 21/04 - 12/05

Peak 05/05

5

Physical Characteristics 0.18 Earths Mean radius 0.033 Earths Surface area 0.0059 Earths Volume 0.00218 Earths Mass 2.03±0.06 g/cm Mean density 0.658 m/s / 0.067 g Surface gravity 1.229 km/s Escape velocity Sidereal rotation period 6 d, 9 h, 17 m, 36 s 47.18 km/h Equatorial rotation velocity 119.591°±0.014° Axial tilt 312.993° North pole right ascension 6.163° North pole declination 13.65 to 16.3 Apparent magnitude −0.7 Absolute magnitude (H) 0.065” to 0.115” Angular diameter 8

Glossary

orbital resonance - In celestial mechanics, an orbital resonance occurs when two orbiting bodies exert a regular, periodic gravitational influence on each other, usually due to their orbital periods being related by a ratio of two small integers

d 2 4 5 5 9 10 11 15 18 18 19 19 20 21 23 24 25 25 26 27 28 29 30

Event Spica near the Moon Full Moon Saturn near the Moon eta Aquariid meteor shower max.

Venus near Messier 35 Venus near Messier 35 Last Quarter Moon Uranus near the Moon New Moon Mars near the Moon Aldebaran near the Moon Mercury near the Moon Moon near Messier 35 Venus near the Moon at noon Jupiter near the Moon Jupiter near the Moon First Quarter Moon Regulus near the Moon Mars near Aldebaran Mercury near Mars Mercury near Aldebaran Spica near the Moon Venus near Pollux

In The Garden

It is almost too late to sow some of the winter vegetables. But not quite! Peas, cabbages, cauliflower and broccoli take 3 – 4 months to be ready for harvest. Most other winter crops will produce food for your table in a shorter time than this. If you like salads, start with radishes, lettuce and rocket. Radish are sown in situ i.e. they should not be transplanted. They take 4 – 6 weeks to mature. Carrots, potatoes, beetroot and other root crops are generally sown in situ too.

First prepare the beds by digging the full depth of the garden fork tines. Remove old roots, stones and other debris. A metal rake makes the removal of stones easier and more thorough. Rake again to break any large clumps of earth and to level the soil. The back of the rake can be used to make a shallow furrow in which small seeds like carrots can be sown. For larger seeds use a wooden dibber or a stick to make the hole before dropping in the seed.

Sow a line of seeds sufficient for your household to use in 2 weeks.

Then repeat the sowing two weeks later. Succession planting means that you will always have new young vegetables for the kitchen – and the table. Be strict about thinning out. When carrots and other small seedlings are a few centimetres tall take out any that are closer together than 3 cms. It may seem like a waste of good seedlings but the ones left behind can now grow to a good size.

Practise a three year crop rotation. Sow seeds in a different bed from the previous year. This helps to cut down dramatically on disease and pests. Remember that legumes like peas and beans fix nitrogen into the soil. Follow them the next year with cabbages, cauliflower and broccoli that need extra nitrogen. The third crop can be smaller plants like carrots or spring onions.

Vegetables need to grow in full sun. They also respond to feeding with manure. Find a poultry farm, a dairy farm or stables where horses are kept and ask for dry manure. A sackful may cost you a token tip but will amply reward the expenditure. Ideally it should be dug into the soil a month or more before planting. Lettuce need frequent watering to grow rapidly and avoid becoming bitter. They can be grown between other crops or planted in the flower border.

Tomatoes should be watered only on the soil; avoid watering with a sprinkler on the leaves as this encourages mildew and blight.

Tomatoes also need some of the new side shoots “pinching out”.

Limit the fruit trusses to 4 per plant and each of them will provide plenty of tomatoes. Later remove the top growing-tip of the plant too.

“Pinching out” is not necessary for small “cherry” tomatoes.

Grow red onions as they will keep far longer than the white type.

Leeks are invaluable as the tiny ones are great in salads and larger ones make Vichysoisse and other soups or can be served with cheese sauce or used in a quiche.

TIP: Teach your gardener to stand on the garden fork “shoulder” when digging so that the whole length of the tines goes vertically down into the soil.

TIP: Add a teaspoonful of boron to each cauliflower or broccoli plant when the leaves are fully grown to encourage bigger heads.

9

Autumn Tree Of The Month

Bridelia micrantha (Hochst.) Baillon Common Name: Mushiwe Plant Family: Euphorbiaceae The main photo shows a row of Bridelia micrantha planted about 2 years ago, in irrigated grass in Lusaka. Overlaid is a close up showing the colours of the new leaves.

The Bridelia micrantha is a beautiful fast growing medium sized semi-deciduous tree, (7 – 15 m high with a spread of 5 – 8 m) usually found in riverine areas and forest remnants, but may also occur in open woodland. It makes an excellent shade tree forming a crown after only a few years. It usually has scattered bright red leaves and the tree can be used as a background plant in the garden with the old and new leaves adding a splash of colour in the spring and autumn. Autumn leaves are yellow, red and purple and the new young leaves are coppery red. It also has considerable potential as a street tree and is very useful in an avenue. The fruits draw a large variety of birds and small mammals, including bush babies.

The Bridelia micrantha prefers heavier, fertile soils, but is tolerant of most soil types and likes full sun. It is hardy to frost and grows quickly if watered.

The timber is resistant to termites and has been successfully used in furniture making.

The bark is used to treat burns, wounds and stomach complaints. Leaf sap is used to treat sore eyes.

Ref: Coates Palgrave p.490, Storrs 1 p.235-236, van Wyk 2 p.72, Venter p.136, S.A. No. - Zimb. No. 475

10

by Mel Phiri

Undaunted by long bus journeys, I set off for Lukulu in the western province of Zambia on a Wednesday morning. The last road trip that rivalled this one was a marathon tour of Luapula province that had been organised by Zamsaf several years ago.

Rivalled mainly because I took the public bus route out of inter-city – did the 600 Km journey to Lukulu via Kaoma (and back, so 1200 Km in total) on uneven tar and rough gravel – but this is where the comparison stops. I had never seen the Zambezi from its upper courses and I was going to get my first view of this part of the river from the Barotse Plains, an area so significant in the history of Zambia.

My hosts were the managers of Matoya Fishing Lodge, who have just opened for the fishing season. Mark Stephenson wanted us to come up and see for ourselves just what Matoya had to offer its clients.

By Thursday morning, I was certainly ready for some pampering when I lumbered off the Kaoma-Lukulu shuttle bus that had picked me up at 2am from the main bus station in Kaoma six hours before.

A note for self-drive clients: There is reasonable mobile phone signal throughout the journey – this does not apply for the almost 200 Km stretch of road from Kaoma to Lukulu. So be prepared to be cut off from communication between the two points even while noting my hosts’ assurance that it is a fisherman’s rule of thumb that ‘there isn’t a good road to good fishing’. Also carry fuel from Lusaka as supply is erratic en route.

Apart from the thriving population along the road and lively rural schools up to the mission centre at Sancta Maria, Lukulu has to be classified as ‘remote’. As I stepped into the welcoming bass boat after a friendly escort from the volunteer counsellor at the mission hospital, I was immediately conscious of the smell of clean river water.

Guests are routinely picked up from the mission and taken across to the other side of the river to the lodge. It’s a fast, fresh 15 minute boat ride and will be cold so remember to cover up. Up till August, temperatures will be averaging 25°C and visitors will appreciate the evening chat

Destination i ez Upper Zamb

11

around the fire. Lukulu has an airstrip, for the clients arriving by air charter, probably the best way to choose if the main purpose is to get as quickly as you can to the famed tiger-fishing that is the signature of Matoya’s service.

Breakfast was served to me as I got off the boat. My chalet was picture perfect both inside and out, but the real treat was the view from the teak deck through the waterberry trees of the mighty mighty Zambezi – it is breathtaking – careful not to slip into the sparkling clear plunge pool as you try to get the best photo!

I had just about got my bearings when I realised that I was not going to be spared the fishing experience – Paul, our guide had reset the breakfast buffet table to begin setting up the rods. Chef was already out with home-made pies and a full cool box, and just before 11, I was being shepherded back down the wooden steps into our boat.

First stop, live bait, fingerlings dropped into the well and our team of four began to drift and drive towards our guide’s favourite spots.

When the boat’s engine is cut off there is alternating bird-song and silence. My hosts gave me a quick lesson on the difference between fly-fishing and lure and then proceeded to be outsmarted by the fish.

My long trip was a good excuse to not drift into the hotter part of the day and I think I was gracious enough to understand that Paul was itching to give his fishermanbosses a ticking off out of earshot for having not presented me with at least a 10lb tiger for my troubles. The tiger is a well-known sportsman’s fish and the lodge’s best in the two and a half years they have been open is a 22lb’er.

12

Matoya operates on a strict catch and release policy. Local knowledge has it that illegal fishing is not a problem in this area probably because it is so off the beaten track there is no major fish market. Villagers in their dugouts fish in the traditional way and there is a government department on the mainland overseeing activity on the river.

Lunch is often hearty meat pies on the river or sandwiches, washed down with the client’s choice of cold drinks, but I was served a delicious lunch under thatch in the open dining and bar area. Dinner is routinely three-course. Soup in the colder months, main course and dessert – but previous notice will give the managers a chance to adjust for any dietary preferences.

Matoya is firstly a fisherman’s niche, but can also serve as; a family holiday away from business as usual; a must do for people who have only seen the bottom side of Sioma Falls so yet to experience first-hand the uppermost stretch of the Zambezi; and clearly a select getaway location which meets international expectations.

See www.matoyalodge.com Email: matoya@matoyalodge.com or call Mark at the Lodge on +260967101421, www.facebook.com/MatoyaFishingLodge

“Think of it as a Land Yacht” I tell her. She grew up in a sailing family plying the Channel every weekend, popping over to Cowes for a beer, summer hols along the Brittany coast, Easter in Fowey.

Surely she can understand the overlap in philosophy and technology between a 45 foot sailing boat and a Hiace Campervan?

A fridge that cools no better than a piece of damp hessian, a shower oozing a pathetic dribble of smelly luke-warm water, a rusty two burner hob which extinguishes itself as soon as you look away and floods the cabin with gas, turning the craft into an IED. Cupboards full of pointy stuff which rearranges itself to launch an attack at your face whenever you open a door. And a chemical toilet with an unfathomable flush system which farts hideous smells back at you and converts relatively benign faeces into toxic waste.

All these home comforts and gems of nostalgia I explain, could be yours again despite the fact that we are landlocked.

Let the plains be your oceans and the dambos your lagoons, the open road your Gulf Stream. I paint a blissful picture of golden days of road travel, not cramped in a twin cab or station wagon with the three boys all at each other’s throats. Imagine as we sweep through the magical, Middle Earth vistas of southern Tanzania’s Ruaha Valley baobab forests the two of us sitting comfortably up front with iced spring water at hand from the console fridge between the seats. The onboard internet connected by wireless dongle will be working flawlessly and you my love will be pinging work emails and Whatsapp messages back and forth with your girlfriends in London, Lamu and Lusaka. The Hi-Fi with its seamless Bluetooth wireless hookup will be intelligently providing the perfect driving playlist from the library on my iPad nestled in its docking bay on the techno-shelf above me, pausing the road soundtrack to accept hands-free phonecalls allowing us to safely and remotely

control from our mothership, our small empire back home.

The middle and youngest sons will be facing each other across the wood effect Formica table, their fresh fruit juices safely nestled in the inbuilt cup-holders, as the older teaches the younger how to play chess on their (wooden and magnetic) travel games compendium. “Papa!” the oldest will call out from the back row of plushly upholstered seats.......

I ask him to speak up as the roar of the air-con is making it hard to hear. “Papa, if I make you a latte may I also have one, Sir?” I acquiesce and soon he has the Arabica Mocha blend bubbling in the Italian percolator on the cunningly gimballed gas stove and has fired up the Austrian milk frothing jug using the onboard 12/24v to 220v inverter. “Mummy?” adds the little scamp “Shall I make you a Lapsang soushong while I have the kettle on?” she agrees and suggests he pops a couple of croissants under the gas grill.

“Two more hours to the Famous New Green Restaurant in Morogoro and a slap up curry tiffin!” I call out. “Do we have time for a couple more episodes of Life on Earth or one of our other super Attenborough series?” calls out number two. “Oh ok then!” I relent indulgently and they turn on the flat-screen TV, home theatre surround-sound system and 3 TB hard drive with 6500 hours of edifying and educational wildlife, history and current affairs documentaries on, that they just cannot seem to get enough of.... bless them.

Gillie squeezes my hand and gives me a beaming smile full of love and promise and admiration for the idyllic bubble of reality I have wrought for us all.

When not safely carrying us on terrific adventures like a well loved member of the family (a veritable Chitty Chitty Bang Bang) our campervan, which by now will have been affectionately christened by 13

the children, will serve me tirelessly as a site office when I am working on building projects, hosting meetings, pumping out broadband Internet and coffee to placate architects and quantity surveyors.

She will carry us down to Grahamstown for half term holidays and be as happy overnighting in the carpark behind the pub in Kenton on Sea as she will be outspanned in the vastness of the Masaai steppe, the Central Kalahari or the broad Karoo; or sweltering on the arid pummice shores of Lake Turkana.

She will be so reliable and road-ready at all times that it will matter not a fig when you board her whether you are doing the school run or heading for London via the Sudd and the Nile. She will be steady and ready to go with full tanks of diesel and fresh water, a larder of epicurean delights always packed, a small and lovingly selected cellar of wines laid down alongside three or four exceptional single malts; the Grey Goose will be in the minus 40 fridge/freezer of course. Enough cash USD and weaponry will be broken down and concealed about her niches to relieve Gordon in Khartoum and buy or fight our way out of any encounters with unruly Lord’s Resistance Army, Al-Shabaab or Ukrainian football supporters. The high top roof naturally has a natty ladder and a ton of storage; and up there is a 12ft inflatable Zodiac, 20HP Mariner outboard, compressor, BCD’s, tanks and regulators for four and an assortment of fishing tackle to cover every eventuality from trout dams in the Drakensberg to trolling for sailfish in the Kiwayu Channel. When it rains the kids will sleep top-to-tail like happy little

14

pilchards on the enormous bed created by folding down the back seats, as Gillie and I in the double bed in the high top roof gaze down lovingly upon them. More often we sleep up on the roof under the canopy of a million stars giggling and fumbling under our duck down duvet like a couple of teenagers on a first date.

“Will all passengers for Lusaka report to the Kenya Airways desk. This flight has been delayed”. The bubble of my daydream pops with this announcement. It’s the fourth and final leg and insult in our itinerary.

Travelling between Lusaka and Zanzibar has not been made such a palaver of since the days of the Catalina. Kenya Airways are on go slow, so it took us 24 hours to get there and so far 16 to get back but then we are still only 55 minutes from Zanzibar with many a slip twixt here and Lusaka.

If KQ really are the Pride of Africa then the Continent is in more trouble than I imagined..... which was not inconsiderable.

It’s a complete abortion and I long like da Gama and Marco Polo to be the master of my own destiny.

But in my bag is a lovely tin Kombi ornament my wife bought me the other day in Stone Town and I suspect this placebo is as close as my and the boys’ dream of a campervan will come to the tarmac. And the reality of sitting at the roadside in some godforsaken Southern Eritrean dustbowl dorp, the interior of the Hiace gutted by an electrical fire from all my poorly wired and bungled gadgetry, as we sell off the onboard toys to raise enough tom to buy an old minibus engine to get us home.......will also be spared us, I suppose. So that’s nice.

the other end of the rope. To even things out a big balance rope is attached to beneath the skips to form a giant loop, the bottom of the loop swinging about in the bottom of the shaft. With a man cage a counterweight is fitted that goes up and down but again a balance rope is fitted below the cage and the counterweight.

The Trouble with Kopie Now, we all know what a traditional mine looks like. There, proud against the skyline, is a thing that looks as if it has been built out of a Meccano set, mounted on the top of which are a big set of wheels with ropes coming up from below, over the wheels and then down to another building.

The Meccano set is a headframe, the ropes head into a hoist house, in which two great big drums sit, driven so that as one drum winds up the rope the other lets rope out. As the drums are revolving in the same direction one rope enters on top of one drum whilst the other leaves on the bottom of the other drum. Magic! Every now and again one drum is disconnected from the drive so that one skip can move independently in order that one skip can be set to be in the loading position down below at the loading box whilst the other is at the “camel back� or tipping position.

There are all sorts of controls and safety systems knocking about and the driver sits in a comfortable cabin with a panel in front of him (that would not disgrace the cockpit of an aircraft) that shows him where his skips etc are at any one time.

Of course, someone has to have a good idea. I am not sure whether it was a Mr. Kopie who had the idea or the idea was first used at a mine at Kopie in Poland but, basically, just shove a single drum up in the air above the shaft over which the ropes pass. The engine turns the drum. Friction imparts movement to the rope so that as one skip comes up the other skip goes down on 16

Now, to house the drums (One for the rock skips, one for the man cage) etc. a tower has to be built. So one can see a sort of mushroom shaped affair at Mindola at the north of Kitwe and a concrete oblong at the back of Kalulushi all housing the hoist gear, tipping arrangements and even a little lift for the drivers to get up to their control cabins. The view from the top of the tower at Kalulushi was quite scenic, a total contrast to the utter mess that can be found vertically beneath at the bottom of the shaft. For, alas, whilst the hoist area is kept in pristine condition, down below is more difficult to keep it so. And that is the problem with Kopie, those balance ropes must swing free at the bottom where spillage, muck and water make it very difficult to do so.

Aah, but we have planned for all of this.

Accidents will happen; bits and pieces of spillage come out of the loading flask and miss the skip. Upon occasion the little man at the loading box makes a mistook and opens the loaded flask when there is no skip there, this lets the measured quantity of rock, like 6 tonnes at Chibuluma to plummet down the shaft, knocking the great thick balance ropes about. Not to worry, a little man down below, when rock hoisting is not happening, gets his shovel, fills his wheel barrow and trundles it to a bucket on the end of a rope that pulls it up a small raise bore hole to above the loading box so that all may be returned to the loading system. The trouble occurs when the little man down below cannot do his job because things are flooded because of water coming down the shaft, not much, but if the little pump at the bottom of the shaft stops then the water builds up, the man does not like working under water and the spillage builds up until it fouls the balance ropes and the whole system gums up. Why does the little pump stop working?

Well, it could be that the pump does not

like pumping sand and sludge instead of the lovely clean water that it was designed to handle, it could be that the repair made to the pump was not good enough or that the pump cable was damaged by falling spillage or even that the pipe up from the pump was holed and all the water came back down again. The engineers were much vexed by all of this but none of them thought to ask as to where was the water coming from.

When the shaft was first sunk water rings were set in the concrete sides at regular intervals to capture the small amounts of water that leaked through the lining and dribbled down the sides. This leakage started from about 40 metres down from surface and occurred at random intervals down the shaft.

All was well until the equipping of the shaft furniture was carried out. Main beams, bolted to the side walls, divided up the shaft to form compartments that accommodated the man cage, the counterweight, the rock skips (all of which had the vertical steel guides to keep the conveyances and counterweight in position as they whizzed up and down), the rising mains, two 16 inch diameter thick walled pipes coming up from the main pump chamber and, of course, the ladderway. All the cables and phone lines etc were mounted against the side wall in the rising main compartment. The rock hoisting compartments were enclosed by thick sheets of fire proof bratticing to stop any spilt rock from getting into the man cage and ladderway compartments. This did not work very well in practice, it was better to have thick timber but the fear of fire overruled its use. Woe betide anyone who did not maintain this bratticing as at South Orebody Shaft in Kitwe when a dirty great big rock fell into the man cage compartment and went through the roof of the top deck of the cage. Luckily no one was in the top deck at the time!

Now the water that had been running down the shaft walls found bits of steel in the way and onto them they went and, in falling off them, created an uncontrollable rain shower that went, bouncing off things here and there, all the way to the shaft bottom.

An inspection of the shaft was carried out.

To do this you climb onto the top of the man cage and down you go, quite a hairy experience at full speed, until you find the start of where you need to look when a word on the walkie talkie radio to the driver brings you to rest. We went down to about 20 metres from where the worst of the water was coming out of the shaft and drilled a hole through the lining. Oops, a bar of water shot out across the shaft, what have we done! After 10 minutes the water flow eased enough for us to ram a small piece of pipe into the hole, attach a hose to it which we then fed down to the next water ring. This was repeated over a number of afternoon shifts, the Underground Manager fulminating over the loss of rock hoisting time but it was all in a good cause.

The shaft became dry, the problem at the bottom was solved, the balance ropes saved but, horror, horror, the little man at the bottom could hardly see where to work because of the dust!

17

Giving Up Smoking!

Hi, my name is Louann and I’m a born-again non smoker. Bornagain non smokers are an intolerant bunch of ex-smokers who whinge about other people’s smoking.

When I stopped smoking, I honestly didn’t think I’d be one of ‘those’ ex-smokers. We only whinge because we care. By the way, It’s World No Tobacco Day on 31 May. So here is my background. I smoked for eight years, starting just before my 16th birthday. For the last five years of my smoking career, I disliked it. I had Pneumonia in 2007 that put me in Hospital for a week and at least once a year after that, I had a chest infection. I was plagued by flu and colds and had at least three a year. Looking back I can think, my gosh I was a moron to keep smoking, but being in the thick of it, I couldn’t stop.

Every time I went to see the doctor with my next lung related illness, I said to her, ‘I need to stop, is there anything you can give me?’

The answer was always the same; ‘There are drugs on the market, but they’re not suitable for you.’ You see, I can be depressive, and many of the drugs out there make your anxieties worse.

Thanks, I don’t need your pity. Poor depressive girl.

So, what are your options if you’re looking at drugs to help you stop smoking? There are a couple of options, but please speak to your doctor about these, they may not be suitable for any number of reasons.

18

Bupropion (brand named Zyban, Wellbutrin or Aplenzin) is a prescription anti-depressant! Wait for it.. that is not recommended for Bipolar or manic depressive people.. hmmm..

Bupropion works as an extended release antidepressant, that reduces the symptoms of nicotine withdrawal by acting on chemicals in the brain that are related to nicotine cravings. It is usually started a couple of weeks before giving up smoking.

Avoid Bupropion if you have ever had or have seizures, heavy alcohol use, cirrhosis, serious head injury, bipolar, anorexia or bulimia. Also avoid it if you use sedatives.

I won’t go into the side effects, but an important one is depression and thinking of suicide. Make sure you make regular visits to your doctor throughout the process. And be honest with yourself about what you’re feeling. No one likes to admit they think or dream of suicide, I promise, it’s the drugs talking, it doesn’t make you less of a person to admit that they’re affecting you.

Varenicline (brand named Chantix) is a prescription medicine designed to help people stop smoking - this should tell you you’re not alone. It works by interfering with your nicotine receptors. This has 2 effects - it lessens the pleasure you get from smoking, and it reduces the effects of nicotine withdrawal. Start it a week before giving up. Again, speak to your doctor and tell them everything. People with Heart disease may increase their risk of heart attacks while on Varenicline. Again, not going into the possible side effects but they do include depression and thoughts of suicide. Again, be honest with yourself and your doctor.

So what about Nicotine Replacement Therapies?

You have the options of Patches, Gum,

Nasal Spray, Inhalers, Lozenges and Electronic Cigarettes. Nicotine Replacement Therapies (NRT) are great for long time smokers, and increase your chances of giving up cigarettes. Nicotine is the addictive stuff in Cigarettes, but it’s not the stuff that causes Cancer. Tar and the carcinogens in cigarettes cause cancer. Very simply, NRT work by giving you another inlet of some of the Nicotine you would ordinarily get from smoking. So use an NRT while you are trying to form new habits or break old ones. NRT’s are like a crutch for when you twist your ankle, it’s there to help you get over the bad bits and learn how to walk again. Choose an NRT that suits your lifestyle and needs. If you sit in meetings all day, the last thing you want is to be chewing gum in the corner like a cow chewing cud. You may also need to test your chosen NRT, some 24 hour patches cause sleep problems. Obviously, you normally wouldn’t smoke 24 hours a day, so try the 16 hour patches or a combination of NRT’s. If you suffer from acid, avoid the gum, chewing makes you produce stomach enzymes and acid, and that won’t help your existing acid problem. Do your research, the internet is a web of information. When you get to the end of your recommended time period, try stop your NRT but speak to your doctor about any concerns you have.

What about the other methods?

If none of the above appeal to you, you could try hypnosis, acupuncture or laser therapy. These depend on the person, you do have to be willing and ready to give up or nothing will help you stop smoking.

I gave up by attending a course. The course was based on the Allen Carr book titled ‘The Easy Way to Stop Smoking’.

While I am not sure if the course is still being done here, I would recommend you read the book if you are trying to give up smoking. There are a few variations of the book, with one specifically for women, these are available online as an Ebook or Smartphone App’s. A few variation of the book are available at Planet Books at Arcades including one with an Audiobook.

The book helps to dispel the ‘myths’ behind giving up smoking. All the things smokers worry about - cravings, withdrawal pangs, excuses, it lets you know what to expect and changes the way you think about giving up, once you understand your addiction, it’s much easier to kick!

A week before you stop smoking. Start a ‘quit’ diary. List the situations when you smoke, who you’re with, and where you are. Include a section with a list of the reasons you want to give up smoking.

Include some pertinent questions and answers to your future self. What is your main reason for giving up smoking?

Knowing that smoking has no benefits, what is the main thing that kept you smoking? How have you dealt with that reason to stay a non smoker? What do I think of smoking now that I have given up?

Of course you don’t know exactly how you will feel, how you will deal with things, but answering those questions will give you a little extra bit of the motivation you need.

Another good suggestion I have seen is to write a goodbye letter to smoking. Lastly, choose a good ‘quit’ day, (after I stopped, I just wanted to sleep) it’s true that no time is perfect, but some times are better than others.

So, you’ve made the decision, the day to stop has finally come or you’ve just put out your last cigarette. There are a couple of things you should do while you’re feeling strong and freshly determined. Throw away your cigarettes and lighter. If for no other reason than stopping yourself from having an easy to reach rebound. Yes it’s easy to by a ‘stick’ from the kantemba round the corner, but lighting it on the toaster risks your eyebrows! Get rid of your ashtrays.

Give them to still smoking friends, use them as paint brush holders, better yet, use them for soy sauce when eating Sushi!

Alternatively, they hold screws, bolts, earrings, clips and marbles very well and the big ones keep burning mosquito coils from dropping ash on the floor.

My course worked on the 4 D’s to deal with withdrawal. Deep Breaths, Drink 19

Water, Distract, Delay. It’s all fairly self explanatory, deep breaths will help improve your lung function and fill your body with oxygen. Drinking water will help flush toxins from your body, try using a straw to keep your mouth busy. Distract yourself by walking to a different room, tidy your desk, grab and eat a carrot stick, call a friend, make a business call, call to complain to your Internet Service Provider. Delay the cigarette, most cravings last less than 10 minutes, use the other D’s to pass the time.

So what are some of the rationalisations we use on ourselves?

I’m under a lot of stress, and smoking helps... Yes you will feel more relaxed when you fill your body with a drug it has come to rely on, but what’s more stressful when you have a list of 50 things to do than finding time for a cigarette?

Smoking makes me concentrate better and therefore more productive and effective...

Smoking deprives your body of oxygen, do you really think it makes you more productive?

I only smoke socially, I’m at a safe level... If someone chucked all the dangerous, toxic chemicals from cigarettes onto a spoon, would you eat it? What if they sprayed it all over our fruit and veg?

I don’t have the will power... It’s hard, we all get that, it is one of the worst drugs out there, and that’s because it’s woven into our lives. If we all sat around popping panadol all the time, every 20 minutes, when we got out the shower, woke up, met friends, started the car, stepped out the door, had a drink, finished a meal, went for a walk or went to the bathroom, do you think it would be an easy habit to break? It’s not easy, but it is possible, and that is what you must focus on, focus on what your life will be afterwards. What you want it to be. The better version of now.

I don’t want to put on weight... There is good news and bad news, you probably will gain weight, but it’s not because you will be lying in a darkened room mourning the loss of a life long companion and eating 20

everything in sight. It will be because of the metabolic changes your body will go through. Metabolic Changes? Inhaling from a cigarette causes your heart to beat up to 20 beats faster per minute for a period of time. This improves your metabolism, but it also puts stress on your heart. It’s estimated that a smoker of 20 a day put the same amount of stress on their heart as 40 kg’s of extra weight would. So give up smoking and lug around a 40 kg object all day, imagine the calories you’d burn! When my better half and I stopped smoking, we did turn to food, and the most difficult part was that we spend so much time together, so when he was stress eating, I was stress eating and vice versa. The good news is, there are foods that will help, not only with the ‘cravings’ but with clearing mucus congestion, insomnia and vitamin availability. Oats, cayenne pepper, ginseng, oranges, St John’s Wort, Lobelia, Hyssop, Valerian, ginger, Liquorice stick and honey all have a place in your quitter’s cupboard!

Try improve your diet as a whole, the quicker your body can ‘heal’ the quicker the process will be! Try avoid processed foods! Maybe use this change to break in another habit change, start that healthy eating plan you’ve been thinking about!

I don’t know what to do with my hands...

The same things you always do with them.

Just because you can jam a cigarette between your fingers while you use a computer mouse, or drive, or hold a phone, or type a letter, doesn’t mean you have to.

Paint your finger nails - there is nothing more awkward that trying to get a cigarette out of a packet with wet finger nails. File your nails. Learn sign language. Shuffle cards. Knit. Fiddle with your cellphone.

I blew it, I smoked a cigarette... An important part of stopping smoking is... wait for it... practice! Most people don’t succeed on their first attempt. You haven’t blown anything! Trust me, I had a lapse, all it did was give me a headache and make me vomit. Just make that cigarette your last cigarette. And don’t think of it as quitting, no one likes a quitter, call it stopping, or changing a bad habit.

by Robert Makola ‘Getting the Economics Right - Reversing Zambia’s Economic Backwardness into the 21st Century’ book by Robert Sanyikosa “Getting the Economics Right – Reversing Zambia’s Economic Backwardness into the 21st Century” Quite a preposterous mouthful of a title, I dare say, for a book thematically dedicated to simplifying the hard, complex economics realm for us to be able to understand why our country has remained so poor in the midst of plenty, and what we can do about it!

The verbiage in the title notwithstanding, Robert Sanyikosa’s book, albeit some of it personal opinion, but much of it empirical and factual, is a great effort at unraveling the development conundrum that has escaped Zambia since its independence on how to extricate its people from the grip of grinding poverty and taking the country into the high-tech 21st Century.

In simple, plain-speak language that is sometimes crude and comical, and at times outright sarcastic and tough, the author places the blame squarely on what he calls “a dysfunctional and primitive political culture and the lack of knowledge and absence of application of economic theory in a country that seems to have minor sense of the long term.”

The book is presented in two parts. In part one, which is the main section of the book, he bemoans the missed opportunities and misplaced priorities that have impacted negatively on, and slowed down the road to progress even in the absence of major calamities such as wars, tsunamis, tornadoes, monsoons and earthquakes that have ravaged other countries.

Part two, which he calls “Economics in Action: Thoughts on Selected Topical issues in Zambia” – as its name implies – carries a dozen articles over the years, published or

not, focusing on themes such as the costs, benefits and implications of internal and external borrowing; economic regulation and fair trading in the banking sector in which he tackles pertinent issues such as the high interest rates; and the apparent failure to promulgate an optimal tax regime for the mining industry in Zambia (which has recently proved to be a controversial issue which the country is still grappling with) and has the potential to contribute to the country’s economic development.

But it is the first part of the book – Counting the Costs, Defining the Future – which, in real terms, is the book itself, that is thought provoking and hooks the reader to the arguably simple manner with which the author tackles the issues at hand.

And, at the end of those fast moving 40 pages, one can pose and ask the pertinent question: would we be so poor if the solutions to the country’s economic problems were as simple as Sanyikosa proposes? Is it possible, for instance, that the people charged with overseeing our economic affairs, and Governments in general, do not see the solutions in the same simplistic light as the author does?

And, if that were so, why?

The author does not only use the simplest of every day life events and examples and the language of “the man in the street” to expound his theme, but also takes time to explain the meaning and context of the tough economic terms that we encounter in our “economic” lives but of which we have little understanding of their full meaning and impact in a bid to take us to grips with the “economics jargon”.

21

These include the opportunity cost, costs and benefits, positive and normative economics, allocative efficiency, and, of course, the ever-present Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which my mother, were she alive, would have said she is not interested to hear, and walk off to the market to buy the tomatoes, onions, veg and “relish” for our lunch, and another day would be gone!

He begins the book with a dramatic description of how hard life is among the people in the rural and peri-urban areas. To avoid subtracting from, or adding to what he says, this reviewer quotes him verbatim: “Life is hard in rural Zambia where everything has remained pretty much the same as it was a Century ago. Daybreak starts with preparations to get to the fields, often without much for breakfast, if any.

Then the long walk to the garden with the tools of the trade on the shoulders.

“Halfway through the day, gathering of firewood and fetching water from the wells which are increasingly getting dry due to environmental effects. Along with some vegetables and cassava roots, the trek back to the village. Preparation of food and dinner at night. Then into the mudthatched dwellings without electricity, no television…” Problems in the “shanty compounds” that surround the towns and cities are much the same, he says.

Sanyikosa says that the problem is not that this is the problem. The problem is that there is little hope that things will change for the better in the next 100 years for the many poor people, “which is only roughly three generations away!” But there is still light at the end of the tunnel, he concedes, and states, with some finality, that Zambia is till able to play catch-up in the many areas that it has remained behind, as long as we know how to reverse the malaise.

Identifying the endogenous, rather than exogenous factors that have contributed to this state of affairs, Sanyikosa argues that Zambia’s stagnation and backwardness is as much a product of politics as it is 22

of economics. In the political arena, he blames the ideological ignorance and miscalculation, patronage, illiteracy, incompetence, media failure, a passive citizenry and what he calls a dysfunctional political system. The economic constraints, he says, refer to lack of sense of the long term, absence of economic sense and rationale, and inability to apply economic theory.

The author believes that Zambia can ignore economic theory at its own peril.

Countries that have seen sustainable growth have persistently used economic theory as the platform from which to launch their development agenda. Accordingly, he uses three models of economic development theory which can be used as a basis for charting the way towards reversing Zambia’s “cumulative backwardness”.

These are, firstly, the Harrod-Domar Model, which was developed independently by Sir Roy F Harrod, an English economist in 1939, and Evsey Domar, a RussianAmerican economist in 1946, which is used to explain an economy’s growth rate in terms of savings and productivity of capital; secondly, the Solow Growth Model which was developed by Robert Solow and T. W. Swan and looks at the long-run economic growth including productivity, capital accumulation, population growth and technological progress; and, finally, the Cobb Douglas Production Function which was developed by American Charles Wiggins Cobb, which stipulates that total output equals the combination of labour input, capital output, and a third factor known as Total Factor Productivity (TFP), a variable which accounts for effects in total output not caused by traditional measured inputs.

Quite a mouthful there(!), but Sanyikosa proffers that using these economic models, side by side with, and through the application of technological platforms offered by the ICT world, will help to increase aggregate output over time at

both macro-and microeconomic levels across sectors which will help facilitate the transformation of Zambia into a modern 21st Century country, and her people to bid farewell to the apparent Stone Age living and on to living easier lives in the shortest time frame.

Sounds like waving a magic wand, and Bingo! Poverty is history! But is it really as simple as that? Well, the author is persistent. “Conventional thinking and approaches to economic growth and their underlying assumptions simply have failed and will not work to reverse the economic backwardness. Zambia needs to take a fresh look and start anew; and this story (his book) hopefully sets the pace for more thinking; but against a clear understanding that economic theory has the answer,� he concludes.

Perhaps, even for arguments sake, there can’t be a better person to argue thus. Sanyikosa is a modern day senior economist with a track record. With vast academic, research and professional experience spanning three decades, Robert holds a B.A. degree in economics from University of Zambia and an MSc from the University of Bradford, UK. He has worked in manufacturing and small and medium scale industries in diverse organizations including SIDO, Consumer Protection, the Farmers Union and the Chamber of Mines.

He also worked in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, as economic counselor for Zambia and the UN Economic Commission for Africa.

The fast moving book, which grips you like a novel, is a must read for anyone interested in understanding why Zambia, which has massive resources including water, forests, agricultural land, tourism potential, a userfriendly climate which is the envy of many countries, and the ever-present mineral resources such as copper, cobalt and gold, and potential for oil and gas, buttressed by a peaceful environment, should have a generally poor population!

23

Art As Legacy

Lombe Nsama is a professional artist whose favourite subjects depict the Zambian social scene. Encouraged from secondary school, where he followed closely the work of Kamwala High School teacher Alkon Banda, Lombe went on to complete his formal art training at Evelyn Hone college.

Although he majored in sculpture, Lombe paints in acrylic as his preferred medium. The Lowdown had a preview of a series of works to be exhibited at the Henry Tayali Art Gallery in Lusaka’s Showgrounds from the middle of May. The exhibition is to be entitled ‘Pursuit’. Colours are typically vibrant and many of the scenes evoke the familiar and personal lives of ordinary people. But the stories told by the scenes depict deeper socio-economic realities peculiar to our times. The three men reading the single newspaper, the women in prayer, these are the paintings that allow future generations to piece together our historical moment.

The Insaka Arts Trust holds regular artistic events hosted by the Visual Arts Council team; Lombe’s will be a solo exhibition. This presents an opportunity to both the seasoned art buyer and the novice appreciator to meet and speak with the artist.

Zambian art is a growing industry. With the increasing importance being put on the Tourism sector as a potential complement to moderate the strangle hold of the mining industry, it is hoped that this exhibition will attract the attention it deserves.

When not painting, Lombe teaches art in Lusaka and can be contacted on 0977 576-511 or email lombensama@yahoo.com

24

Relieve Pain with MSM Every week, we have several people coming through the Umoyo Health Centre with Athritis. Many suffer from constant pain and have been given pain medication by their doctor. Although helpful, the medicines usually only work for short periods of time, and often I hear patients complain that their stiffness remains.

In today’s article, I would like to draw your attention to a natural supplement that is often forgotten about, but is truly fantastic when it comes to alleviating pain. The supplement that I am referring to is called MSM, which stands for methylsulfonylmethane. This 100% natural substance is present in food as well as in the human body, and is essential for optimum health. Don’t worry about trying to pronounce the name though – I still can’t! Most practitioners simply refer to it as MSM. MSM has been shown to have remarkable therapeutic properties, especially when it comes to many types of pain and inflammatory conditions, including – osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, chronic back pain, chronic headaches, muscle pain, fibromyalgia, injuries as well as skin conditions (eczema, psoriasis, etc.).

In addition to reducing pain and inflammation as well as enhancing connective tissue repair MSM has many other benefits and uses. For instance it has been shown to enhance energy levels, leading to enhanced athletic performance and recovery. It also combats high homocysteine levels, hence helping to prevent cardiovascular disease and lowering your risk of a heart attack. Furthermore, MSM provides nutritional support for the respiratory system and research has shown that it helps reduce hayfever and eases breathing.

Although MSM is present naturally in foods such as fish, vegetables, fruits and milk, it can easily be eliminated even by moderate processing, including drying or heating.

Since most people eat considerable amounts of refined and processed foods, MSM is normally either not present at all or present only in very small amounts in the typical diet. Most people would therefore probably benefit from supplementation, and this is especially true if you have any injury, pain or inflammatory condition such as arthritis.

Umoyo Natural Health www.umoyo.com 0966 800 600; FREE Health Talk every Thursday 10:00 at Umoyo Health Clinic.

Clinical experiences involving thousands of case studies have demonstrated that MSM provides relief in about 70% of patients with pain. In fact, it is often so effective for pain relief that doctors are able to lower the dosage of medication that they prescribe for patients.

Proof that MSM works for the treatment of osteoarthritis was found in a randomised, double-blind trial, published in March 2006 in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage. The trial involved 50 men and women, age 40 to 76, all of whom suffered from osteoarthritis of the knee and were given either a placebo or 3000mg of MSM daily. Results showed that those taking MSM experienced significantly reduced pain and physical inability (greater joint movement with less stiffness).

25

Conditions - The articles and information contained in this newsletter are copyrighted to The Lowdown. They may be used in other publications or reproduced on condition that credit is given to the source. Photographs may not be used without written permission of the photographer. While reasonable precautions are taken to ensure the accuracy of advice and information given to readers, The Lowdown, its advertisers and printers cannot accept responsibility for any damages or inconvenience that may arise therefrom. Any material sent to us will be treated as unconditionally assigned for publication and will be subject to The Lowdown’s unrestricted right to edit and comment editorially. The views expressed herein are those of the author and are not necessarily those of The Lowdown. All advertising sales are subject to space availability and the discretion of The Lowdown.

2015 - 2024: International Decade for People of African Descent 2015: International Year of Light and Lightbased Technologies 2015: International Year of Soils Thursday 9 April - Wednesday 6 May: Art Exhibition ‘Due To Public Demand’ by Lawrence Yombwe and Adam Mwansa.

Venue: Ababa House.

Friday 1 May: Public Holiday. Labour Day

Saturday 9 May: Mary’s Bookshop Bumper Book Sale. Venue: Mary’s Bookshop / Blue Hills Wine Bar, Leopards Hill Road. Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm. Bumper Book Sale and an assortment of artifacts from local Craftspeople. INFO: 0966 767-704, 0966 860-594 Sunday 10 May: Piano Trio Concert. Hosted

by Lusaka Music Society and Alliance Française Venue: Alliance Française Lusaka.

Time: 6pm. Entry: K60. Featuring Theo Bross, Tara Vinson, Oliver Deutsch.

Saturday 2 May: Carboot Sale. Venue: Bump, Birth & Beyond. Time: 8am - 1pm. Second hand items at affordable prices. Someone’s junk is someone else’s treasure. K50 per stall. Free entrance. INFO: 0974 148-856, bbbzambia@gmail.com

Sunday 10 May: - Monday 11 May: World Migratory Bird Day [UNEP]

Sunday 3 May: World Press Freedom Day

Friday 15 May: The Lowdown June Edition Deadline.

Friday 8 May: Waterfalls Precinct Gourmet Market. Venue: Portico Restaurant, Lusaka Showgrounds. Time: Monthly, Second Friday, 7pm. A community event where you can buy and sell authentic food. A platform for local farmers, organic merchants, bakers, butchers, artisan producers and more. INFO: 0969 442-753 oscar@waterfallsprecinct.com

Saturday 16 May: The Lusaka Book Club is reading ‘When Nietzsche Wept’ by Irvin D. Yalom. Next month is ‘Catch-22’ by Joseph Heller. INFO: 0979 454-765.

Friday 8 May: - Saturday 9 May: Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives During the Second World War

Wednesday 13 May: Vesak, the Day of the Full Moon Friday 15 May: International Day of Families

Saturday 16 May. Poet Springs Workshop.

Venue: Alliance Française Lusaka. For almost 2 years, the Poet Spring has hosted monthly poetry shows. The quality of presentations has varied from good performances to poor performances, the latter being the majority.

The aim of the project is to improve the skills of Poets in areas of researching, writing and 27

presenting poems. All Poets and Songwriters are within the scope of this training program.

Come and attend this educative program.

Free for paid up members / K25 for non paid members Sunday 17 May: World Telecommunication and Information Society Day [ITU] Thursday 21 May: World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development Thursday 21 May: French Movie Night: Des Fille En Noir. Venue: Alliance Française Lusaka. Entry K30 Friday 22 May: International Day for Biological Diversity Saturday 23 May: International Day to End Obstetric Fistula Saturday 23 May: French Children’s Movie: Mia Et Migou. Venue: Alliance Française Lusaka.

Saturday 23 - Monday 25 May: 5th Annual Kasanka Challenge. Ride & Run for Wildlife.

Venue: Kasanka National Park. Hosted by the Kasanka Trust. Bike, run, or just enjoy the beautiful landscape of Kasanka National Park while supporting and raising awareness for wildlife conservation in our unique corner of Zambia! Cycling Races include: 44km Challenge; K500 | 22km Chase; K500 | 3km Bush Hopper (Kids); K250 | 10km Njinga Race (Locals). Running Races include: 21km Half Marathon; K500 | 10km Fun-Run; K400. Accommodation Options: Fully Equipped Event Campsite or the Park’s lodges and campsites at self catering rates. Participants and spectators of the event are required to book for the whole weekend (2 nights). Entry fees include two nights camping, one supper, one breakfast, a T-shirt, and goodiebag. Spectators: K250 (camping only).

Round Trip transport available from Lusaka to Kasanka. INFO / Registration (by 23/04): challenge@kasanka.com or 0978 928-993 Monday 25 May: Public Holiday. Africa Freedom Day Monday 25 May: - Sunday 31 May: Week of Solidarity with the Peoples of Non-SelfGoverning Territories 28

Friday 29 May: International Day of UN Peacekeepers Friday 29 May: The Poet Spring Open Mic Night. Venue: Alliance Française Lusaka. An expressive arts exhibition.

Friday 29 - Saturday 30 May: Lilayi Lodge.

Wine Weekend hosted by the acclaimed Catherine Marshall of Elgin Winery.

Saturday 30 May: EleFest. Venue: Lusaka Showgrounds. Time: 10am - 2am (31/05).

Tip-toeing the tight rope between wildlife inspired euphoria and expression, audience involvement will be key at the EleFest 2015.

Festival goers will be taken on a musical journey from cool, soothing day-time tones to an anthemic, energy charged evening and night. Don’t think for a moment that it’s all music and madness either as the event will be spliced and spiced with a range of entertainment including some very intellectual fare, such as poetry, comedy, crafts and skills workshops to keep you amused. All proceeds will go to conservation in Zambia through Game Rangers International. EleFest 2015 will be organised by a team of friends and volunteers. If you would like to volunteer your time or creative skills please contact us! INFO: 097 5615149 Saturday 30 May: ZamPen Centre Writers Circle. Venue: Alliance Française Lusaka.

Saturday 30 May: Food and Beverage Festival. Venue: Cosy Jo’s Pub and Grill Kitwe. Time: 10am - 6pm. Entrance: Adults K10, Children Free. Theme: Celebrating our love for food. INFO: 0966 842-982 paulouisinteriors@gmail.com Sunday 31 May: World No-Tobacco Day Sunday 31 May: WECSZ Fund Raising Lunch and AGM. In Aid of Wildlife & Environmental Conservation Society of Zambia. Venue: Blue Hill’s Wine Bar / Mary’s Bookshop, Leopards Hill Road. Time: Lunch 1pm, AGM 4pm.

Monday 1 June: Global Day of Parents Thursday 4 June: International Day of Innocent Children Victims of Aggression Friday 5 June: World Environment Day

Saturday 6 June: Companie TG Juggling Performance. Venue: Alliance Française Lusaka. Entry: K50 Sunday 7 June: LAWS Crazy Golf Day. In aid of Lusaka Animal Welfare Society (LAWS). Venue: Lusaka Golf Club. K1,400 per Four Ball. Support a great cause - and win tons of prizes. INFO: 0969 465-148, eldeblanchard968@gmail.com 0977 856040, info@gerritzrestaurant.com 0972 166186, shataroopa.maitra@gmail.com Monday 8 June: World Oceans Day Friday 12 June: World Day Against Child Labour Saturday 13 June: International Albinism Day Saturday 13 June: The Lusaka Book Club is reading ‘Catch-22’ by Joseph Heller. Next month is ‘Get a Life’ by Nadine Gordimer.

INFO: 0979 454-765.

Saturday 13 June. Poet Springs Workshop.

Venue: Alliance Française Lusaka. For almost 2 years, the Poet Spring has hosted monthly poetry shows. The quality of presentations

has varied from good performances to poor performances, the latter being the majority.

The aim of the project is to improve the skills of Poets in areas of researching, writing and presenting poems. All Poets and Songwriters are within the scope of this training program.

Come and attend this educative program.

Free for paid up members / K25 for non paid members Saturday 13 June: French Children’s Movie: Les Contes De La Nuit. Venue: Alliance Française Lusaka.

Sunday 14 June: World Blood Donor Day [WHO] Monday 15 June: World Elder Abuse Awareness Day Monday 15 June: The Lowdown July Edition Deadline.

Sunday 21 June: Fete de la Musique / World Music Day. Venue: Alliance Française Lusaka. An annual music festival celebrated by over 110 countries. This Music day allows the expression of all styles of music in a cheerful atmosphere. It gives an opportunity 29

to communicate and share a very special moment though Music.

Friday 26 June: The Poet Spring Open Mic Night. Venue: Alliance Française Lusaka. An expressive arts exhibition.

Saturday 27 June: ZamPen Centre Writers Circle. Venue: Alliance Française Lusaka.

‘Craft Markets & Markets’ Dutch Reformed Craft Market. Venue: Dutch Reformed Church, Kabulonga. Time: Last Saturday of the month.

Foxdale Court Farmer’s Market: Venue: Foxdale Court, 609 Zambezi Rd, Roma.

Time: Sundays; 7am - 5pm. Locally grown fruit, vegetables, cut flowers, plants, fresh and dried vegetables. Support your small scale farmers. INFO: 0973 315-185, 0211 295-793, info@foxdalecourt.com, www.foxdalecourt.com St Columba’s Craft Market. Venue: St Columba’s Presbyterian Church, Nangwenya Rd. Time: First Saturday of the month. Come buy and sell, all welcome. Proceeds to church projects and community.

Konzani Gardens Market Day. Venue: Plot 7053/M Lusaka West. Buy and Sell vegetables, chickens, eggs, clothes, toys, books, paintings. Time: Monthly, Last Saturday, 9am on. Stands: K20. INFO: 0976 549-777, konzanigardens@gmail.com Waterfalls Precinct Gourmet Market. Venue: Portico Restaurant, Lusaka Showgrounds.

Time: Monthly, Second Friday, 7pm. A community event where you can buy and sell authentic food. A platform for local farmers, organic merchants, bakers, butchers, artisan producers and more. INFO: 0969 442-753 oscar@waterfallsprecinct.com ‘Business Associations & Community’ The Association of 41 Clubs of Zambia.

Meetings: First Wednesday of the month, (except Chingola - first Friday). Lusaka: No 1 Kunzubo Guest Lodge, Zambezi Rd, Roma, 6pm; Kitwe: No 2, The Ravens Country Club, 6pm; Ndola: No 3, Table Hall, Ndola, 7pm; Chingola: No 4, Golf Club, 6.30pm. All ex-tablers welcome INFO: 0955 791-414.

30

Chishawasha Children’s Home has a regular stall at the Dutch Reform Church Craft Market. Available are hand-made crafts and quality second-hand books. Don’t miss this opportunity to support Zambian orphans.

INFO: 0211 214557, philplusm@gmail.com Diplomatic Spouses Association (DSA).

Meetings: Last Tuesday of the month.

Members and spouses from diplomatic / international missions, honorary consulates & expatriate community accredited to Zambia are all welcome. INFO: soraya.king@hotmail.com HI Alumni. Lusaka Chapter. Time: Monthly third Saturday, 8am - 9am. Venue: Ndeke Hotel, Longacres. INFO: 0977 774-168, 0977 792-424 InterNations: Expatriates, expand your social and business network, join the largest fastest growing online community, mingle with other expats at our monthly events. Activities include lunch groups, dinner groups, Sunday afternoon coffee groups, photo walk groups etc. INFO: ireen.shalom@gmail.comoremmswood@gmail.com or sarahe@tinytimandfriends.org International Women’s Club. Meetings: First Wednesday of the month. Venue: Poolside, Southern Sun Ridgeway. New members welcome.

Lusaka District Business Association.

Meetings: Last Wednesday of the month.

Venue: ZCSMBA offices, Showgrounds.

Time: 2pm. A member of the Zambia Chamber of Small and Medium Business Associations (ZCWMBA). Come and enhance your business integrity. An ideal forum for sharing business knowledge, ideas, skills etc.

Rotary Club Meetings. Mondays: RC of Nkwazi; Barclays Bank Sports Club; 6pm.

Tuesdays: RC of Lusaka; Holiday Inn; 12.30pm. Wednesdays: RC of Maluba; Radisson Blu; 12.30pm. Thursdays: RC of Lusaka Central; Taj Pamodzi Hotel; 12.30pm. Fridays: RC of Pamodzi; Taj Pamodzi Hotel; 12.30pm. Saturdays: RC of Kusinta; The Courtyard Hotel; 9am.

Stuttering Association of Zambia. Meetings: Monthly, Second Saturday. Time: 2.30pm.

Persons who stutter or stammer, spouses of people who stutter, parents of children who stutter, speech therapists and anyone with an interest are welcome to join.

INFO: 0977 863-363, 0977 841-576, stutteringz@gmail.com Zambezi Toastmasters. Would you like to improve your public speaking? Venue: Lusaka Hotel. Time: Twice Monthly (Second and fourth Thursdays, 6.15pm - 8pm).

Toastmasters in an international organisation that builds communication and leadership skills. INFO: 0978 390-464, 0979 454-765, or like ‘Zambezi Toastmasters’ on Facebook.

Zambian Women’s Institute: Meetings: Every Wednesday morning. Venue: Longacres (next to the Red Cross Building). INFO: 0977 419005, 0977 760-375, reginafinni@gmail.com

Complex. Time: Sunday 10.30am - 12pm. All are welcome. Children’s classes and Junior Youth Groups. INFO: 0975 179-967.

Baptist Mission of Zambia: Venue: Baptist Guesthouse, Corner of Nangwena Rd, Margrat Tembo. Bible Study. Time: Sunday 4.30pm. Times are tough, Life doesn’t seem to be getting easier, troubles everywhere you look - But there is hope. Classes for all ages.

Come join us as we study God’s Word - the only hope for our daily lives! INFO: 0211 292-143 Eternal Life Fellowship: Venue: Old Black Velvet Building, The Groove. Time: Sunday 9am. INFO: 0211 294-430 or 0977 853-298.

‘Faith-Based’

Gospel Outreach Fellowship: Venue: GO Centre, Nangwenya Rd. Time: Sunday 8.30am or 11.30am. INFO: 0211 255-234, 0955 451-271 www.go.org.zm

American Orthodox Catholic Church: Desire to celebrate the old Catholic Divine Liturgy (not Vatican). INFO: 0977 707-367.

Greek Orthodox Mass: Venue: Hellenic Association Club, Kafue Rd. Time: Sunday 10am - 12pm.

Bahá’í Devotional Gathering: Venue: Bahá’í Centre, Alick Nkhata Rd, beside Mass Media

Ladies Interdenominational Bible Study Group: Venue: St. Columba’s Church, 31

Nangwenya Rd. Time: Wednesday 10am.

INFO: 0977 799-623.

Lusaka Family Church: Venue: Mulungushi Conference Hall, Mulungushi Village. Time: Sunday 9am - 11am. Children’s Church: 6 -12 yrs, Toddlers Zone: up to 5 yrs. Youth Life: Sunday 11am - 1pm, Life Groups: Thursday 7pm. INFO: Arnold 0211 293367, 0978 090-982, Gisela 0976 722-892, www.lusakafamilychurch.org Miracle Life Family Church: Venue: Miracle Life Family Church, Zambezi Rd, Roma.

Time: Sunday 8am or 10.30am. Dynamic children’s program for ages 3 - 12. INFO: 0211 292-286, www.mlfc.org Ngombe Family Church: Venue: Flying Angels Academy, Zambezi Rd. Sunday 5.30pm - 7pm. Wednesday evening Pastors Bible Study 6pm - 7pm. INFO: 0978 090982, 0977 607-087, 0978 959-571 Quakers who would like to contact other Quakers in Lusaka call 0966 761-754.

32

Redeemed Christian Church of God: Sunday Service: Venue: Chrismar Hotel Sable Conference Room, Longacres. Time: Sunday 8am - 10.30am. Bible Study. Time: Wednesday 5.30pm - 6.45pm. INFO: 0977 866066 Rehoboth Assembly: (Redeemed Christian Church of God). Venue: Plot 7449 Cnr Katopola & Twikatane Rd, Rhodespark. Time: Sundays, 9am 11.30am, Thursdays, 5.30pm - 7pm.

INFO: 0955/ 0966/ 0977 710-440, rehobothassembly@gmail.com South City Church: Venue: Baobab College Hall, Sunday 9am | Zebra Crossings Cafe, Sunday 10.30am | Chisamba Congregation Starting 3 May. INFO: 0978 289-998, info@southcitychurch.net, www.southcitychurch.net Zambia Messianic Fellowship: Venue: 34285 Shantubu Rd, Rock-field, Lusaka. Sabbath meeting. Time: Saturday 10.30am - 12.30pm.

INFO: 0977 858-061 zmf@microlink.zm | www.zamf.org

‘Four-Footed, Feathered and Environment’ BirdWatch Zambian (formerly Zambia Ornithological Society) meets once a month for a bird walk in the countryside. BWZ members, their families and friends head to the woods and wetlands around Lusaka and beyond. Walks are led by experienced birdwatchers who guide both newcomers and long-term birders through a morning of observation and exploration. INFO: 0977 485-446, www.birdwatchzambia.org

and playing from the viewing platform. No fee, donations gratefully accepted. INFO: www.gamerangersinternational.org 0975 615-149, sarah@gamerangersinternational.org Lusaka Animal Welfare Society (LAWS).

Donate K100 to become a member of the only organization in Lusaka that takes care of abandoned or neglected domestic animals.

You also get a LAWS key ring and 20% off all LAWS functions. INFO: 0966 005-297 (0966 00LAWS)

Dog Training. Venue: Showgrounds, Lusaka & District Kennel Club. Sundays.

Learn to teach your dog good manners, general obedience and some seriously impressive tricks! Bring along your dog with his lead, collar and valid rabies certificate (and some patience) and join us for some fun dog training! INFO: 0962 001-686 lusakakennelclub@gmail.com

Nature Trails for Conservation. Raising funds for Game Rangers International.

Time: Monthly, Third Saturday, 8am - 11am.

Venue: Lilayi Lodge. Come and enjoy 2.5km, 5.5km or 10km trails. Children and bicycles welcome. Price: Adults K30 | Children K10.

INFO: sarah@gamerangersinternational.org

Lilayi Elephant Nursery (Game Rangers International). Elephant viewing times: daily 11.30am - 1.30pm, all year. Venue: Lilayi Elephant Nursery, Lilayi Rd, 6km off Kafue Rd. Watch the elephants feeding

12 Step: Adult Children of Alcoholics (ACA).

Time: Saturday, 4pm to 5.30pm - 17:30 Cathedral of the Holy Cross (Upper Room, East Wing), Ridgeway. A program for men and women, who grew up in alcoholic or otherwise dysfunctional homes. We meet

‘Health and Sporting’

33

to share our experience and recovery in an atmosphere of mutual respect. INFO: 0967 980-229, aca.lusaka@gmail.com (Int website, www.adultchildren.org)

give all women the opportunity to learn.

No previous dance experience required.

INFO: www.shimmyglisten.com or elisabeth@shimmyglisten.com

12 Step: Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Lusaka.

Time: Monday, 5.30pm - SHARPZ, 220C Mutandwa Rd, Roma. | Tuesday, 12:30pm – Kalemba Hall. | Friday, 5.30pm - Cathedral of the Holy Cross (Upper Room, East Wing), Ridgeway. INFO: 0973 154-222, 0954 210446

Beginners Polocrosse. Venue: Leopards Hill Polocrosse Club. Time: Tuesdays.

Introducing riders of any skill level to Polocrosse. Age 12+. The clinic will give you an easy, no pressure, leg up to start you playing. INFO: 0965 801-256

12 Step: Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) Livingstone. INFO: 0962 804-137 12 Step: Al-Anon. Time: Wednesday, 5.30pm to 6.30pm - SHARPZ, 220C, Mutandwa Rd, Roma. A group for relatives and friends of alcoholics where they can come together to share their experiences, strength and hope. INFO: 0977 697-628, 0966 621-806, lusakaafg@gmail.com (Int website, www.alanon.org.za) 12 Step: Codependents Anonymous (CoDA) Women’s Support Group. Time: Thursday 5.45pm to 7pm - SHARPZ, 220c Mutandwa Rd, Roma. A fellowship that helps women learn to look after ourselves, share experiences, strength and hope. INFO: 0962 213-708, coda.lusaka@gmail.com (Int website, www.coda.org) Aerobics by a Personal Trainer: Venue: Kaingo Leisure, Barclays Sports Complex, Club Rd (Showgrounds). Time: Tuesdays, Thursdays 6pm - 7pm. K25 / session. INFO: 0977 174-140.

Aikido Classes: Beginners welcome.

Venue: Central Sports Club, Longacres.

Time: Monday, Wednesday 5pm – 6.30pm.

Price: K20 / month INFO: 0972 260549, chisangakaluba@yahoo.com (1 Dan ITAF China).

Ashtanga and Pre-Natal Yoga classes. In the comfort of your home. Individual classes: K300 per class. Group sessions: K100 per person, per session. Contact: 0978 507-986, 0966 507-986.

Beginner Belly Dancing. Venue: Shakespeare Court, Leopards Hill Rd. Time: Wednesdays 6.30pm - 7.30pm. Saturdays 10am - 11am.

Cost: K50 - Small classes designed to 34

Bump, Birth & Beyond Special Events.

Time: Fridays. Venue: 4145 Nkanchibaya Rd, Rhodes Park. INFO: 0974 148-856, bbbzambia@gmail.com Chilanga Hackers Golf Society welcomes golfers of all abilities to join in the fun of convivial golf and interesting social activities in a pleasant atmosphere with emphasis on friendship and enjoyment. INFO: 0211 290-818 (evenings), 0977 790-900, seawing@coppernet.zm Children’s Playgroups and educational activities. Baby groups, toddler and pre-school. From 0 - 7 yrs. INFO: kidsclub.lusaka@gmail.com Counsellor / Therapist: For handling Depression, Stress and Anxiety, Drug or Alcohol abuse, quit smoking, etc - using Hypnotherapy and NLP. INFO: 0955 999727, priyabala@microlink.zm Cricket. Venue: Lusaka South Country Club, Mukwa Rd, Lilayi. Country & Districts cricket. Home and away matches, Kids coaching, tours and T20 tournaments. Time: Practice Wednesdays, Fridays 5pm. Kids coaching, Saturdays. INFO: 0977 860-797, 0966 437-808, 0966 751-643.

Daily Children’s Playgroup. Venue: Bump Birth & Beyond, 4145 Nkanchibaya Rd, Rhodes Park. Daily Educational activities and children’s playgroups, music classes, arts & crafts, ballet and more! Ages: 0 to 6. INFO: 0974 148-856, bbbzambia@gmail.com, kidsclub.lusaka@gmail.com Dynamic Diabetes Support Group. Time: 2pm - 4pm, Fourth Saturday Monthly.

Venue: Umoyo Centre, Great East Rd. A safe place where those who are Type 1 and Type 2 Diabetic can meet and share their

experiences and learn about new medical research, as well as alternative therapies.

Different endocrinologists and specialists will be brought in as speakers. Diet, recipes, exercise, stress, symptoms and treatments will be discussed. INFO: 0978 028-146 Inside Story. Ante-Natal Classes, Postnatal care and baby massage classes.

INFO: 0977 446-054 / 0211 274-985, margotbham@gmail.com Karate & Weapons Training. Venue: Lusaka Showgrounds. Luke 5th Dan. 0977 314-511 / 0978 710-102, lukphiri@yahoo.com Lusaka Dolphins at Lusaka Amateur Swimming Club. Venue: Olympic Pool.

Group training for competitive swimmers; ‘learn to swim’ for non swimmers; or ‘swim at my own pace’. INFO: 0966 761-547 Lusaka Hash House Harriers. Time: Saturdays, 3pm. Meet new friends and join us for a run or walk in the bush. INFO: lusakahash@zambia.co.zm, G2S 0971 946937, CM 0977 159-935, Thickette: 0978 532-744, or visit our facebook page.

Martial Arts. Karate Classes. Weapon classes for brown and black belts. Monthly self defence classes. INFO: Raymond (7th Dan) 0977 783-537, shihanray@hotmail.com Mazabuka Tennis Club. Ladies tennis every Tuesday morning at 07:45. Mixed tennis every Saturday afternoon at 16:00.

Meditation. Brahma Kumaris Raja Yoga Meditation Centre. Opposite Northmead shops. Monday - Saturday 5.30pm and Sundays 2pm. Free introductory courses. INFO: 0211 250-685 / 254-518 bkrymc@zamnet.zm Motorbike Lessons Best of Bikes Academy.

Venue: Central Park, Cairo Rd. Time: Sundays 9am. Learn to ride a motorbike safely in a controlled space, with experienced instructors. INFO: 0211 236912/3, 0964 584-778, 0973 584-778 Mountain Biking Club Leopards Hill.

Open to adults for Saturday morning fun mountain bike in the bush. INFO: mtblusaka@gmail.com 35

Optimyze Kare Health. Time: Last Thursday of the month; 5pm. Advice on all aspects of health (fitness, diseases, nutrition, mental health, beauty, lifestyle and wellness, and different alternative and complementary therapies) addresses by professional speakers. The purpose is to teach you to be ‘whole’ naturally. INFO: 0955 / 0966 847777, optimyse@gmail.com Polo X. Venue: Lusaka South Country club, Mukwa Rd, Lilayi. All skill levels welcome.

INFO: 0979 505-152.

Running Group. Time: Sunday 6.30am.

Trail & road. Mixed running ability. Options to modify distance (between 10 - 17 km).

INFO: 0977 801-463, c_ngoma@yahoo.com Salsa Dance Classes. Mondays and Fridays 6.30pm Intercontinental Hotel. Thursdays 6.30pm Melsim Lodge, Alick Nkhata Rd Cost: K30. INFO: 0979 400-538 Self-Defence (Short Courses): Practical, easy to learn for youths, women or security personnel. Children & adult Karate Classes also offered. The instructor is the All Japan Martial Arts Federation - Zambia President & Chief Representative. INFO: 0977 783-537, shihanray@hotmail.com Skydive Zambia (ZUSC): Special offer on Tandem dives, no prior training required.

INFO: antoinettedurand46@gmail.com, 0966 622-516, rowles.dave3@gmail.com, 0977 790-500, edmund@skytrailszambia.com Soccer For Kids: Little Eagles Soccer.

Time: Saturday / Sunday 9.30am. Ages 3 - 12: Barclays Sports Club. Ages 6 12: Bump, Birth and Beyond Zambia.

Outdoor soccer-based fun for kids. INFO: littleeagles@zambia.co.zm, 0976 135-788, 0950 265-989.

Social Bowls. Venue: Central Sports Club.

Bowling section. Time: Saturdays. 2pm. New bowlers welcome.

Social Cricket and Polocrosse. Time: Thursday. Venue: Leopards Hill Polocrosse Club. New members welcome. All experience levels welcome. Family, friendly environment. INFO: 0963 881-149 36

Swimming Teacher. All Ages. Venue: Swedish Embassy School. INFO: 0955/0977 328115 Tennis Section, Lusaka Club. Invites players of all ability levels to join in social tennis.

Venue: Lusaka Club. Time: Saturdays, 1pm - 6pm. Cost: K20 for court use, balls, coffee and snacks. Last Saturday of the month: Half Price Social Tennis; K10. You can be signed in for up to 3 sessions by members thereafter you have the option of joining the club. INFO: 0977 964-121, lusakatennis@yahoo.com Touch Rugby. Venue: Gymkhana Club, Showgrounds Time: Monday and Thursday 6pm. All welcome (Male & Female) INFO: 0965 126-200 Ultimate Frisbee. Venue: Lusaka Gymkhana Club; Wednesdays 5.30pm - 7.30pm | American International School; Sundays 9.30am - 11.30am. Everyone welcome.

INFO: 0973 370-973.

Umoyo Natural Health | Great East Rd near Munali Roundabout | Live Blood Analysis Test - daily - K300 | Zumba - Mondays to Fridays, 6pm - 7pm | Baobab Shots Wednesday Mornings - K15 each | ‘Reclaim Your Health’ Talk - Thursdays, 10am - Free & free samples | Fit Club - Full Body Fitness - Mondays to Thursdays, 5pm to 6pm or 6.30pm to 7.30pm | Therapeutic Yoga Mondays to Saturdays, 9am. INFO: 0966 800-600 Umoyo Natural Health | Woodlands Shopping Centre | Live Blood Analysis Test - daily - K300. ‘Reclaim Your Health’ Talk Thursdays, 4pm. INFO: 0967 800-313 Umoyo Natural Health | Weightloss Wednesdays! Visit one of our Shops for 5% off all Herbex Weight Loss Products every Wednesday! Locations: Arcades Shopping Centre, Foxdale Court, Woodlands Shopping Centre and at Umoyo Health Clinic on Great East Rd near Munali Roundabout Yoga with Iyengar slant. Mats available.

Contact for location and times. INFO: 0966 728-911, towani@kuthuta.com

Zambian Cancer Society. Venue: Independence Avenue. Time: Last Friday of the month. 6pm - 7pm. Female cancer survivors support group. Support offered via telephone or email. 0955 226237, info@zambiancancersociety.org / zambiacancersociety@gmail.com Zambia Taekwon-Do Association. Venue: Municipal Sports Club. Time: Saturday, Sunday: 10am. Tuesday, Thursday: 5.30pm.

INFO: 0211 254-090.

ZOCA Dance: Looking for dance classes for yourself or your kids? ZOCA dance fitness is a fantastic and fun way to exercise and maintain a healthy lifestyle. You will groove to popular African and Caribbean beats to get in shape! 3 convenient locations.

ZocaMAX classes are great for toning and sculpting. Classes for Kids 3-12 years old too.

INFO/Schedule: www.zocadance.com, 0967 795-816, zocadance@gmail.com Zumba Keep Fit: Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays. Venue: Alliance Française of Lusaka. Time: 5.30pm - 7.30pm. Entrance:

K30 per session, K150 per month. INFO: 0976 100-727 or register at reception.

‘Leisure’ Alliance Francaise Cine Kids. French Movies, English subtitles for kids 3 - 10 years and parents. Venue: Alliance Francaise, Lusaka.

Time: Saturdays, 9am.

Alliance Francaise Cine Night. French Movies, English subtitles. Venue: Alliance Francaise, Lusaka. Time: Monthly, Second Last Thursday, 7.30pm. Entrance: K10.

Alliance Francaise ‘Poete Spring’ Poetry Show. Venue: Alliance Francaise, Lusaka.

Time: Monthly, Last Friday, 7pm. Admission Free. An open mic multilingual show in which poets and lovers of literature can present and perform their own poems, as well as those written by others in a mature and appreciative atmosphere. With a monthly theme.

Art Classes. Venue: Zebra Crossing Café, Ababa House, Twikatane Rd. Time: Wednesdays, 9am - 12pm. All Mediums - Sketching, Painting in oil, acrylics, water 37

June

You can now read The Lowdown online for free at www.lowdownzambia.com. Join our email list and we'll keep you informed. http://eepurl.com/bcr2f1

colours and more. Beginners welcome! Art supplies available at The Art Shop. INFO: 0974 279-107, info@theartshopltd.com Camera Chat Group. Venue: Coffee Gallery, Nangwenya Rd. Meeting: Third Saturday, monthly, 9.30 am. Relaxed discussions for DSLR enthusiasts who want to improve their technical skills. INFO: rosegarden@hudzam.com Evening Art Class. Tutored by Richard Kirby.

Venue: Zebra Crossing Café, Ababa House, Twikatane Rd. Time: Thursday Nights. Cost: K50 per session. An extension of the regular Wednesday workday sessions to suit afterhour artists. Beginners are welcome. INFO: 0974 279-107 info@theartshopltd.com French Storytelling Workshop. Reading to children. Venue: Alliance Française. Time: Wednesday, 2.30pm - 3.30pm. Children aged 5 - 16.

Helen O’Grady Drama Classes: Afternoons & Saturdays. Kiddy programmes Tuesday, Thursday & Friday mornings. Public speaking courses, Tuesday & Thursday evenings. INFO: carlyn@dramaafrica.com or janet@dramaafrica.com International Wine & Food Society. The Lusaka Branch hold regular themed events in both Restaurants and Members’ homes.

Interested in hearing more? INFO: Ken 0977 829-467 or 0979 473-555.

Irish Wild Geese Society. We’d like to welcome anyone from Ireland who has arrived in Zambia. Fun monthly events and St Patrick’s ball in March, (proceeds to local charities). INFO: 0979 875-097 Lusaka Bridge Club. Venue: Main Lounge, Lusaka Golf Club. Time: Monday, 6.45pm, Duplicate bridge. Monthly & international tournaments held. INFO: 0211 264-432, money@coppernet.zm Lusaka Garden Club. Meetings: Second Saturday of the month. Members visit different gardens, Garden information and talks. Flower Shows in February for members only and during the Agricultural Show in

August open to all. Subscription K60 per year. INFO: 0977 775-744, 0979 428-003.

Lusaka Road Bikers. Venue: La Mimosa, Arcades. Time: Sundays, 9am. Meet for a chat, coffee/breakfast and a ride to various venues. INFO: 0966 766-896 gintym@seedco.co.zm, 0955 801-954 murryfieldfarm@zamtel.zm, 0966 858-733 mcrop@zamnet.zm Serbian Buffet Lunch. Venue: Nena’s Restaurant. Time: Monthly First Sunday.

INFO: 0211 239-541.

Singing. Lusaka Music Society. Do you like singing, have you sung in a choir, or would you like to sing in a choir? The Lusaka Music Society meets once weekly for rehearsals and perform three concerts a year. Meet new people and learn new music. Musicians welcome. INFO: molly.care@gmail.com or 0977 780-883, annew@iconnect.zm Let us have details of your club, event, or meeting! Email ads@lowdownzambia.com

39

42

Small Ads; 01 - 20 words: K40 / 21 - 40 words: K80 / 41 - 60 words: K120 | Property Prowl: K400 Deadline: 10th of the month preceding publication

Carpenter available to do odd jobs around the house, make furniture and repair broken furniture. Can also do tiling and roofing. Contact 0974 347-255 Centricia Lodge - Kasama | Are you travelling to Kasama and need excellent, affordable accommodation? Join us at Centricia Lodge, located in the residential area of Mukulumpe. We offer state-ofthe-art accommodation with en suite bathrooms, DSTV, bar fridge, kettle, comfortable workstation for business travelers, a lush relaxing garden in which you can enjoy our tasty braaied signature T-bone. For reservations; 0976 702-063/ 0963 708-306

Citrus Tree Trimming. Improve the health of your citrus and other trees. Contact 0966 747-990 Compost & Manure: Quality guaranteed!

Compost: 25kg bag for K45. Manure: in 50kg bag for K25. More than 10 bags free delivery in Lusaka. Shaun 0976 030-311.

Employment Offered: A Safari Camp in South Luanwga National Park is looking for a new assistant manager or a management couple with experience in reservations, accounting and administration. Naturally, hospitality experience or qualifications is important.

It’s a live-in position in a remote 43

location and housing as well as all meals are provided. For information please contact Herman Miles at hermanmiles@wildlifezambia.com Employment Sought: Gardener / Cleaner / General Worker. Holder of Grade 9 Certificate. Very sober man. Please call 0978 341-149 Employment Sought: Caretaker / Cleaner in Hotel or Lodge. 3 years experience.

Please call 0966 409-126 Employment Sought: Salesman / Cleaner.

Please call 0976 339-087 Employment Sought: Electrician. Mature, experienced man, can repair geysers, stoves, several electrical appliances, house wiring. Please call 0964 948-717 or 0954 361-685 English Language Tutor. For SAT, IGCSE and GCE preparations. Contact: 0950 228-130 marthe1030@yahoo.fr For Hire: NemboFantasy Component Venues. For a ‘so far and yet so near’ experience on North Eastern outskirts of Lusaka. Food and drinks venue; swimming pool venue; conferencing plus venue; country health walks plus venue; DIY villagescape also available for self-catering weekly stay. For enquiries, viewing appointments or bookings contact 0955 906-541 or 0955 906-542 or nembofantasy@gmail.com Mukambi Safari Lodge is a comfortable 270km (3 hour) drive from Lusaka and the closest lodge to Lusaka in Kafue National Park, the biggest National Park in Africa. Elephant, hippo, all the big cats and antelope are common sightings at Mukambi. Please visit our website www.mukambi.com or call reservations on 0974 424-013 or email 44

reservations@mukambi.com for our unbeatable rates for residents!

Need Landscaping, Digital landscaping design, manure, compost, maintenance of private offices and parks. Design-agardens. Karin Monge 0977 716-954.

North Kafue National Park. Mayukuyuku Bush Camp offers full board, and camping. Excellent game viewing and fishing. Access for two-wheel drive vehicles, 4 hours from Lusaka on good roads. www.kafuecamps.com | info@kafuecamps.com Pet Travel - Import, Export and Microchipping. Pet Parlour - For all your grooming needs. Pet Boarding - In our country kennels. Contact 0211 265-197 / 0968 883-284 / petvetzambia@gmail.com Showgrounds Vet Clinic - Dr. Lisa Oparaocha | For Veterinary / Grooming: 0977 770-940, showgroundsvet@gmail.com | For Pet Shop (Spoiled Pets): 0967 764-825, esuesta@yahoo.com Therapeutic Counselling: Relationship issues, crisis, abuse, anxiety, life changes?

A safe confidential place to explore the way forward. Available services include face to face, skype, email, house visits.

Contact: 0975 240-592 Zanzibar | Private Beach Villa for Rent | Jambiani Village. 4 Bedroom, 2 bathroom beach castle for spectacular affordable family holidays on Zanzibar’s East Coast. Suitable for two families with kids or three couples. Kwacha House is fully furnished and equipped.

Unbeatable self-catering value for families and groups. Rates start at US$200 / night for a whole family. Contact www.zanzibar-beach.com 0211 213-841 kwachahouse@zanzibar-beach.com 0977 897-779