THE TALE SPINNER
Vol. XVI, No. 45
November 6, 2010
IN THIS ISSUE:Vol. XVI, No. 45
November 6, 2010
Zvonko Springer experiences car troubles on their safari
Carol Dilworth writes about her choice of Halloween suggestions
Richmond, BC, is the first city in Canada to ban sale of pups in pet stores
Pat Moore sends a complaint about women drivers
Jean Sterling forwards cowboys' rules for living
The editor talks about the weather
Bruce Galway, Catherine Green, Don Henderson, and Pat Moore suggest sites
Zvonko Springer and his family have reached Kampala on their
SECOND AFRICAN SAFARI
The morning was dull and cloudy – perfect weather for sight-seeing. First we went to the much-praised botanic garden that one could drive through. It was a rather dusty visit, due to the lack of rain and the cars driving through whirling up a lot of filth. The general lack of upkeep and the foliage grey with deposited dirt was not inviting at all. The botanic garden in Khartoum was in much better shape despite the prevailing climate there. So we left the garden without taking a single picture and continued touring Kampala, aka "the town on seven hills". We made a brief stop at the Grand Hotel, built in old colonial style, which enabled my ladies to inspect the curio stalls and shops there. The Grand Hotel had a splendid location that was so desirable that construction had started on a new Apollo Hotel just opposite it.
We continued down the main road, entering an alley of tall trees inhabited by zillions of bats, aka "fruit dogs". The bats were a real nuisance but the municipality kept them as the best "dudus" exterminators – the best insects killers. However, the bats made such a racket that one could hardly hear one’s own voice there. Also one had to watch where one stepped as there was a lot of muck and filth everywhere along the alley.
Not far from the bats' location there was a huge hospital compound - probably the largest in the whole of Africa. The hospital had all possible departments and provided rooms for the Makerere University School of Medicine. The School of Medicine was the only one in Africa in those days. Kenya started the process of establishing such a school of medicine in Nairobi but it would take years to accomplish this task.
There was no point in cruising through the vast compound so we continued to another of the highest hills of Kampala. On top of this hill stood the temple of the Baha'i Faith religious sect. The Baha'i Faith is the youngest of the world's independent religions. Its founder, Baha'u'llah (1817-1892), is regarded as the most recent of the messengers of God that stretch back beyond recorded time and include Abraham, Moses, Buddha, Krishna, Zoroaster, Christ, and Muhammad. We entered the temple which had nine corners - one corner for each of the world’s religions. The religious sect is fiscally mostly supported by the US now. Outside the shrine there was a splendid view all around, including the other six hills on which Kampala was built.
Cruising for some time, we moved back and forth through the Mengo City Council and then the Kampala City Council. Later we learned there were five kingdoms in Uganda, of which the Buganda kingdom was the oldest and generally most developed by the proud Baganda tribe. It was four months since the federal government had put down the "mutiny" of local tribal authorities in favor of centralized governmental.
We entered Mengo City, the capital of Buganda kingdom, and went to see the church that English missionaries had built some 100 years before. They had educated the Bagandas but were in constant dispute with French missionaries, who built another church, St. Paul’s Cathedral, on the next hill. The latter one looked almost like Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris but was built of fire-baked bricks. Next to the church stood an open hut, under the roof of which were several huge drums. The well-known Buganda drummers used them to announce a danger or a fire and would transmit news throughout Uganda.
We returned from the Namirembe hill to downtown Kampala, where all the important government buildings were clustered, like the parliament, high court, and former king’s palace on a lake. Of all the official buildings, I liked best the one on which a large sign read "Mengo Municipality - All Departments". Imagine a state that has all its departments in one single building! We approached the king’s palace gate but two sentries jumped out from behind and motioned to us to move away "mara moja", that is, instantly. We toured around the palace surrounded by a 2m-high brick wall and noticed a few bullets holes, but no serious damage from the warlike attack. Fortunately the Uganda people did not know yet the injuries caused by a real war.
However, it was high time to have our lunch and to get rid of the dog that Vesna had asked to take with us on our morning tour. I cannot remember to whom it belonged, but I suppose it was from our friends in Kampala. The dog, a semi-Alsatian, smelled badly and was restless most of the time. It made me nervous with the squealing so I could not concentrate on what I wanted to enjoy. Also, the dog's moaning reminded me of the "whine" of my car that should go for the badly-needed service the next day. After we delivered the dog I could relax, but scolded Vesna for taking the dog with us. Ljiljana interrupted my reproaches, admitting that it was her idea as she pitied the dog staying alone at our friends’ home. So that was it, but it saved my good spirits for the rest of day at least.
In the afternoon we drove up the Radio Hill, from where we had a perfect view of the whole city and Lake Victoria not so far away. On the hill slopes there were modern dwellings enclosed by large gardens. These residential areas were the best parts of Kampala, particularly when it had been raining. However, I got tired of driving for an hour and a half through these areas, particularly viewed from the driver’s seat. Even the amiability and friendliness got tiresome and boring, so it was time to get back to Entebbe. Obviously the Indian influence prevailed in the city, kept clean nearly to European standards, yet I missed the flair of an old town like Mombasa in the city of Kampala.
Back at the hotel, Vesna went straight to the swimming pool, and Ljiljana took pleasure in looking at the woven baskets she had bought. Weaving objects of dry grass or palm leaves was the traditional home industry in this region.
We left Lake Victoria Hotel early Monday morning and drove to Kampala. I left Ljiljana and Vesna downtown to do some window shopping and to buy some supplies for the upcoming long safari drive, then I drove to the VW service station, where the manager, a German himself, inspected my car after it had been hoisted up. He explained that the front axle was fixed to the chassis by four bolts in the 1961 VW models. The repairs would cost USh850 and I would have to wait six days for the new parts. The price did not matter, but we intended to continue our safari and planned to be back on Monday next.
The front axis plate held four bolts to the chassis yet there were fine cracks on the left side of this plate. Somebody had tried to weld a few in the factory garage. The right side seemed sound so the German advised me to drive carefully, avoiding shocks to the front axle caused by potholes or cracks in the road. By Jove! how could one avoid those on Uganda’s murram roads? Also the engineer explained how to remove the car bugle ring in case it squeaked at the smallest quiver. Shaking hands, the German wished me "Hals- und Beinbruch" ("Break neck and legs") and a safe return on Monday next.
It was almost midday when I drove out of the VW service station, worrying about the long drives in the coming week. I met Ljiljana and Vesna at the agreed downtown point, where goods were stocked in the car. We were ready to start the week-long safari, first to the north and then down south, following the west of Uganda. At midday we took the main road to Bombo - Kakoge - Masindi to our goal of Paraa in Murchison Falls National Park. On the way out of Kampala we passed the huge compound of the hospital. It made me wonder whether we would return safe and sound to the VW service station in Kampala or end up in this hospital. Who could tell?
To be continued.
The first set of pictures in a slideshow format: http://members.shaw.ca/vjjjsansum/ug4/ug4.html
The second set of pictures in a downloadable pdf file: http://members.shaw.ca/vjjjsansum/Across_Uganda_Pics07-2.pdf
CORRESPONDENCE
Carol Dilworth asked for suggestions for Halloween treats, and several readers responded. Carol writes: Thank you for the suggestions. The tea resonated with me. I bought Stash teas because the bags are individually packaged. I don't like all the packaging but I was concerned that parents might throw out unwrapped items.
So each child received five tea bags: Earl Grey, camomile, green, English breakfast, and lemon ginger. I explained that this year I was giving them something for their parents so that they could relax. The parents who came to the door thought that was a great idea, and none of the kids were disappointed. Many of them ran back down the driveway yelling, "I got tea!"
I wish we did something like this more than once a year. I love to see the kids so excited.
Carol Hansen forwards the story of
THE FROZEN CRABS
A lawyer boarded a plane in New Orleans with a box of frozen crabs and asked a blond stewardess to take care of them for him.
She took the box and promised to put it in the crew's refrigerator. He advised her that he was holding her personally responsible for them staying frozen, mentioning in a very haughty manner that he was a lawyer, and proceeded to rant at her about what would happen if she let them thaw out.
Needless to say, she was VERY annoyed by his behaviour.
Shortly before landing in New York, she used the intercom to announce to the entire cabin, "Would the lawyer who gave me the crabs in New Orleans, please raise your hand."
Not one hand went up ... so she took them home and ate them.
Two lessons here:
1. Lawyers aren't as smart as they think they are.
2. Blonds aren't as dumb as most people think they are.
The Humane Society International/Canada celebrates
CANADA'S FIRST BAN ON PUPPIES IN PET STORES
HSI Canada applauds Richmond City Council for drafting a bylaw amendment that will ban the sale of puppies in commercial pet stores. The amendment, originally proposed by Councillor Ken Johnson, is the first of its kind in Canada, and will give pet store owners until April of 2011 to phase out the sale of puppies in their stores. Richmond is a city south of Vancouver.
Investigations have shown time and again that the vast majority of puppies sold in pet stores come from puppy mills, cruel mass-production facilities where the breeding dogs are often confined to small wire cages for life and often deprived of the basics of humane care, solely to produce puppies for the pet trade. HSI Canada hopes that Richmond’s actions will inspire other councils across Canada to take similar actions to combat the cruel conditions in which dogs are factory-farmed for profit, and congratulates Richmond for having the courage to be the first city in Canada to take this important step towards reducing the demand for puppy mill puppies.
HSI is sponsoring the Puppy-Friendly Pet Store Pledge [PDF], which close to 50 pet stores across Canada have signed on to in the past two years, making it more difficult for puppy mill owners to find distributors for their puppies, and encouraging owners to adopt dogs from shelters.
Shelters throughout Canada needlessly euthanize countless dogs every year as a result the soaring pet population and the difficulty of re-homing adult and pre-owned dogs. By banning the sale of puppies in pet stores, the city of Richmond has taken Canada one step closer to shutting down inhumane puppy mills forever, and to being able to guarantee all dogs the proper care and love that they deserve.
The Humane Society encourages all dog lovers to write to their local council and suggest a similar ban. We also encourage you to write to newspapers (Richmond Review, Richmond News, Vancouver Sun, and the Vancouver Province) to voice your support.
Pat Moore forwards this rant against
WOMEN DRIVERS
This morning on the freeway, I looked over to my left and there was a woman In a brand-new Cadillac doing 65 mph, with her face up next to her rearview mirror, putting on her eyeliner.
I looked away for a couple seconds and when I looked back she was halfway over in my lane, still working on that makeup.
As a man, I don't scare easily, but she scared me so much I dropped my electric shaver, which knocked the donut out of my other hand!
In all the confusion of trying to straighten out the car, using my knees against the steering wheel, I knocked my cell phone away from my ear, which fell into the coffee between my legs!
It splashed, and burned Big Jim and the Twins, ruined the danged phone, soaked my trousers, and disconnected an important call.
Darn women drivers!
Jean Sterling sends these suggestions:
A COWBOY'S GUIDE TO LIFE
Don't squat with your spurs on.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.
If you find yourself in a hole, the first thing to do is stop diggin'.
If it don't seem like it's worth the effort, it probably ain't.
Never ask a barber if you need a haircut.
If you get to thinkin' you're a person of some influence, try orderin' somebody else's dog around.
Don't worry about bitin' off more'n you can chew; your mouth is probably a whole lot bigger'n you think.
Always drink upstream from the herd.
Generally, you ain't learnin' nothing when your mouth's a-jawin'.
Lettin' the cat outta the bag is a whole lot easier than puttin' it back.
FROM THE EDITOR'S DESKTOP
"What is so rare as a day in June?" asked the poet James Russell Lowell, but I think he got it wrong when he went on, "Then if ever come perfect days." Wonderful days are not rare in June - it is in the fall months they are more rare, and more appreciated.
This week we had two perfect days, inserted into generally a wet, windy, and chilly stretch. Tuesday and Wednesday dawned bright and clear, and the sun shone all day from a blue sky. True, it was cool, with a sharp north wind blowing, but nothing could dim our perceptions of perfection.
In fact, when I was out shopping I saw many people dressed in shorts, and they were by no means all young people. One man, who was no teenager, had bare feet. This is typical west coast behaviour - whenever the sun shines, off come the long pants and out come the shorts. And oh yes, drivers with convertibles put the tops down. I think sunshine somehow affects our brains. (But I assure you, I am not wearing shorts!)
Among the lovely things of fall are the changing leaves - mostly yellows and bronzes, since the eastern maples grow naturally only in the east. Of course, there are many imports here, and they add their bright scarlet to the mix. Some of the streets in New Westminster are lined with eastern maples, which are brilliant in the fall; other streets have cherry trees, which herald the spring.
The sun is again buried under banks of roiling clouds streaming in from the Pacific, forerunners of the next storm. I read that we get 100 storms a year, most of them in the winter. There is already a rumour, treated as fact, that we are about to experience a long, hard winter. When I ask where they heard it, they reply vaguely that someone told them, or they heard it on TV.
Which reminds me of the joke about the man who asked an old Indian, "What's the weather going to be like this winter, Chief?" To which the Indian replied, "Going to be long, cold winter ... white man lay in lot of wood."
SUGGESTED WEBSITES
Bruce Galway forwards the link to a video of a 106-year-old pianist, the oldest living survivor of the Holocaust:
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You may also read this newsletter online at:
http://nw-seniors.org/stories.html
"Although there may be nothing new under the sun, what is old is new to us and so rich and astonishing that we never tire of it. If we do tire of it, if we lose our curiosity, we have lost something of infinite value, because to a high degree it is curiosity that gives meaning and savour to life." - Robertson Davies
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