When I spoke to Essy yesterday evening at 22:00 UK time (midnight in Zim) to wish them all a Happy New Year she told me they were without electricity. I’ve just called again, nearly 24 hours later, and there’s still no electricity. She also mentioned tonight that they haven’t had water for over 24 hours either. They always keep pots and pans filled for these regular outages but this time they’ve used up what was saved. Thankfully it’s the rainy season and has been raining all day so they’ve been collecting rain water.

The good news is that somehow she’s managed to get her mother a private doctors appointment tomorrow in Harare. They can’t get fuel for the car so they’re going there by combi. A combi is what the Turks call a Dolmus, in Turkish dolmus means ‘stuffed’ which is a much better word for it than combi. It’s usually a Toyota Hiace which carries round 25 passengers! I got on one once and though I’ve never suffered from claustrophobia before I had to get off. I’d sooner walk 50 miles than get in a combi.

I once saw a Stagecoach liveried Mercedes Benz minibus on the Harare to Mutare road which looked like it was being used as a 49 seater :-( A grinning black Zimbabwean was at the wheel which made me think of Norman (a Zimbabwean Winchester driver) and wonder how he’d got so far off route running a number 2 to Olivers Battery :-)