We sent many letters to relatives and
  friends about our experiences and 
  impressions of the country.   Little did
  we realise that we would witness such
  tumultuous and dramatic political events.

  The looting of the War Victims
  Compensation Fund; the unaffordable
  pensions awarded to former freedom
  fighters; the entry into the DRC war; the
 consequent rapid decline of the economy; the attempts at land reform; the referendum on a new constitution; the farm invasions and the parliamentary elections of 2000.

These events have received in depth coverage in several
books by people who know Zimbabwe well.  You can buy them  here.                                                                    

But our lives were made even more exciting by our involvement in the wider community.   Our domestic workers became a big part of our lives as we strived to help them.   As a consequence we were privileged to assist at births, marriages and deaths; housebuilding projects; peasant farming in the rural areas and schools.  We even visited someone in prison.

We enjoyed life so much we used to tell people - only half jokingly - that we lived in Paradise.

At the suggestion of a friend, the letters have been edited  into a book called Strangers In Paradise.  It is available from Amazon and other bookstores.



You can download  a version of Strangers in Paradise, without pictures, here.  (800Kb)