It seems to have been an exceptionally hot few weeks. October is referred to as Suicide Month, but it does feel as though it has been more consistently hot this year. No doubt someone will prove me wrong with a whole lot of statistics about temperatures in October in the last thirty years.
In the evening, Ellie is bitten by our neighbours' dog and I quickly rush her to hospital. She is attended to remarkably quickly and I am impressed with the care and attention of the doctor. He insists that he sees a proper rabies certificate before he will discharge Ellie. At times like this, I am really grateful that we are on medical aid. It may cost a bit, but it is worth it. If we weren't covered, we would either have to go to a government hospital, where there is likely to be a great shortage of basics such as painkillers and bandages, or sort the problem out ourselves. Not many Zimbabweans can afford to be on medical aid.
In January, we were just leaving our house one day when Rolo leapt over the wall into our neighbour's garden and killed a chicken. The man was understandably furious and we were very apologetic. However, he refused to accept our apologies and offer to pay him for the chicken. Instead, he started swearing at us and threatening to have Rolo shot. The next thing was that he brought the police around and began another tirade of abuse, telling me that this was not Rhodesia.
It ended up with us going to the police station where we interviewed by a community relations police officer. We went through the whole incident and reiterated that we had apologised and had also offered to pay for the dead chicken. The policeman himself could not understand why this man was getting so angry and asked him to calm down. The matter was solved when John offered to fix his swimming pool fence which Rolo had apparently knocked down whilst chasing the chicken round the garden. All of us, including the police officer, went to see the swimming pool fence which was so old and decrepit that it had obviously been broken for years, if not decades. John fixed it anyway and the man warmed considerably towards us. However, the chickens disappeared overnight as I said I would find out what the council bylaws were as regards keeping them in a residential area.
When the neighbours' dog bit Ellie, John was round there in seconds, demanding to see this guy and give him a piece of his mind. Instead, a rather bewildered woman appeared and, after John had finished his great rant, informed him that she moved in a couple of months ago and her husband works out of town. It seems they took over the dogs from the 'chicken man'. She was very apologetic and upset about what her dog had done.
The electricity has been on for two whole days. We are going to get hammered next week.
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