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Some comments are far too long – please keep them short and to the point- I will not send them all out - please give a Nom de Plume – the new Ndeipi Website is up but we are making a few changes before giving details in the next few days. Mike G

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Please ensure when you visit the veterinarian  your dogs are on a lead and your cats in a secure cat cage before you transport them into the surgery. If you are concerned that they are not secure please ask for assistance from the veterinary staff.
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We live in Alex Park in Hodson Avenue.  On Monday night we had our borehole stolen and it would appear that the thieves had a ‘look’ to see if they could also steal our gate motor.  They came in over our wall – cut the razor wire first.  Our immediate neighbor also had their gate motor stolen and I believe 2 houses down the borehole was also stolen.  So keep a look out everyone in Alex Park!  Keep your alarms on at all times during the night and be sure to put them on early.  We have lived in this house for 3 years without any trouble.  But I think that crime is constantly on the up!!

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I also live in Bluff Hill and my motor was stolen last night and the neighbours too.

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Petrol - I had previously checked with my dealer (FCM Motors) regarding the E10 and they stated without doubt that my car engine will not last on E10!!!!!!! I think that would be the reason why they have stockpiles of the stuff – it will reduce the longevity of most car engines! Now it looks like they are making it compulsory to have this fuel blended into the unleaded which is very scary indeed!

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Moz Visas - It may be of interest for people to know that there is a Moz consulate in Mutare which can also issue visas.

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Just a short one. I had an accident several years ago involving a school child crossing Borrowdale Road and Churchill Road. Not using the lights to cross but in the middle of the road. Goodness knows how the four lanes of traffic did not hit her, and fortunately I was going slow, but after seeing she was okay , a number of my own friends and my husband’s friends passed me , didn’t stop to see if everything was okay with me. It was a stranger , a very kind African man who did stop  and stayed with me until another friend whom I phoned (my husband was out of the country at that time) came to be with me. He even arranged to meet me at the police station as a witness that it was the child at fault. So please , I know we have all had bad incidents but there are still GOOD people out there. So let us not join those uncaring and offer a hand next time we see someone in distress. maybe it will start to rub off onto others.

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Regarding accidents and the "everyone for themselves" problem. This may not be a popular view but I can understand why people don't stop. My friend's Dad stopped to help a "stranded" couple on the Harare-Bulawayo highway a few months ago and ended being car-jacked, tied up and left naked in the bush. He's now (understandably) wary of helping people 'in distress', no matter how genuine it looks. Having said that, some help would have been appreciated when my husband and young young daughters had car trouble along Churchill Rd at about 9pm a few months ago.

Again, no-one stopped to help, not even to help them push the car off the road! I fully understand both sides of the problem though. It's a bit of a difficult one......

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Isn’t is shocking how there is now a blatant disregard for people who are stranded and this isn’t something new. A few years back my fiancé and I, with 2 kids aged then 6, had an engine problem and pulled over on the side of the road between Karoi and Chinhoyi after a long weekend. We had left the normal breakfast time and had lamented over the traffic but were comfortable in the thought that should anything happen “there would be enough traffic for someone to assist us” how wrong we were. We were initially assisted by a black gentleman who helped and left us and we were able to limp on for about 2 km before having to pull over again. We then sat on the side of the road, bonnet up and kids infront of the car in the shade for hours before a coloured family came to our aid. During this time we had nearly exhausted our water supply and been passed by countless families returning from Kariba / Chirundhu who didn’t even touch their brakes and carried on going. Surely the sight of two kids sitting in the sand and two parents looking slightly frazzled with the bonnet of the car up, would jog something in the mind that made them at least slow down to check their rearview mirror? The family that pulled over not only assisted us with the repair of the problem and topped up our drinking water, but also followed us all the way to Chinhoyi where we were able to get to a garage. We learnt our lesson – now when we travel especially with kids, we rely on no one!

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Hi mike i have seen a few people who have literally welded cages over their gate motors using 5mm thick steel tubes. Then u leav a small space for you to open the door to turn the motor onto manual or auto. If they want they can stick a small steel frame around the base of the gate motor which will be stuck deep into the concrete around the gate motor, then they have a cage to cover the motor and two spaces for locks. You can make a cover for the lock such that a key can get in there and such that people cant use bolt cutters to cut the lock. As for the borehole pump a simple gate that has hinges on one side (hinges to be fixed deep into a concrete slab) and the gate locks on the other side. If anyone would like a basic drawing to take to a metal worker they can e mail me on ashton@zol.co.zw

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Well some time ago a female friend and I had a puncture down  Piers Road.  I opened the boot and got the jack and spare out and started the laborious business of trying to undo the nuts on the wheel – not easy for a female I hope you guys out there take note!  You are stronger than we are – that’s why the laws of chivalry requires you assist ladies in distress.

I said to my friend “I will bet you not one person stops to assist, and if they do it will be another woman”.  Sure enough, only one car, driven by another woman, stopped, but three ladies trying to undo the wheel nuts did not make anything easier so we thanked her and she went on her way.  Eventually a humble gardener type man came by on foot and stopped and watched us. “Ah Madam. I will help you” he said.  And he did. We were able to change the wheel and tighten the nuts well enough to get to a garage and he went on his way with our thanks and $10.

My observation is that if men are always demanding respect and admiration in life, especially from the females of the species, THEY NEED TO EARN IT.  Respect towards men is not automatic.  So if you ever wonder how Women’s Lib and independent women taking men’s places in the business world, and other  arenas in life, came about, CONSIDER HOW YOU, THE MALES OF THE SPECIES,  WERE RESPONSIBLE FOR IT.   It also says a lot about the class structure here.  The rich and prosperous are not necessarily the better people.

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I have broken down on the side of the road on several occasions. Even though a 100 people can go by without stopping there have been people have stopped to help me.

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Gate Motors - Borehole sits about 1m below ground with a 100mm steel channel iron head plate that is fitted to the plumbing and base plate, this piece of channel is 1m long and sits right on top of the base plate then we construct a 800mm By 800mm manhole around the borehole with 100mm of channel protruding on the outside of the manhole on both sides this is concreted sealing in the borehole, on top of this I put a concrete lid on top of the manhole with stones in the bottom to allow water drainage after this we close off the entire thing with normal dirt and plant grass on top, this is rather permanent and can only be opened with an angle grinder and welded back afterwards, so we do however recommend that the pumps installed are genuine, we also recommend that the pressure tank be relocated away from close proximity to the borehole this will  deter anyone from digging it up we also recommend that the control box be fitted indoors, all of these items have seen us well. Please contact me if further clarity is needed silverstone@iwayafrica.co.zw

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PROTECTING YOUR GATE MOTOR.BOREHOLE

According to my experience, the best way to protect your gate motor, water pump and borehole pump is to WELD and not use a lock.  If you use a lock, that becomes the weakest link.  If you WELD it then the only way to unlock it would be to cut it using a grinder.  That would then be a huge hindrance to the thieves cause (1) the noise factor and (2) they would need a power source.

LAPTOPS

I guess we just need to keep on encouraging one another not to leave laptops in the car, even under the mat.....a thief (because he trains his eye to see) will see the laptop anywhere in your car.  So if you really have to, rather leave it in the boot. Also, always BACK UP your work.  Tears won't bring back your work.

GIRL INVOLVED IN ACCIDENT

It is sad that we have become such a society that "seemingly" cares for self more than anything else.  Unfortunately our whole region has become like that because good Samaritans at times have found themselves at the receiving end of "nasties".  For me, unfortunately, if I see an elder/lady or girl at the side of the road (in town), the first thing I think of is "ARE THEY IN DANGER?".  If I don't see any immediate danger I don't normally stop unless I can pick up that they are distraught.

1. so what i normally do is wind down the window and ask ARE YOU OK/DO YOU NEED HELP....that gives him/her an opportunity to decide whether he/she feels comfortable for me to stop and help....if he/she says they are ok then I carry on.
2. at night its difficult to stop cause we have so many incidents in the past where people have posed as stranded and yet they are just thieves waiting to pounce!

So its difficult and at the same time sad that we have become such a society. "Gino"