Community notices

Just to let you know that we had a break in on Tuesday night, Strathaven area. At 02:30am I was woken by my Miniature Daxie barking inside the house. I let him outside then went around the house checking doors etc. I saw a male at my back kitchen door. He was wearing blue dust-coat/overalls and blue cap. He ran away and I let off a loud Black Widow squib which sounds like a gunshot (sorry yes it woke the whole neighbourhood's dogs!) and I thought that he/they would have been frightened off. I don't have a gun and am alone with my two teen daughters during the week. I went around turning lights on in the house, turned TV on in bedroom as there was no way I would get any sleep after that. I must've dozed off as the sun was coming up, but woke at 05:15am and found my younger daughter & I were locked in the passage, keys hidden. We had to get a friend round to break the door down, found they must have returned and continued as the backdoor was point of entry, crowbar succeeded, my two miniature Daxies were poisoned outside. The cars had been raided, my laptop was stolen from the office (Acer) with my external  256G HDD, my daughter's Sony Vaio

(pink) laptop and her brand new Sony Erricson cellphone, the cables upstairs on the TV & decoder were cut. I must have disturbed them again. Thankfully us 3 girls were unharmed throughout this.

#shakenandstirred

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On Saturday afternoon 3 (or 4) young black men broke into a house in Strathaven via a forced pedestrian gate and then forced the back door lock and three latches. They hit the 66 year resident, (who had been taking a nap) on the hand he was trying to raise a tazer with and then twice on the head with an iron knobkerry  and chucked the bedcover over him. They asked if he was Chinese and his name was Mr Lee to which he replied “I am a  white African” and told  them his name. They actually apologised that they had the wrong address, when they were told there was a road with almost the same name in Marlborough,  but they did leave him tied up and bleeding and steal all the jewellery they could find and a wallet with very little cash in. They actually left behind all the cards in the wallet (very convenient) but thank the heavens for no permanent damage. Be vigilant and stay calm -

Strath-not=haven?

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There has been a spate of burglaries in Belvedere, Lincoln Green and Ridgeview of taps from the  gardens. My friend was broken into 3 times.  She heard a noise in the middle of the night, got up

and saw 3 guys running through her garden. Next minute she could hear water gushing, she got her  son up and had to tie up the taps to prevent a flood. Please note there are too many break- ins at

the moment in the above areas. What are the police doing about this???? Concerned Citizen 

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As an owner driver of a small Toyota Starlet am I the only one in a small car line this who gets REALLY IRRITATED by many of the drivers of fancy twin cabs or 'cruiser' 4x4 type of vehicle drivers. Roads in Harare are often full of pot holes or collapsed edges and yet it amazes me how me traveling in my low-off-the- ground little car (that does not have 4 wheel drive or even high road clearance) I always gets forced OFF the road by these huge cars traveling in the opposite direction, often at high speed m as if they own the road. These fancy vehicles all have higher clearance if not 4 x 4 ability, and so knowing the initial capital outlay for purchase of their vehicles was significantly higher than that of my little starlet that would give the indication that said owners probably have more funds to be able to replace their wrecked tyres, shocks, CV joints, suspension etc from having to hit pot holes or go off the edge of the  road to avoid a collision than the owners/drivers of little cars like the starlet and other small car brands. Small does not mean we don't matter - so please drivers of bigger vehicles, don't treat us like we don't count on the roads - we have as much right to be there as you do and some size and damage consideration would be appreciated!!

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I have been travelling to UK and South Africa over the past 3 months and then returned to Harare. Having been in countless shopping malls and restaurants/coffee shops while away, it is appalling to return home and have to eat a meal in a restaurant or coffee shop while someone at a table near you puffs on a cigarette. We all know the dangers of even second hand smoke. You, me and many others spend hours swimming or cycling or running or gym to keep fit and healthy and then have no choice but to have to breath in these harmful fumes. It is especially aggravating when you have little children with you. In most, if not all 1st world countries and many African countries,  it is illegal to smoke in any building or public place as they have understood the long term effects of passive smoking on the health of the workforce and ultimately the negative impact this has on the economy of a country. Unfortunately we here in Zimbabwe are still archaic in our attitude to health and the general smoking public are very inconsiderate of others.  Do others support this view or am I a lone voice in the wilderness. Health Conscious Citizen.

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We took our Boerboel to SPCA to get two growths removed, we had heard good reviews about SPCA so we decided to support them. They were fantastic! Our dog is fairly large, strong and can be cheeky at times as well as causes chaos amongst other dogs, I warned the staff of this and they were so accommodating, allowing me to go into the surgery through the back entrance, allowed me to walk with him to put him in the cage ready to be prepped for surgery and very kindly advised that they would contact us when we could pick him up. Again they were so accommodating when it came time to remove the stitches on the wounds which are healing so nicely and neither of the growths have since grown back! The staff doted on my dog, they were so caring and gentle. I found all the staff from the receptionist to the assistants and vets to be very polite, professional and the customer service was second to none. The building is currently going through renovations which will look stunning when it is finished. The consultancy rooms and reception were very clean and there was a very relaxed atmosphere of people just doing what they love and genuinely caring for the animals they tend too. There is no doubt that I will continue to support SPCA. Thank you once again to the staff for taking care of (as they all named him) ‘the shumba’.

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Having driven back from Kariba yesterday (Sunday), and nearly having a serious accident near Banket your email about the driving standards here was very topical. Silver Pajero was tailing me, trying to overtake & crossing the line several times. When there was less than even half a chance he overtook and if I had not been paying attention he would either have had a head-on or side-swiped me trying to get back into the left lane. If he has a death wish he should go and practice this in an empty field somewhere, NOT on the open road. The amazing thing is - when we got to the Westgate roundabout he was 3 cars in front of me; so much for getting home earlier with foolish overtaking.  I feel the 'Highway Patrol' should be just that - a Patrol vehicle travelling along our roads & pulling people over for poor driving, rather than police stopping vehicles every 50km at road blocks.

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Two comments:

1. Re the border incident, I hope the family concerned has taken the matter up with the SA authorities. The behaviour of the SA immigration person was totally unacceptable!

2. Re the motorcyclist accident, the motorcyclists also need to be careful. On more than one occasion I have had motorcyclists overtake me on the left while I am in the left lane and then cut in front of me. Also concerned.

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