A world made just for me

Greetings from the Heart of Scouting

I guess a new beginning is needed now that this weekly report is circulating to a wider readership. To those of you who have been following my antics at Gordon Park, let me say that what I write is factual in essence, but to make it light hearted I write it in such a way to keep your interest to the end. Some weeks are repetitive, especially at the present time whilst I prepare the Park for our Centenary Camp. However, there is usually some small incident to make the story interesting and hopefully, to encourage you to read the next week's report. This week I have a great story to tell, so get yourself a mug of coffee, settle back in your favourite armchair and put your mind into holiday mood, for you are about to be transported to the land of Peter Pan, where everything is a dream of peaceful bliss. Come with me as I have the pleasure of guiding you into the fantastic world, of the Matobo Hills.

Although, I rose early to get all the katunda stowed aboard Inguluvane that I was needing at Gordon Park for the weekend, It was in fact quite late when I finally drove out of my yard. Arriving at the Park just after 10 o'clock, I immediately unpacked, lit the fires and then installed the pump on Number three well. Only two of the six, fifty-six thousand litre tanks are full in readiness for the Centenary camp to be held in August. I am planning on having all six full by the end of July in order that there is sufficient water in storage and that we do not run short during our celebrations. However, in order to reach this goal, I will need to do a few mid week trips to the Park during the weeks ahead, as the yield from the well is not high enough to pump continuously during the weekend. Then, just to add an extra burden, Scouts are continuing to camp over weekends and camping means using water, the very water I am desperately trying to store for the big event. This weekend there was a Cub Scout Pack in camp, so I went to greet them and check on their camp.

In the afternoon, I cut the grass from the entrance of the Park at the main road to headquarters. This section of the road runs alongside the Mtsheleli river and therefore, grows quite quickly and so it needs to be cut every month. I cut the grass on the Saturday before the monthly service, so as to make an impression on our visitors and as this weekend was the service weekend, it was cut. The next task was to sweep the floor of the outdoor Chapel, in readiness for the service to be held the next day. It was just as well that I decided to sweep it that evening for the ground was covered by a deep layer of fallen leaves and they were still damp from the rain that had fallen on the Friday. Sweeping up damp leaves is not an easy task. I usually sweep the Chapel on the Sunday morning before the service. With the amount of leaves that had fallen, I may not have had enough time if I had left it to the Sunday.

Having lit the kitchen fire early on Sunday morning, I headed for Shumba shaba. The climb seemed less strenuous this week. Why, I do not know, but it was. At the top I was greeted by a once in a lifetime view. The sun had already risen and was suspended in a brilliant blue sky at about fifteen degrees above the eastern horizon. Directly opposite, about fifteen degrees above the western horizon, was a fantastic full moon. Encircling the entire horizon to about five degrees up was a dark grey band of cloud. I was in bright sunlight and so was the whole of the Matopos, but I could see that Bulawayo to the north was covered in cloud. I thought how fortunate I was to witness this most unusual sight and I am quite certain that I was the only person to have seen it, for one would have had to be on top of a kopje to see it. Nobody else would have been on top of a kopje at that time of the morning, so it was a world made just for me. I savored the scene. By the time I reached the Mtsheleli valley on my way back to the Park, the cloud band had broken and there were whisps of cloud drifting lazily overhead.

Quite early in the morning I had finished preparing the altar in the Chapel and because it was Mother's Day, I had brought flowers from my garden at home and had arranged a small bowl of them for the altar, before people started to arrive. Following the service, which had been celebrated by Fr. Martin Schupp with John FitzPatrick leading the singing of hymns with his guitar, everybody moved back to headquarters for a braai lunch.

This month's special activity in recognition of our One Hundredth Anniversary of Scouting in Zimbabwe, was to have been Games In Scouting. However, I was inundated with people wanting to talk to me about a number of issues, that it was tea time before I knew it. However, I was saved the embarrassment of not running the activity by Kevin FitzPatrick, one of my newest Scouts in my Troop. Kevin had brought his soapbox out to the Park to run it down the hill at headquarters. I took advantage of this and invited our guests to ask Kevin if they could ride in his soapbox. Well, Kevin was a great hit, for young and the not so young enjoyed the next hour having a go in his soapbox. Thank You Kevin for helping me with this month's guest activity. By the way, Kevin is only ten and a half years of age and he had made the soapbox himself, with only advice from his dad. A very enterprising young man. Late afternoon, people started to drift off for their homes. And so ended another fantastic weekend in the Heart of Scouting.

The temperatures for the week ending 10 May were: 49 and 86. Rainfall for the week: 0.94 inches.

Remember, strange things are happening on the other side of the hill, a land of beauty, of peace of mind and friendship.

Cheers
Norman
Bulawayo, Monday, May 11, 2009