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Page 7 of 11
We were by now well into sailing and went to regatta’s all over Zambia. Many were on the Copperbelt which for us was great but others were a long drive. Mainly we went to Luanshya, Ndola, Mufulira, Lusaka and Mulugushi, we were at the same time practicing for the annual ski-show, so as I have said life was hectic. Why is it that when one is busy, everything seems to go wrong, just to make life more difficult than it already is. One evening about this time I stopped at Moore’s Farm to collect milk, when I drove into the yard and to the dairy I noticed Mr. Moore waving from the field beyond. He came over and said could I drive into the rear field, as I drove into the field I noticed the vet standing over a cow which was laying on the ground. When I got there the vet said the cow was trying to give birth, but the calf was stillborn and she needed help or she would die. He hitched a rope to the front of my cruiser and I selected 4x4 low speed, he then reached inside the cow and tied the rope around the calf. He then told me to reverse slowly, and as I took the weight he eased the calf out. Within minutes the cow was up and ran off. Mr. & Mrs. Moore were a couple that I had got to know quite well, we often helped each other. Butter was a commodity that was unobtainable to people like ourselves. The only way to obtain it was to give large bribes which people like us were not in a position to do. Mr. Moore however supplied the Dairy Board with milk each morning. He was a very religious man and would never consider paying bribes. He kept us supplied with butter for many years, we would get a phone call and he would ask if we needed butter. We always said yes, when he delivered milk to the Dairy Board he would ask them for the amount of butter he required. The usual answer was sorry we don’t have any at which point he would get back in the tanker. When asked what he was doing would reply, you have no butter therefore I have no milk. It always worked as he was one of largest supplier’s, they needed him more than he needed them. It was a few weeks later when he said he had to go into hospital and would I run the farm until he came out. Having never run a farm, I wasn’t too keen. He said it would only be for a week or ten days, and his wife would be there and help where she could. I agreed! Suddenly life just got more hectic. I would leave the house at 05.00, drive to the farm and supervise the milking and at the same time run it through the chiller and into the tanker, ready for the driver to take it to the Dairy Board. Then I would drive back to town in time to sort out the day’s work for the departments I was running at the time. After work at about 16.00 I then drove back to the farm to supervise the evening milking and sell the milk to his customers. The milk in the evening was never taken to the Dairy Board as they would be closed by then. It was always sold direct from the farm. Most nights I would get away about 21.00, drive home “shattered”, but it was worthwhile and quite enjoyable. I met many farmers through the work I was doing, the power lines went through some of the farms, and although I had right of access I would whenever possible stop and ask if the farmer minded. I had not been in Zambia long when I met Mr. Moore, I was passing through the farm and stopped to say hello, and while we were chatting he mention that his submersible pump in the river had stopped. I asked him to show me where the pump was and fixed it for him. From then we remained good friends, whenever I was at the farm I would ask if he needed help. To get an electrician to go 20 miles in the bush was impossible. We now had a supply of beef, pork, butter and milk, flour and sugar was a little more difficult as the Sugar refinery was at Ndola and the Flour mill was in Kabwe. In the beginning we would collect flour and sugar when returning from the Victoria Falls but later when travelling from sailing regatta’s we would fill the boat and van. This not only gave us a good supply but also many of the people working for the same company. Cooking oil was difficult, this we had to buy from local stores when it was available, but once again we were lucky. Most stores would limit the amount of oil per person. Once again my job helped as I had to visit many towns on the Copperbelt, so would buy the amount that I could from a number of different towns. We lived in Zambia for 12 years and were never short of any commodity, which as I have said we were lucky, many had to live with shortages of most.
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