Returning after many years

I was born in Kitwe I have lived overseas for a period of over 25 years. Whereabout in Kitwe are you?I moved back to Kitwe is September 2014

I`m in Buyantanshi by the fire station ..where were you for 25yrs? what is your name?

Hi Bowbells, my dear Zambia is too lonely when it comes to relationships, it is the whole truth dear that unless you opt to be a third wheel, you won't have someone of your own and culturally it permits them to have multiple relationships, that is the more reason there are so many lodges that schools. one day the light will shine in them (men) in Zambia it shall be well.

But one day you will meet him, keep looking dear

Hi Lucmo, In the words of my Sister "Love is like a shadow, if you chase it you cant catch it but if you stand still it will find you"...I laughed my head off as it sounds so funny and when i asked her where she got that from she replied...I just made it up, no surprises there then haha. So anyway, I dont desperately search..just silently hope. Stay well, Julie

Dear Bowbells,
What a brave lady to do what you have done. I'd love to hear your impressions of Kitwe and Zambia as it is now, second time around. I really enjoyed my time there, and we spent too long, should have left earlier, etc etc. My children were born there and they hanker to visit the country of their birth!
I came across your post by chance as I was looking to see if I could find any trace of expats I may have known from the 1960's and 1970's still living in Kitwe. Probably not!
If there are any, I'm sure you would have come across them?
I went out single, straight from university in 1964, and the social life for young expats at that time was pretty hectic, there were parties several nights per week. One night, at a dance at the Kitwe Police Station, I met my future wife who had just come out from the UK as a nurse at Llewellyn Hospital. So we got married in 1966 at the Roman Catholic church on Edinburgh Avenue (I think it has a new name now).
Life quietened down a bit but we spent many happy years enjoying the wonderful outdoor life, visiting neighbouring countries, and around the Kitwe Little Theatre (NKAS) and the Rhokana Sailing and Boating Club (RSBC). You were there at the same time as we were! We finally left Zambia with heavy hearts and nowhere to go, in 1979.
We split up 10 years later, and I'm still single but I have a long term girlfriend who is an academic in Perth.
I'm sure that Lady Luck will send you a nice man to be friends with, Kitwe is that sort of place, people are always coming and going. Perhaps he will appear when you least expect it, and be a sort of man that you cannot imagine.

Having piqued our interest, I hope you will keep us posted! And in the meantime, enjoy your freedom!

Kind Regards,
John

Jullie dear

"Love is like a shadow, if you chase it you cant catch it but if you stand still it will find you"          whoever devised this idiom in such high level of revelation has wisdom from above. I thought about it dear and really rewound my past and surely pointed out where I used to chase love, thats the sole reason why I couldn't catch. Thanx dear it is only when you stand on your hope that the shadow appears.

I like this, thnx dear, how is Kitwe?

Hello John,
how lovely to hear from you and to answer your question yes, the place has changed dramatically,Kitwe little theatre is still here and my secretary here at Jasmin is a director and actor there but she describes fondly how much better it was in the 60`s and 70`s, scenery and costumes etc. a lot disappeared and has become a bit rough round the edges.On the up side we have 3 new malls with lots of shops and cafes we are still waiting for Mug and bean,Ocean Basket and...wait for it..a movie theatre without rats lol!!! Do you remember the dances were called "sessions" back then and the live bands were brilliant.The cost of living is very high and I really dont know how the Zambians in the compounds manage to be honest.Pot holes are my biggest bugbear but recently most of the roads have been resurfaced by the Chinese (they are taking over Africa I think) I`m sorry you and your wife split but you are now dating an intellectual who Im sure keeps you on your toes, Thank-you for the advice on being single and truthfully being single does have some advantages but I`d swap them for a man that makes me laugh any day ...I dont have high expectations haha.The men here (in my age bracket) are either married alcoholic or God forbid Afrikaans (shhh)...seriously could you wake up to that accent every morning,mind you, I can talk, I have a mixture of Scottish Yorkshire and Africa.The biggest groan here right now is the load shedding which has started again in earnest as the water level is at an all time low..or so we are told and since we are now going into the hottest time of the year its going to be miserable for sure.Are you in Scotland John? Thanks again for replying and keep in touch,I look forward to hearing from you again.
Kindest Regards,
Julie.

I cant remember if I replied to you but Im in Buyantanshi by the fire station

Hi Julie,
No it's Perth, Western Australia, there are quite a number of “ex-Zams” from my era living here  now. However I don't fraternise with them. Best to move on hey? This is a wonderful place to be.

I'm still working, I look after energy management for the Department of Mines and Petroleum.

The Little Theatre was excellent during my time in Kitwe, 1964 – 79, a new show every 6 weeks so there was always something either in rehearsal or on stage. Many a night spent was in the bar till 3 am maybe, the barman Norwin was a gem, he knew everybody, and all the gossip, but just smiled wisely.

Life did get progressively more difficult and less desirable in the later years, and the society became quite transient, the contracts on the mine were down to about 6 weeks.

To be honest I don't remember dances or sessions, but I do remember going to the Astra cinema which required formal dress, and they had a live band in the bar below at the interval. The Edinburgh Hotel was quite ritzy in those days.

We had years of horrendous shortages after that ridiculous UDI, if you could get butter, there was no bread to put it on, and vice-versa. Kitwe was a great little town though. Out first (mine) house was at 6, 10th Avenue (not sure) but it was a really cute little bungalow, and the man next door had an amazing collection of birds in cages all around his garden. Then we lived  at 213 Central St and could hear the hippos bellowing in the river a bit further along.

Our last home was 1 Mabumbu Crescent in Parklands, very nice, had a swimming pool, Both my children were born in the mine hospital on Central St Nkana, in 1966 and 1969 respectively.

We had two cinemas, the Rhokana and the Astra, the theatre, several clubs where we could go for dinner, Italian, German etc., plus the Golf Club maybe others, and the Lotus Inn Chinese which was guaranteed to cause food poisoning, black and white TV (Dr Kaunda had the only colour TV) and until the later years, it was reasonably safe to go out in the bush for picnics and camping and so on.

There were about 12,000 expats in town and a lively social life.

I expect Kitwe is an even more transient place now, and I can't imagine what that is like! Especially for you being single. No matter where you are, it's much more difficult for mature people, we get more and more fussy about what we want, and the supply of eligible people diminishes.

Perth is different of course, with 1 ½ million people and growing all the time.

Kind Regards,
John

Hi Lucmo, nice to hear from you again your emails are very deep and philosophical and I enjoy reading them.Kitwe is ok but the load shedding is driving us all nuts we have three new malls which make it more bearable I guess.

Hi Jullie

what i have discovered with Zambia and Zimbabwe is that truly, we are like Siamese twins, whatever you difficulty Zimbabwe faces, somehow Zambia is affected and vice versa. This load shedding is also rampant here also, maybe its being caused by the water levels in Zambezi rive that has fallen drastically, we hope on hope that as soon as the rains begin, this pathetic situation will change.

I sometimes visit the Lusaka I don't even know where Kitwe is, But if my time permits one day I will stop by to say hi in Kitwe

Lots of love

Lucy

Hi Lucy..yes we are told it`s the low water levels with the Zambezi here too,I hope we have torrential rains when they arrive as its getting very hot now. I would love to meet you in person, Kitwe,  (The Copperbelt) is a 4hr drive from Lusaka but a very quick flight.How is Zim we hear some awful stories with food shortages job shortages etc.are you working? Even SA is having probs with job opportunities. I live in a small prefab type house on the grounds of the guesthouse but when the power is off and the genset has over heated or switched off (its mega expensive to run) I get very miserable handling the heat.Since the petrol/ diesel went up everything has increased.take care speak soon...Julie.

@bowbells I'm a lady from Scotland and I'm 64.i lived in kitwe for 4 months with my sister and husband and their kids. I was ment to stay 1 month but fell in love with the place. It was 1979.i remember the little theatre and boating club and golf club. I was only 21. They lived at 128 geddes Street. Sad thing is that I have not one single photo of my time there as a lot of my sisters stuff got lost in a house fire. I desperately tried in vain to ask several kitwe house agents if they would ask the present tenants if I cld just have a few pictures of front of the house. And the garden where there was a swimming pool. She wouldn't do it. All memories are in my head now only. I have never been as happy in my life as my time spent there. The tenant would not allow anyone to take a picture.. Anyway thanku for listening. God bless. I shall maybe return if I win money. How lovely that wld be. Xx sorry I've sent that twice.

Hello zambia1979,

Welcome to Expat.com

Good times become good memories!

Thank you for sharing them with us.

But you commented on an old thread that has been inactive since 2015.

Could you please tell us exactly how can we assist you?

What are you looking for on the Zambia forum?

Cheers,

Cheryl

Expat.com team

Hello consortplastics,

Welcome to Expat.com

The last time bowbells posted something on the forum was 7 years ago.

I advise you to introduce yourself here since you are new >New members of the Zambia forum, introduce yourselves here - 2022

Do tell us more about yourself so that we know how to assist you.

Cheers,

Cheryl

Expat.com team

@bowbells I lived at 128 geddes Street kitwe in 1979.do u have any pictures of front of house and front garden. There was a pool. I live in Scotland. I was visiting sister and husband who worked the copper mines.

@bowbells hiya, I sent a message to you. I have no pictures of 128 geddes Street, only memories. I loved that house. 128 geddes Street.. Happy memories.

@Cheryl hi again. Just looking for pics of my old home in 1979. 128 geddes Street kitwe. Front of house and garden area. There was a pool. I know you wld need permission from tenant. I lived kitwe and that house.