A CHAT FROM LONDON: A peek at an early 1960s Ujamaa village in Ruvuma

>There was a young Tanzanian speaking articulately and attracting the attention at the Owl Bookshop, London.  Soft spoken and well dressed, the young student wore a light grey coat with immaculate trousers.  When Mwalimu Nyerere retired in 1985, the gentleman would have been a toddler. A baby.

TheCitizen

Habari Zinazoendana

11 years ago

TheCitizen

07 Feb

A CHAT FROM LONDON: Morning chat with a fabulous, frail English old lady

A good day becomes evident in the morning...so the Swahili proverb goes. It was ice cold but the sun was shining.

 

10 years ago

TheCitizen

12 Sep

A CHAT FROM LONDON: Now let’s chat about memorable videos and films

>May I share a few clips from last week? First the video.  A mass of frenzied people are chasing a man somewhere in West Africa.   Right on the knees of Ebola.  Someone sent it via WhatsApp.  Don’t frown if you don’t use WhatsApp.

 

10 years ago

TheCitizen

10 Oct

A CHAT FROM LONDON: London welcomes, supports anti-FGM push in Tanzania

>Wednesday, October 15, 2014...A tiny delegation of well educated women; modest and intelligent, will be welcomed into one of the most powerful rooms in the northern hemisphere. First is Mrs Rhobi Samwelly (pictured), mother of four children, hailing from Butiama, Mara Region.

 

9 years ago

TheCitizen

27 Nov

A CHAT FROM LONDON: Wet afternoon, junkie hobbling on a London street

It is a cold wet winter afternoon, a few days after the Paris and Bamako terrorist attacks. As I stroll down a major street in East London, a man is melodically hollering:“Evening Standard! Evening Standard!”

 

10 years ago

TheCitizen

29 May

A CHAT FROM LONDON: Living away from home makes you know who you are

>May we begin by asking a question? Is it true that there is a huge difference between the thinking of Africans living on the continent and those outside it? Over 50 years ago, we used to call overseas-based ones the “African Wazungus” not because of race but attitude and manners. It was insulting being called Mzungu Mweusi. Nevertheless, behind closed doors it was privileged.

 

10 years ago

TheCitizen

03 Apr

A CHAT FROM LONDON: Easter thoughts: Elections and the depressed

>As Easter 2015 arrives, two episodes to reflect. Fast moving Europe. Quarter of the year gone.   One person’s dustbin is another’s treasure. I am not sure if this old English idiom fits what I am about to present here but... let us not compare tragedies. We may discuss their implications. Tears are a reflection of pain; sorrow knows no definition.

 

10 years ago

TheCitizen

17 Apr

A CHAT FROM LONDON: Of terror roads and cyber terrorism

>It was totally random. Unplanned.  I had been ambling down a London road called Lincoln Inn Fields. Beautiful names the English give to their streets and paths.  Lincoln brings memories of the famous American president, assassinated on 15th April 1865; exactly 150 years ago this week. Abraham Lincoln (right)is regarded as one of the greatest US leaders.

 

10 years ago

TheCitizen

19 Sep

A CHAT FROM LONDON: Of the referendum in Scotland and fruits of Zanzibar…

>Scots. Scottish.  How many Scots have you heard or do you know?  Alex Ferguson, legendary Manchester United coach. Or Brendan Rodgers of Liverpool.  Maybe football is not your thing. How about James Bond, one of the best exports of UK culture, played by Sean Connery, the Scottish actor?  Not a movie person? Prefer females?  How about the 2009 “Britain Got Talent” sensation, Susan Boyle.

 

11 years ago

TheCitizen

13 Jun

A CHAT FROM LONDON: The antagonistic man, his girlfriend and marijuana

>Well. We cannot really call her a girl, although she is very small, petite, short and thin. She is a grown up woman. He is a wiry and skinny matured guy; spindly almost, as though permanently twisting and wriggling around a spider’s web. The two shuffle inside fast, since trains hardly wait for over a minute.

 

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