I was texting an old friend, Beth Bedford, who, in her past life, was an English teacher before becoming a very successful cattle farmer in her own right; her husband was shot and killed by poachers. She still enjoys anything literate, being a great book reader. In my text, I informed her I was having difficulty concentrating on reading a book with four unfinished books on the go at present. Having only one fully functioning eye may be part of the reason, or I have given up paper for an electronic screen. That reminds me that this Friday, the government doctors want to start the process of investigating a possible remedy. Amazing that despite my age and health issues, they still want to fix my eye. Rozanne commented that maybe because it is a teaching hospital that also conduct research.
As an alternative to books, I garden whenever I can and play a number of games, including bridge, mostly online, rummy clubs and other card games. Rozanne and I have also taken up playing at least a game of chess once a day, and occasionally, I get thrashed at the game by my German friend and cigar connoisseur, Michael. On an odd Sunday evening, we play chess, drink good wine, me rather limited, and smoke some nice cigars, reminiscing about our old life. Our Glory Days.
When Beth who now lives in Argentina heard how I keep busy, she commented unpromptedly on how good gardening or hard work can keep depression at bay; perhaps in not so many words, it was the gist of her follow-up text. In this, she is very correct:
“Idle minds in old age do not find mischief; they find melancholy or even depression.” - Peter McSporran.
I am lucky that, to date, my ailments do not include mental impairment, although some may argue that point. Therefore, I find it essential to keep my mind busy. Sleep is essential, tiredness intensifies any negative thoughts or feelings.
I have said it before, and I will say it again: tiredness has a much greater influence on your mood than anything else except perhaps intense pain or bereavement. A troubled mind on a sleepless night can have a very negative effect on your mental well-being the next day. Many with severe depression take to their beds. I did when I was hit by it some twenty-odd years ago and can safely say with hindsight lying on my bed with only my troubles occupying my mind was the worst thing I could have done. Luckily for me, my family and work dragged me out of the abyss. Many are not so lucky, while admittedly, some forms of depression are just not easily remedied.
On our trip to the Alentejo, our friends Sarah, Thomas, and Johanna once again hosted us.
“Bed is for sleeping, not staring at the ceiling, thinking about negative what-ifs. To try and ensure this, it is essential your day is full, and you go to bed due to tiredness rather than using it as a refuge from the world.” - Peter McSporran
The Start of 1994.
1994 was a big year for me. In the middle of that year, I had to decide whether to take over as president of the Commercial Farmers Union (CFU). It would mean a further two years off the farm except for an hour early each morning before departure to the office and on weekends. It would also mean more overnight stays in Harare or in some other CFU branch area. Being president would have the added role of attending many business and political dinners and extramural meetings with political visitors, local businessmen and organisations, which were often held in the evening. This would further stress Diane and my marriage, which was under duress already due to my lifestyle and absence from the family home. Further, and more importantly, I would see less of my children, who already saw little of me as they were at boarding school. It would also mean the continued commitment of my senior managers, who were now more than capable of farming in their own right by that time. My GM Ian Lindsay and Choppy Steyn especially.
By this time on the farm, we had added two hundred and twenty sow units to the operations, producing annually in excess of some four thousand baconers weighing approximately ninety kilograms. Every week, we delivered eighty pigs to the processing plant at Colcom. I was not an accomplished pig farmer, but I enjoyed them, and it was great to have a monthly cheque as opposed to our crop and cattle sales, which fell annually between April and October. Seed maize income would trickle in later in the year, but most of our income fell in these months, leaving a five-month drought of cash.
Socially on a quiet Friday afternoon myself, Ian Miller and Selby Chance would have an extended lunch at Sandros’s restaurant. Funnily enough, our lunchtime conversation was about farming and the future role of the CFU in light of the changes to the levy collection. How could we become proactive? It should be said that some commodities, or at least their chairmen, were loathed to change.
Sandro’s would become a nightclub later in the evening. Generally, we left long before this, but I would find myself there on a rare night when the loud music started. It was not the wisest move, but drink is not a good advisor in regard to domestic matters.
At the beginning of 1994, a number of churches decided to back the Government's takeover of the land by declaring that white commercial farmers only used fifty per cent of their land. I made a statement of denial, which I enclosed. Both were estimates but mine was much better informed. But there lay a problem: NGOs, churches, overseas liberal politicians, and bureaucrats within the Government became experts on Zimbabwean land, its use, ownership and our farming methods. This ill-informed view was underpinned by the misconception that, provided it was not rock or too steep, it could be tilled.
To argue game farming or cattle ranching was making good use of the land, especially marginal land, was almost impossible with ZANU (PF) politicians or so-called liberal do-gooders. To argue that some land, due to the soil or the climate of a particular geological location, was not suitable for crops was impossible, and finally, while not definitive, that crops such as tobacco needed a rotation that included leys with nematode-resistant grasses. No, they said, crops must be grown every year. In short, the general consensus by the ignorant was if you did not plough the land, it was not being utilised.
“The irony of the liberal lobby. In Africa, in 1994, they wanted every piece of land cultivated, while nowadays, in Europe, they are demanding less cultivation. One common denominator is they still do not like livestock.” - Peter McSporran
This attitude, along with the breakdown of Agritex, the Government agricultural technical advisory department, saw huge areas in the communal land and recently resettled land subjected to sheet, wind, and water gully erosion. During the war of so-called Independence, it amazed me that in the remotest parts of the country, you would find field layouts planned and protected with well-maintained contours. No longer so.
“In Africa, the misused plough is one of the deadliest weapons for destroying the soil and general environment.” - Peter McSporran.
By chance, at about that time, I appeared on a TV panel program due to Anthony Swire Thompson’s absence. I think it was called Question Time, and it was shown early on Sunday evenings, where a so-called panel of experts would question the guest, often very hostilely. By all accounts, I came out of this well concerning the land questions and found myself with a very strong following amongst the farmers, even those I had not met face to face. Local people on the street would stop and commend me for making clarification on some of the land issues. My accent did not seem to deter them, and despite my misgivings, I decided to stand for President of the CFU at that year's congress in August.
Disclaimer: Copyright Peter McSporran. The content in this blog represents my personal views and does not reflect corporate entities.
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