I got myself hoping for the 1st of July to come around quickly as my phone was fast running out of data. How ridiculous is this? Either for a few megabytes or a few Euros saved I was wishing my life away. After my illnesses I should know better. Every healthy day should be treasured as I have often said before in previous blogs. The cliché attributed to Rose Tremain, “Life is not a dress rehearsal” is so true I have found. It says so much in five words. I understand them to include for me the following advice but not limited to, “Do not miss any chances that come your way, you cannot undo what you have done, when the curtain comes down at the end of your life, that is it. You therefore have to give your best performance and use your time wisely in whatever you do - work or pleasure. Looking back at wasted or empty days only brings sadness. So do not spend too much time pondering about what you may have lost or wasted, rather look forward to making whatever future you have left, giving it the very best shot you can. I find my days go very quickly even though I am retired. I spend a few hours each day in the garden, and I write this blog for a couple of hours every week. That takes discipline. I have started painting for fun, absolutely useless mind you, despite Rozanne’s praise. I read and in the evening Rozanne and I will watch a selected TV program. Funny, neither of us sit in front of the TV absorbing any old rubbish just because it is on.
“The TV channels offer rubbish most of the time rather than entertainment. They seem to cater for those who cannot fill their lives with physical or mental activity. Of course the infirm and elderly often do not have a choice. In saying that, even they must get bored of re-runs or finding out what rejected goods are in some arbitrary container.” - Peter McSporran
I browse through Facebook catching up or following friends. That is another thirty minutes gone. I add onto this, my Weekly Spectator, digital Scottish Farmer and a lunch out nearly every day. Yes, extravagant you may think, but meals in working man restaurants here are very cheap. €7 for a three course meal with a drink and coffee. Rozanne has wine. I have a cool drink, with a half glass of wine due to my restrictions. Doctors advice is good, but it is just advice although in my case it may have been a direct instruction. I have trouble knowing which from time to time. Rozanne has benefited from this, as she has a dedicated sober driver night and day. Funnily enough, I do not miss the drink, but to the contrary I do yearn to sit down with my old friends with a good malt whisky and a cigar. These old friends are spread across the world thanks to Mugabe and with travel still out of bounds, friends are even more rarely seen. How much of our life with friends and family have we lost to this damn pandemic?
We have a good friend from Zambia staying with us, using Portugal as her stepping stone through her quarantine process on her way to Ireland. Many of you will know her, Siobhan Franklin, who has also worked as our country manager in Zambia with AgDevCo. My wife, Rozanne, calls her our Duracell Bunny as she is never static for a minute. In her case even without batteries. We had many adventures in AgDevCo, which I will get around to telling some time. Since I have known her, she has always been on the hunt for a good man. I know of one, but luckily I am married. I also received a mail from my good friend Vernon Nicolle this week mentioning that he misses the times we spent together chewing the cud with a beer or wine to hand. We can still talk via electronic means, but it is not the same as being in the same room.
“No matter how hard it tries, the electronic media cannot replace the physical warmth of being in the same room, or for that matter field, with a close friend. Expression and body language are as important as the spoken word in human interaction.” - Peter McSporran
We are all missing our friends. When I look back on life I have seen spectacular places and attended stupendous events all of which have been enhanced by good companionship. One really memorable one, was the Rugby World Cup Final in 1995. I not only remember the game but also the hours spent post-match at A&E as my very good friend Vernon Nicolle had fallen through a grid on a drain leaving Ellis Park, slashing his leg very badly. We did make up for it later despite Vernon's loss of blood and humour.
The Zambezi Valley is perhaps the one exception where company is not needed, being big enough offering so much flora, fauna and pisci-fauna to ensure your happiness no matter what. On the river, lake or just in the valley floor itself, it allows you to view and meditate for hours with no need of human company. All those that have been there or still frequent this place will know what I mean. When we are free to travel I will definitely be returning with Rozanne as a priority. Due to my years it may be the last time as cash and time depletes. Who knows?
“Real enjoyment normally requires a sharing element in the form of a friend, child or partner to truly savour. A trip or attending an event with someone not willing to share or find the enjoyment you see or feel can destroy the memory.” - Peter McSporran
Vandalism and Merrymaking
Our hectic life at Highfield continued. Parties, farming events, social escapades filled our days with lectures contributing to our busyness to a lesser extent. One of the highlights of the year was exchange week with Bishop Burton, an Agricultural College in The East Riding of Yorkshire. We had a wonderful week there, much to the dismay of the staff of that college who claimed on the day of departure that our behaviour had been abhorrent. Further, they claimed we had vandalised some tractors and meddled with the college tower clock which had lost its direction. I forgot to mention I had been elected as course Student Union Representative (SRC), therefore finding myself as spokesman in our defence. The “powers that be” were refusing to allow us to leave the college grounds until the culprits owned up. I
talked to our group, all denied any fault, so I told the principal and his coverts, we were, “Not the ones. It must have been another one or ones.” After a few hours of stalemate in our prolonged negotiations for freedom, the bus driver won the day by threatening to leave without us. After denying us an exit, the fear of us remaining there for another night was just too much. We celebrated our victory at the first pub on the road home, including the bus driver. On reflection, now knowing more about human nature, it could well have been one of our group that did the deeds, but vandalism seems out of character. Bishop Burton never again had another exchange week.
My whole time at college, I was our course SRC representative. Maybe my first time in politics? It seemed that the Auchincruive SRC’s main role was to organise the end of term dances. A major event not only in the college calendar, but the whole of Ayr. Importantly this included the girls from Craigie Teaching College. I assume it was not the cheap beer that attracted the ladies. On reflection, who can be sure? These important events to us took up much of our time. I cannot remember, other than the Bishop Burton standoff, representing or lobbying on the students’ behalf on any important issue. We dealt mostly with complaints from hostel wardens and staff about drag races in the carpark and sheep in the lift. Another contentious issue was the presence of men late at night (early morning) in the ladies hostel. This had a negative effect on the matron's humour which manifested itself in verbal complaint to the principal. Petty issues, I am sure our principal Professor Hall had more important things to deal with. Of course the British Socialist lobby groups and activists sent us copious amounts of posters with the face of Che Guevara, Castro or some other revolutionaries' image, which we faithfully distributed as it cluttered our very small office. An agricultural college student did not take this propaganda seriously. I even had Che’s face on the wall of my bedroom. The only picture I had or could afford.
Another event that attracted many from far and wide were our house parties at Highfield. Once, more than two hundred people arrived with the farmyard parking overflowing onto the main Glasgow dual carriageway. The police helpfully arrived to supervise this illegal parking. It was an age of tolerance, as I am sure each and every one that left that party would have been deemed unfit to drive. The police of today would have loved the easy pickings. We used to buy kegs of beer to supplement the beverages the guests brought for themselves, many uninvited. From memory much of this beer ended up on the kitchen floor, people would become overzealous on the foot pressure pump as the night wore on.
We had a very strong college rugby team that year and much to everyone’s surprise we won the Agricultural Colleges Rugby Cup for the first time. Three of us from Highfield were team members. Willy, Mike and myself. We also represented the college in the Borders 7’s.
Another event which was special to us was the Ayr Agricultural Show. Mike claims I drank 28 beers at once followed up with a carry out. I find it hard to believe but that is how folklore is made. As the year progressed, the fear factor rose as finals drew near.
Turbulent Investment Times
Perhaps, from last week it appeared I may not have been grateful to the sponsors of our Zambian resettlement scheme. If so, then I have given the wrong impression. ZLT, which is part of the Universal Group, made the whole thing happen through Vernon Cole. I am sure all the farmers are grateful for this start. Obviously, they did not do it for the love of Zimbabwe commercial farmers, but rather to ensure not just volume but good quality tobacco. You cannot fault them for this. What I had difficulty with, was the attitude or lack of empathy from one of two senior members of their staff. It may be once you get to the pinnacle of your business ambitions with a huge salary, we are all inclined to become arrogant and distant to the troubles of those that rely on us or are subordinates.
“I have found in business, no matter what, treat the other party with respect. So many times you find yourself dealing directly or indirectly with that same person again. Especially in Africa. You will be amazed how small that continent can be.” - Peter McSporran
With regard to Barclays Bank, they had a really good team in the form of a British overseas advisor, Tim. For the world of me I cannot remember his surname, he was the first to clear our start-up loans for our own farming business Soilmasters. He left shortly afterwards. Meanwhile, Margaret Mwanakatwe became CEO of Barclays, Zambia. She was a great supporter of me and the scheme. She later became the Minister of Finance in Zambia. Her assistants at the coal face were Saif Malik and Chita Chibesakunda. Chita and his cousin Mwelwa, becoming good friends to Rozanne and I. Meanwhile, Saif left Zambia to become a successful international banker while his father and I sat on a number of boards together. The last I heard of Saif was that he was appointed to the position of Global Head of Global Subsidiaries at Standard Chartered Bank. Chita went on to run the family businesses. His mother was a Judge who headed up the Humans Rights Commission in Zambia and became Judge President of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA). Mwelwa now has his own legal firm and over the years, as you will learn in my life story, has successfully represented me and some of my friends, to date, always successfully.
Despite the loans received by Cropmasters our managing partner, Graham Rae’s, expansionist ambitions always left us short of cash. I had raised the money for the dam, through Margaret, a huge amount in those days whilst through the tobacco scheme we installed the irrigation. Graham was a developer and if he was not flattening an anthill or opening up more land he was not happy. I was also on a number of boards, some through my own company, AAI, some through personal investment or in partnership, some by personal independent request. Unfortunately, I was about to make one of the worst investment decisions in my life. I got involved through a good Zambian friend, Jones Akapwela, past head of the Forestry Commision, to invest in hardwood. I know nothing about timber, so I broke the golden rule. Do not invest in anything you do not have a good knowledge of, even if the promoter does.
“Friends probably make the worst possible business partners. More importantly, never lend a friend money rather give it to him if you want to stay friends. This way you will keep your friends who are more important than the money.” - Peter McSporran
In the meantime I was introduced to Adam Fleming through the recently late Mark Tumner. Adam decided to invest in us in his own right. On his initial visit I introduced him to Francis Grogan and Carl Irwin which was followed up by Adam’s company investing both in Zambeef and in us at Soilmasters. Us the lessee, merging with Zambezi Ranching and Cropping. So from tenant crop farmers Vernon, myself and Graham became part of a huge farming operation of some 24,000 hectares of land and 9,000 head of cattle. Of course, our share was minor as we were heavily diluted by the land assets of Francis and Carl along with the cash injected by Adam into the operation. Once again with cash, we started expanding, now putting in the irrigation having enough water in the dam to possibly irrigate as much as 2,000 hectares. Wheat, tobacco and seed maize were our main crops with soya in rotation and of course the cattle. Vernon and I soon fell out badly with Graham. His alliance with some of the partners was thought by us to be very unhealthy. Not to our good, especially in regard to cattle sales to Zambeef and also his approach to many business practices. There was no such thing as loyalty to friends and even less to staff with a continuous turnover of section managers. I was asked to stand down as a director as I was not aligned to the other shareholders, always in conflict with no support from Graham. Vernon and I found ourselves being considered a nuisance rather than an asset. In hindsight, this was a lucky event. It was the only time I have been asked to stand down from a board. At the time it wore heavily on me. Stupid pride. I was to do much better personally in business from then on.
Meanwhile, the timber investment was turning sour, we could harvest and export the timber but we could not sell it and if we did, we had trouble collecting payment. Do not sell anything to South Africa without receiving payment or a guaranteed note to ensure payment. A disaster. I never fell out with Adam, who wisely exited very successfully from Zambeef but continued and still is in ZRC although the other parties have split off, taking land as settlement. Perhaps ZRC is still as large now, as a number of other properties were purchased in the area over the years. Vernon and I swapped our shares out of ZRC becoming the sole owners of Cropmasters along with Valentine Chitalu and Duncan Owen. Cropmasters were a crop harvesting company contracted to Mpongwe then owned by Commonwealth Development Corporation (CDC) at that time. CDC is the UK's development finance institution.
Previously, along with Vernon’s brother Clive, Vernon and myself tried to put a consortium together to buy Mpongwe. We failed. We needed USD$20+ million, a lot for a group of refugee farmers to put together. In September 2001 we were explaining our plans to the then British High Commissioner in Harare, when an aide came through telling us to switch on the TV. We witnessed the events of 9/11 in the High Commissioners office that day. The meeting ended fruitless for us, with other things now on the gentleman's mind.
Those were hectic days, farmers under stress, friends who invested with me losing some of the money, the timber company failing, partnership conflict, sleepless nights, all led to severe depression for a few months. Funny at the time, on reflection more of the enterprises were doing better than those failing. In my mind I was only focusing on the troublesome ones, not the successes. I should have balanced the good and bad in a more logical manner. I was saved by my family's support.
At that time a large job came in from the Libyan Government of all people, making me focus on work again. They proved to be one of the best and easiest clients I have dealt with in investing in Africa.
Disclaimer: Copyright Peter McSporran. The content in this blog represents my personal views and does not reflect corporate entities.
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