Mike's Blog

Hi All With us at Softrite having so many farmers using our Adaski payroll software, we are constantly being informed of new developments and presentations being made in the Zimbabwean Farming community. A few weeks ago, we were invited out to a farm in Northern Marondera to listen to Rob Stokes talk about the “Chongi” tobacco curing system […]

Hi All Early last month I was invited out to the Swales Farm in Darwendale to witness the first public display of the 7 young progeny of their Arabian Horses.  “The Arabian Horse has historic roots in the Arabian Peninsula. With a distinctive head shape and high tail carriage, the Arabian is one of the most easily […]

HI All My sporting career could best be described as “A Jack of all trades; Master of None!” I’ve tried my luck at all sorts of sports but only ever truly succeeded where skills are not top of the requirements list – Persevering at Comrades was more my style. I do believe, however, that one […]

Hi All Thoughts of a trip to Nyanga have always brought back images of cooler weather and of sitting around a blazing fireplace with the sound of pine cones crackling in the background. Those of you that have travelled to our wonderful Eastern Highlands will know, all too well, how many cottages are located up […]

HI All As an avid reader I’m always on the lookout for ways to improve the reading opportunities in our communities. When I was over in Brisbane last year my daughter drove me down to the local library with my 2 little granddaughters. They have a special section at the back of the library where […]

HI All Our Garden family has been involved in the gentlemanly sport of (Lawn) Bowls for almost 60 years. My parents both represented Zimbabwe at Bowls and my late brother, Roy, was effectively a world champion when he won the gold medal at the Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur way back in 1998. Growing up […]

HI All Christmas means so many different things to each and every one of us and we all have our own special way of celebrating the occasion. This time around I decided to leave all of the glitz and glamour of the big city and head south to Gonarezhou. There are 2 sets of tented […]

HI AllIt’s always about this time of December that the Christmas season kicks in – general attitudes relax and folks start planning theirfestive season. This morning I played golf at Borrowdale Brooke with 3 fun gentlemen. Today’s game was, very aptly, called “TheGreenkeepers Revenge” – undoubtedly the best one of its kind I have ever […]

Disclaimer – Below is a follow-up to the recent article Fish Netting in Namibia, to read this article please click here.Please note that whilst Bambazonke aims to be a community-based platform where we discuss ideas and experiences, we remainimpartial to all views shared below.   Ripple Africa, making a difference. I’m delighted to introduce you to […]

HI All We stayed a couple of nights, last week, at a lovely lodge on the banks of the Chobe river separating Botswana from the Caprivi Strip(now Zambezi Region) in Namibia. It is standard practice, when residing in this sort of environment, to go out for a sunset cruise atabout 4pm drifting slowly along the […]

HI All It is common practice worldwide for those in the travel industry to be invited, by the hospitality sector, to go on a joint “Familiarisation”trip (“Famil”) staying over in a variety of destinations during the green / off season. Bayete Lodge in Vic Falls organised one such tripthis week starting immediately after the completion […]

HI All Being the author and moderator of our Softrite Adaski Payroll software, I have to ensure that the PAYE calculations therein work as intended. This involves the odd trip into town to speak to the relevant technical staff at Zimra.  Last Thursday I parked at Meikles and walked across the road to one of […]

Hi All I went out to Marondera on Saturday to compete in the Ryan Collett Memorial Triathlon at Springvale House  yesterday morning. I took the opportunity to camp out in the beautiful Miombo Woodland under the shade of glorious Msasa trees  in Gosho Park next door to Springvale – what a treat that was – […]

Hi All For those of you who are looking for a special weekend combining a night out in the bush with a bit of exercise the  following morning might want to drive out to Gosho Park just past Marondera this coming Saturday.  The Ryan Collett Memorial Triathlon and Run is taking place at Springvale House […]

Hi All We are truly blessed in this country to have so many opportunities to play sports – This week, for me, it’s ranged from Swimming to Running, Golf and Solo Latin Dancing. My preference on a Saturday morning, however, is to  spend a few hours out in the bush riding my mountain bike (MTB). […]

Hi All I first met Tom Benjamin several years ago when he started advertising his business through our Bambazonke Nhasi mailing list. Since then we have met on several occasions and he has been writing  a weekly newsletter that we have been posting on our Bambazonke Website. I have also had to personally  call him out twice to […]

Hi All I’m sure most of you would have, at some time or another, heard someone say words to the effect of “I believe James(?)  was completely Hoovered last night”. I believe many youngsters these days want to have this said about them so that they can earn that “Badge of Honour”. In most Western societies, there […]

Hi All I have light-coloured curtains in my bedroom and I generally keep the windows all open at night – it’s been that way since an old cook of mine told me he did not need an alarm clock – he was woken up every day by the melodious tunes sung by some of the […]

Hi All Most of us mere mortals go through life believing we are immortal. Major medical issues only happen to others – not me! Medical science has, however, made enormous leaps and bounds in recent years making it possible to spot potential ailments in one’s body almost from day 1 potentially giving us a chance […]

Hi All   I have, over the past few months, read a few excellent thrillers written by female authors – Just last night I stayed up late finishing  off Ann Cleeves’ “Rising Tide”   Ladies have a completely different flare in their writings adding their feminine touch and thoughts to most scenarios; leading female scribes […]

This year the Automobile Association of Zimbabwe is proudly celebrating 100 years since its founding in 1923 – a significant milestone – making the Association the second oldest motoring organization in the ACTA region. The Association was founded  in 1923 by the Resident Commissioner for Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to serve, promote and protect the […]

Hi All There’s something special about attending a well-organized, company cocktail party. It’s a chance to relax over a couple of drinks after work and meet interesting new people that you would not normally bump into in your busy life. First Capital Bank (Formerly Barclays) invited me, last week, to such an occasion being held […]

Hi All It has long been our “culture” to meet up with a few of our mates at the end of the week to share a few beers or a glass of wine. The resultant banter, as you gradually relax at these social gatherings, is generally good fun. With time most people learn how to  self-discipline and knowing […]

Hi All The month of August is renowned in this part of the world for windy conditions bringing with it the change in season. The 1st September is, thus, traditionally known as the start of Spring. The sunny weather has folks lapsing out of their slothy winter habits to let others know of their intention […]

Hi All, It’s a given thing for dads with sons living in Zimbabwe for the latter to be introduced to the fascinating sport of fishing at an early age. When they’ve grown up not much beats a boys only weekend –sans ladies; sans mates – patiently casting out lines on the Zambezi River hoping to […]

Peterhouse Astroturf Hockey Pitch Hi All Traditionally school boys entering high school in this country have had to choose a winter sport from either Rugby or Hockey – This nerd chose Chess ending up as school chess champion at the end of Form 1. I then enrolled into boarding school the following year and was […]

Hi All,    I’ve just returned from a month-long trip to Australia – my first real holiday in many years. I spent good quality time with  both my daughters and young granddaughters in Brisbane and Sydney. I also used the opportunity to have catch-up  coffees with quite a few ex-Zimbos living “Down Under” – most […]

HI All I’m currently “Down Under” for a short stint of those rare Grampa privileges that are preferred on me from time to time. This is my 31st trip to Australia over a period of 20 years. Being a divorced father with kids growing up in the other side of the world has been quite […]

Hi All,   I was brought up as a city slicker and, thus, me and horses have never been one! Back in the day when we guys were out on Patrol we came across, what seemed like, a few old Nags grazing idly in someone’s fields. There was nothing much happening that day so, being […]

HI All, If you were to be honest about it, we, in Zimbabwe, have a “Cushy life” – all we really have to worry about these days are the pot holes, bad driving and the rapidly falling dollar rate. Most of our kids attend quality schools and we are able to whisk them away for […]

Hi All, I love dancing and, if I’m accompanied by the right partner, am always the first on the dance floor – I particularly like my own version of Rock & Roll and tend to take up more space on the dance floor than others. Some might call me an exhibitionist but I jive according […]

HI All,   There is always something special about donning one’s glad rags and heading out for an evening meal in a fancy restaurant. For those of us that have lived most of our lives here, one of the most sought-after dishes at such an establishment is a premium quality fillet steak served Medium Rare […]

HI All, The Morton Jaffray waterworks were built many years ago to cleanse water from Lake Chivero and pump it to Greater Harare for distribution to both housing and industrial stands. Over the past few years, however, this delivery has had all sorts off issues. The net result is the drilling of thousands of boreholes […]

Hi All,   To live a full life one should, I believe, incorporate some sort of appreciation for culture – for instance, listening to the classical music of famous composers like Bach, Beethoven or Chopin. With my diary being noticeably short of such outings, I drove across to Arundel School Chapel on Saturday afternoon to […]

HI All,   Being a busy, but wily, old bachelor it is moi that has to go out and do the weekly shopping. I have a tendency to find a bright and breezy, local supermarket where I can find what I’m looking for without too much effort. I don’t have time to compare prices with […]

Hi All,   When I was in my 30s, and early 40s, life was all about running the Ultra Comrades Marathon between Durban and Pietermaritzburg. We had a large, fun loving club with the whole spectrum of running abilities. Training for such an event requires plenty of self-discipline with lots of time allocated for training […]

HI All,   Softrite has quite a few payroll customers in the Mutare area so I went down there a couple of weeks ago to sponsor the Wednesday afternoon golf competition at Hillside Golf course.   My long-time friend, Kevin Woodward, has finally retired from caddying for leading professional golfers around the world and taken […]

HI All, A few groups of us playing golf, at the Brooke yesterday, were caught stranded by an extremely heavy downpour as we were putting out on the 12th green – it always happens when you are at the furthest point from the clubhouse! So we had to all huddle together in the little cabin […]

Hi All,  My young brother, Roy Garden (61), passed away late Friday night after surviving for over two years with Stage 4 Cancer. Roy was a determined guy who never gave up and tried every trick in the book in an effort to delay the inevitable progress of that dreaded affliction. He spent his last […]

HI All, It is that time of the year once more when most of us take a break and celebrate the Christmas holidays in our ownspecial way. We at Bindu Media are closing today and will be back in the office next Wednesday. I thought it appropriate to list a few ideas for you to […]

HI All, One of the great things about Zimbabweans that have spent time in the diaspora is that, when they return to live here,many of them bring back many new creative ideas that they introduce to their communities. It is also a sad fact of life that in larger cities like Harare, shopping centres have […]

HI All, Those of you that are involved in paying Salaries will know that the financial landscape, here in Zimbabwe, is in a constantstate of flux. Over the past couple of years an ever increasing number of companies are changing over from justpaying RTGS (ZWL) salaries to paying staff in both US$ and ZWL using […]

HI All, The Meikles Hotel has always been one of those icons that travellers from all over the world have come to know as “The 5Star Place to Stay” in the capital city of Zimbabwe. This popular destination, situated across the road from Africa Square,has been mentioned in many lauded fictional books as the central […]

Hi All, Troutbeck Hotel was opened way back in 1951 as a fine country hotel set high up in the mountains overlooking a beautiful lakefull to the brim with large Trout fish. The initial thinking, by founder Major MacIlwaine, was to emulate similar establishmentsthat he had stayed in, back in his Scottish homelands. There was […]