Donkeyshott & Xuitlacoche

It was about 6 oclock in the evening, the sun was still up shining through the skies, which made funny shapes every now and then. My mum was glancing through the windows, giving me a thumbs up sign. I looked around my and saw all of my cousins get into place. Bilal in the far corner crouched and ready to catch the ball, ali playing the part of the wicket keeper, My dad in the corner of the terrace with a video recorder. and mohammed who was about to bowl for me. There has never been a time, not even once, that I have managed to gain a hit to one of his throws. He had a smirk on his face, and a glass of mango juice in his hand, the ice cubes were still visible with a tinge of yellow mango juice on them. My brother came and stood next to me playing the part of the front man. Mohammed asked me “you ready” and I replied with a nod. You could see the plastic bat in my hand shaking, I tapped on the floor a couple of times and looked up, and gave an indication for Mohammed to bowl for me. He...

Evil approaches in a grey Mercedes. Unsurprisingly, I associate death and pain with a grey Mercedes. I've seen someone killed by a grey Mercedes and I was knocked over by one. . We were on our way to church near Shepherd's Bush in 1989. We were late. Just in front of the church was a four lane highway with a central reservation. The lights had changed to orange by the time we reached the middle and so we stopped. But a thin woman, about 57, standing next to us decided to carry on walking across the last two lanes of the highway. Before she could reach the other side, the lights had changed to green and she was hit. I saw the bloated German saloon approach. I saw it speed up 50 yards away from the crossing. The woman must have been clearly visible in her beige gabardine. I shouted in panic, but a second later she was caught by the Mercedes. The driver was short, balding and portly - he too was in his late fifties. He was dressed in a grey suit. I saw a small sort of rictus on hi...

The Black Stallion by Walter Farley , film by Carroll Ballard The Black Stallion part 1 , 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 My first memory of a horse is in Langata. I was four years old. Angry after being told off by my mother, I ran off into the small forest at the back of our house, full of blue gums, crunching leaves and twigs under my sandals as I ran. After a few minutes, I was lost and so anger turned to anxiety. I decided to make for home, a wooden house on stilts. I thought I could see it, visible between tree trunks in the distance. It wasn't our house. It was a neighbour's. At the back he had a horse. He gave me a sugar lump. I held my hand, but as the horse's lips puckered my hand curled away and the horse inadvertently gave my finger a bite with its flat teeth. It drew blood and crushed the top of a finger. When I was seven or eight I started horse-riding lessons in a paddock. "You have a very good seat." said the teacher. I liked t...

I was on the bus in New Malden and I decided to play a joke on the passengers. I surreptitiously felt for a bag of Kim Chi in my rucksack and opened it. I am Korean and I am so used to Kim Chi I can’t smell it. Of course I can taste it. I wanted to see what the reaction of the British passengers would be like. Soon I heard people sniffing. "What’s that?" An older lady said to her husband. "Very odd," the man said, "It smells like something’s gone off." "No," said the woman. It smells like pickled...pickled.....pickled cabbage." . On my right two children stopped fighting for a moment and one looked at the other and said. "You dirtbag." "I haven’t done anything. It was you," the other boy said, and they carried on fighting. . At the back of the bus I heard someone whisper to themself. "They really must do something about those drains." And when the bus stopped seven people got off, five people got on and it was c...

FOR SALE Matumi An inspirational and unique South African property R 1,900,000 $246,464 (US) Situated in the Houtbosloop Valley off the R 539 65 hectares of pristine bush forming part of a much larger nature reserve Gorgeous, unbeatable views from every vantage point Beautiful long established garden with a wide variety of indigenous trees and plants Spacious house with wide gallaries and every corner of the house offers a wonderful view Swimming pool and patios. Ideal for entertaining 25K to Nelspruit on the N4 highway 80K to the Kruger Park (Numbi Gate) Would suit artists, consultants, writers and people working from home. The home has an open plan lounge/dining room, sun lounge leading out to garden and pool area. Large kitchen with fitted units and gas stove. 2 Bedrooms, main en suite. 2nd Bathroom. Guest suite. Patio for entertaining. Cottage with 2 bedrooms, bathroom, living area and kitchen. Enclosed veranda. Double garage and carport. Advanced dual alarm system. Water from r...

The action that precipitated the 90 day detention rule and the clampdown in South Africa by the Apartheid government was the Paarl rising. Tony Hall broke the story of the P.A.C. involvement in the riot, the assumption of Potlako Leballo to the leadership of the P.A.C. replacing Sobukwe and P.A.C. plans for an uprising. The story appeared on the front page of the Star newspaper on March 25 1963 (while his wife Eve Hall was still in Pretoria jail). Subsequently Tony Hall was banned from publication after a court case followed in which he was required to reveal his sources but refused. Tony Hall comments on how he got the story: "I took the call asking for a reporter to go and interview Leballo at his invitation. I went - and came back with this huge scoop." The Star Johannesburg Monday March 25 1963 DRAMATIC CLAIMS BY P.A.C. LEADER ------------------ Poqo rising this year, he says From a staff reporter Maseru, Monday. [Picture of Leballo and Zacarias Molete and the caption: P...

A German spa is a therapeutic bathing experience and Therme Beuren is one of the most beautiful in southern Germany . Inside every pool there is thermal water at different temperatures. Some of the pools are full of cool water extracted from deep beneath the Earth and other pools are what we call "pots" because they bubble and boil away and I can't stay in a hot pot for more than 5 minutes, it's too much for me. The temperature can reach above 40 degrees Celsius. The roots of the German spa experience are Roman . But in Germany, public baths are still almost as popular as they were thousands of years ago and German spas, like Baden Baden , are famous. Above all spas are for couples. They are fashionable places to visit, especially in the evening. Older people usually go there to enjoy the warm, massaging, swirling water. At the weekend you see more families, but the Spa isn't really an attractive place for children. There is no special play area for them and the...