Way back when I was a callow youth my father, who had been an instructors at RAF Heany, in Rhodesia, in the fifties, decided to emigrate to said country when he left the Royal Air Force. I followed him shortly after when I had finished my O levels and settled in at Bulawayo. After a few months I was settled into a job at the Bulawayo Chronicle, the local rag.
As soon as I was eighteen I became liable for Rhodesian National Service and I went back to RAF Heany, now called Llewellyn Barracks, for my six months square bashing followed by two years one weekend/month reserve service. Shortly after this there was a period of political uncertainty called the Nyasaland Emergency.
A Dr Banda, ably assisted by the Church of Scotland, had returned to Nyasaland to stir it up. I was called up and being a battalion signaller, drove my truck all the way to Salisbury prior to getting permission from the Portuguese to cross Mozambique to Nyasaland. Owing to the situation I was flown by RRAF Dakota to Lilongwe were I ended up guarding the Post Office.
The situation eased and coincidently my signals truck arrived in a convoy that had driven via Tete in Mozambique. The decision to withdraw was the taken and the people who had driven up were going to be flown back and vice versa.
During our time at Lilongwe most of the shops were closed so essentials, like cigarettes, soap, razor blades etc. were difficult if not impossible to get therefore it was with great joy that our NCOs announced that they had obtained supplies and had opened a shop for the blokes. They were charging the normal price for everything and very soon the stock was exhausted.
I drove back to Bulawayo in a convoy that lasted four days through the Rift Valley, the Copperbelt, through Lusaka to Salisbury and eventually to Bulawayo. After I had been discharged I went back to the Bulawayo Chronicle.
"How did you get on with all the stuff we sent up to you?"
"What stuff?"
The cigarettes, razor blades, soap and toothpaste that was collected by the citizens of Bulawayo to send up to the troops. There were two truckloads of it."
You can see why I was not surprised about the fuel and beer at Sepulot.