Winds of change
no happy valley
Pursuing his dream of personal independence, Peter Lawrence acquires a farm in the ‘white highlands’.
However, Kahinga has other ideas about independence; that of his country. Kahinga joins the Mau-Mau, a Kikuyu organisation dedicated to ‘driving the whites into the sea.’ He is instructed by them to join Peter as a tractor driver and ‘wait for the call’ to rebel against the whites.
Peter and Kahinga end up forming a deep bond until one night, the Kikuyu, including Peter’s second wife, Rafiki are instructed by the Mau-Mau to pack their things and disappear into the night.
Did Kahinga go into the forests to join the fight? And Peter, what did he do?
This is where the story begins.
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what the crocodiles don’t eat
As part of the Kenyan independence arrangements, the ‘Million-acre Scheme’ sees Peter Lawrence’s beloved farm, Naseby, taken over for the settlement of the burgeoning local population.
Peter, his Kikuyu wife Rafiki, and their two sons, Kamau and John, move to Nairobi, where Peter takes up his new position as the Minister of Agriculture and Rafiki starts a clinic in the slum area of Pumwani.
Kahinga, despite his heroic exploits in the fight for independence, is ignored by the Kenyatta government and eventually finds a job with Peter as a driver to seek redress by any means, fair or foul.
Peter and Rafiki regretfully uncover a sea of corruption engulfing the new regime, resulting in the kidnapping and murders of many they hold dear.
In Peter and Rafiki’s search for truth and justice, the story takes us to the pristine forests of the Aberdare mountains, the slums of Nairobi, the steamy shores of Lake Victoria, Dar-es-Salaam, the Tanzanian capital, and Mombasa, Kenya’s busiest port.
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no peace for the wicked
Trying to come to terms with his half African, half English roots, the story takes Kamau Lawrence from Kikuyu tribal rituals in Kenya, to the elite world of Oxford University and England Rugby.
Kamau is admitted to Oxford University to study law, where he teams up with his half brother Robert. They are both selected in the England rugby side to play South Africa, notably in the last game between the two nations until the end of apartheid. Kamau clashes with Hannes Roux both on and off the field. Roux turns out to be a member of the much-feared South African security establishment.
Is all the horror of apartheid as one sided as he thought? Was the ANC just a selfless operation dedicated to eliminating the injustices of apartheid?
No Peace for the Wicked is a brilliant examination of the forces and emotions ranged against each other in the fight to end apartheid.
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icefall
icefall
When Tanya eventually rescues herself from a drug dealing lifestyle in Western Sydney’s lowly Cabramatta, she finds reprieve in society by becoming a hot-shot lawyer. Together, with her merchant banker husband Mark, they seemed headed for the very top of Sydney’s elite.
That is until she is confronted with the catastrophic effect the warming climate will have on Sydney and indeed the rest of humanity.
To her surprise, she finds a committed ally in her father-in-law David. They persuade an often reluctant family to develop an enclave, called The Settlement, in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney in preparation for what’s about to take place.
When disaster strikes, will they survive?
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beyond icefall
When the natural disaster strikes Sydney, it destroys the city and most of the thriving civilisation that was once Australia. All but The Settlement.
Would things now be garden rosy? Could Tanya and The Settlement now just start to rebuild, with the cooperation of other surviving enclaves?
Not just yet.
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Rough diamonds
From the Zulu point of view, there had been a scattering of strange white people settling on their land. Firstly, in the far away Cape of Good Hope, over the past 200 years, and now more recently some amaNgisi (English) had found their way to eThekwini (Durban). However, they were still contained safely south of the Tugela River.
The great Zulu King Mpande had kept the peace with those whites for the past forty years but King Mpande had now heard of a large gathering of these strange white people near the banks of the great river to the west. Gathering like ants on an ants nest and looking for the hard-white stones the Zulus call idayimani.
He selected Mapitha and two companions to go and find out what kind of a threat these new invaders represented.
This is their story.
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Joe
Like many men in today’s impoverished African States, Joe Wacheera looks for a better life in the West. His mother was forced into prostitution with a corrupt Priest and an Army General exploiting him in the seething slum of Nairobi’s Kibera.
Joe and his gang of friends join a people-smuggling racket heading for the Libyan coast.
He makes it to London, where he meets beautiful, clever Isabel, while clandestinely establishing a wealth management business.
Joe’s odyssey from poverty to wealth and success is a fast-paced adventure story with a contemporary theme.
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What a tangled web
David Phillips has had a chequered career. His upbringing has provided him with an unjustified sense of privilege and entitlement, yet an inability to manage his life better. Early obstacles have included a high reliance on alcohol, failure in the sporting arena and the risk of losing his coveted place at Oxford University.
These are the forces that drive him into the SAS, where he is to encounter a fresh set of life-threatening episodes. Later as he channels his energies into countering cyber-crime in the business world, he finds himself on the verge of a failing career, his marriage on the rocks and his life under threat.
Read this fascinating account of one young man’s obstacle-laden journey through darkness into the light of awareness and revelation. It is a story that will resonate with those who have also faced challenges like these or witnessed such parental minefields in the real world.
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Glimpses Of Another World
Introducing ‘Glimpses of Another World’, an enthralling collection of anecdotes spanning 40 years of the author’s life and work in Africa.
From the exhilarating experience of growing up on a farm in Kenya, to being charged by an elephant, and encouraging dangerous situations on the remote roads in Botswana, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Angola, and Mozambique, this book takes readers on a fascinating journey through the continent.
‘Glimpses of Another World’ is more than just a memoir – sometimes deadly serious, often humorous, it’s a testament to the resilience and adaptability of the people of Africa in the face of monumental change. Hallowes’ insights into the impact of the ‘Winds of Change’ that swept through the continent will leave readers with a deeper understanding of the challenges and triumphs of African life.
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