Shooting Butterflies (49 page)
Read Shooting Butterflies Online
Authors: T.M. Clark
| Nyamandhlovu | Nyamandhlovu is a village in Matabeleland, northwest of Bulawayo. The name of the village means âmeat of the elephant'. (Ndebele) |
| Onika oil | An oil used to treat bruising. (South African) |
| Pan | A flat depression in the land that fills with water only when the rains are very good. |
| Panado | Paracetamol medication used for headaches and fever. |
| Penga | Mad in the head, certifiably mentally unstable enough to be institutionalised. (Zimbabwe slang) |
| Piccaninny | Also spelt as pickaninny. A young black child. At one time the word may have been used as a term of affection, but it is now considered derogatory. In this story this word is used with affection. (English) |
| POU | Psychological Operations Unit. Name used during the Rhodesian Bush War. |
| ProNutro | A breakfast cereal that has a porridge like consistency when mixed with milk. |
| PSYOPS | Psychological Operations Unit. |
| R&R | Military term, meaning rest and relaxation, time off from the military world. |
| Raviro | Gift from the gods. (Shona) |
| Recces | The South African Special Forces Brigade. |
| RENAMO | Mozambican National Resistance, from the Portuguese Resistência Nacional Moçambicana. An anti-Communist political organisation that fought against the FRELIMO during the Mozambican Civil War, and against ZANU from 1975 to 1992. (Acronym from Portuguese) |
| Riempies | Ropes made with animal hides. (Afrikaans) |
| Rooi | The colour red. (Afrikaans) |
| Rooinekke | English people. Can also can be called âSauties'. (Afrikaans) |
| Roora | A dowry, a payment made to a bride's family as a sign of respect. (Shona) |
| SADF | South African Defence Force. The SADF was all forces within South Africa: black, white, brown, everyone together were under one defence label. |
| Sadza | The staple food in Zimbabwe of the African people. It is a thick maize meal porridge. (Shona and Ndebele) |
| Sadza neNyama | Sadza and meat. Traditional dish of meat and gravy eaten with sadza. (Shona) |
| Sakubva | A township in Umtali, Rhodesia with a small area and high population density. |
| Salisbury | Capital of Rhodesia. New name: Harare. |
| Sangoma | Traditional healers, practitioners of traditional African medicine. Often still holding onto the Sharman aspect of mixing witchcraft with herbal medicines. |
| SAP | South Africa Police. |
| SAS | Rhodesia's Special Air Service. |
| Shongololo | Jurus Terrestris Millipede. Giant millipede, has a hard shiny dark brown segmented exoskeleton. (Zimbabwe, from Nguni â ukusonga ', to roll up.) |
| Shoosh | Tell someone to keep quiet (sounds like bush). (South African slang) |
| Sinoia | A town on the road to Kariba from Salisbury. New name: Chinhoyi. (Shona) |
| Sinoia Caves | Limestone caves located in the Makonde District, Zimbabwe, which have amazingly clear blue deep water in the cave system. New name: Chinhoyi Caves. (Shona) |
| Siyabonga kakulu | Thank you very much. (Ndebele) |
| Spoor | Tracks, usually left by animals. (Afrikaans) |
| Takkies | Sandshoes/trainers, worn for running and exercising. (Afrikaans, general South African slang.) |
| Ters | Shortened form of terrorist. Term used during the Rhodesia Bush war. (Zimbabwe) |
| Thinning disease | In Africa, HIV is commonly referred to as the thinning disease. People who lose lots of weight suddenly are more often than not suspected of having HIV. If you have the thinning disease it is assumed that you will be dead soon as there is not a lot of intervention by the government with drugs. |
| Thuli-makwe | The Thuli-makwe water scheme was a dam built in the Thuli area, supplying irrigation to a vast area of commercially grown crops. |
| Tiri Tose | We are together. Motto adopted by the PSYOPS and the actual POU unit during the Rhodesia Bush war. (Shona) |
| Tokoloshe | A really bad spirit. A tokoloshe can resemble a zombie, or a poltergeist, or a gremlin, any demon-like thing. A tokoloshe in this book refers to something evil. |
| Tosholotsho | Formerly known as Tjolotjo, a village 65 kilometres north-west of Nyamandhlovu and 98 kilometres north-west of Bulawayo. |
| Troopie | National Serviceman. (Zimbabwe slang) |
| TTL | Tribal Trust Land. |
| Umtali | The third largest city in Zimbabwe in the east of the country. New name: Muture. (1983) |
| Varsity | University, shortened form in South Africa. |
| Veld / Veldt / Velt | A generic term defining wide open grass or low scrub rural spaces of Southern Africa. (Afrikaans) |
| Velskoene/ Veldskoene/ Velskoen | Bush shoes. These are suede leather ankle boots, usually worn without socks. (Afrikaans) |
| Vlei | A shallow minor lake, mostly of a seasonal or intermittent nature. (Afrikaans) |
| Xhostas store | The name of the store that sold second-hand goods, and mainly catered to the black trade, and was cheap. |
| Xolile | Made happy. (Zulu) |
| Yebo | Yes. (Zulu) |
| Z-style | A gate that can't fold in on itself; solid outside steel tubing in a Z shape across the inside of the frame, with a wire mesh covering. |
| ZANLA | Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army, the military wing of the Zimbabwe African National Union. |
I might string the words on paper to form a book, but a lot of people had their input as always. All mistakes in this book are mine, not those of anyone I consulted with.
Thank you to:
Inacio Antonio Simango and Corn Smith for your help with my Shona.
Gary Fonternel for your help on helicopters, paratroopers and general military from that time. For taking my frantic research calls late at night and somehow always managing to understand my emails.
Cleaver Firearms, thank you for your gunsmith expertise.
To the brilliant men and women who were part of the Grey Scouts Regiment. Although I have borrowed your name, and many of your nicer mannerisms, the incidents referred to in this book are
fictional
and bear no resemblance to any incident in real life. Thank you for suspending your disbelief while reading this book.
The Grey Scout Regiment loop on Facebook, including Doug Kriedemann and Mike Watson, who so kindly let me sit in, watch and research, and who answered my questions, both silly and
meaningful, thank you. The horses I promised to immortalise in print and didn't make it in this book will be in another one coming. Thank you for sharing your love of your mounts with me. Long life to the mounted war horse!
Gordon Frost, for your time and patience in my deeper research of the Grey Scouts, of their formation and their everyday lives. For inspiring the idea of a link between books, and for being the gentleman you are. To Gordon's beautiful wife, Lanie, who I had the pleasure of meeting too, thank you for sharing Gordon's mind with me.
Donovan Maskell, who shared so much with me, and scrounged photographs, etc, in South Africa from friends to share in my research.
To the boys who left school in the time of compulsory conscription, my thoughts were with you a lot while I wrote this book. You began your military training as school boys and came home men and heroes.
South African Special Forces League (Recces) for your information and your help. I couldn't have given my hero Wayne a better family to grow into a man in. Thank you especially to the Webmaster of recce.co.za, who was so helpful and prompt with his replies to my search for information. For sharing tales of life within the Forts at that time, for stories of Terry the lion and general information on being a Recce.
To everyone who knew and loved the real Terry the lion so much and made space in your hearts for him. I don't know if his happy ending here helps, but I like to think he was just fine after you left him â remember always he was one of you and would have survived at all costs!
To the real Kwasi, who I met in a shopping centre in Caboolture, Australia, and inspired a character with his hair, thank you for being the beautiful man you are.
To the real Jameson at Ivory Lodge, Zimbabwe, the inspirational name behind Shilo Jamison Khumalo. Thank you for being so patient with my sons, and for entertaining my
Isinkwe
with tales of the Africa bush, you have a heart as big as Zimbabwe herself. I will
bring my âbushbaby' for another visit, so you can teach us how to make those beautiful elephant hair bracelets.
To the real people of Karoi who on their Facebook page answered so many questions about the town for me.
To my cousin Albert Durant who gave me a condensed version of growing tobacco in Zimbabwe, in four short hours by phone, and whose amazing farming ability has survived a move to a new continent. You are a true farmer, Alby, and I love you.
To Tjaart Boshoff, from Ditjabe Wildlife Services, who spoke at length to some mad woman author on his mobile. For the crash course in translocating different animals, and for being so patient with me running scenarios by him, and for explaining the live game trade in South Africa. For planting the majestic sable in my thoughts and for your tales you told me. To running fast and learning from mistakes as you learnt on the ground in a business that grew in a rapidly changing society.
To my daisy chain of ex-South African and Zimbabwean ladies on my island who support me through the good and the not so good. How you won't let me forget how bad my Afrikaans is, but don't care. Thank you for long lunches, and never letting me change. Especially to Ess Grubb, Jauline Rene Benson, Siobhan Graham and Petro Grobbelaar for all you help in spellings in Afrikaans, Zulu and sayings, and to Jauline, who first told me about the name Buffel in a string of swear words I had asked her for. Thank you to Jauline, Siobhan and Petra for being beta readers and fitting my deadlines into their lives.
Sam Eeles, for your beta reading, correction of my spelling and grammar, and also for putting up with me when I haven't had enough sleep, and when I'm lost in my own creative world.
Rachel Hyndes from Boot Camps Australia, who tries so hard to help me make healthy choices and just keep showing up to get fitter. And everyone at boot camp who see me at my most vulnerable, thanks for the constant encouragement.
Leonie Tyle, who first read a version of this story as a young adult novel years ago, and told me that the real story hidden inside was
of Josha's parents. For always encouraging me, and for continually believing in me as an author as well as the CYA Conference organiser.
Dr Sue Eaglesham, psychologist, for your advice on characterisation of PTSD. Thank you for your professional opinion, guidance and help on making my character Buffel believable. But more importantly, for your friendship.
Dr Emile Brits, GP, for your advice on pituitary adenoma. For your friendship through the years and then for smiling when I asked to upgrade you to a neurologist and use your name, for not shooting me down in flames of technical jargon as to why I couldn't!
Wendy Skidmore, for answering even my most untactful question honestly about unwed teenage pregnancy during that time, to her husband, Shane, who is by her side still today. For proving that teenage love is real and worth risking your heart on because it can be forever.
To my mum-in-law, Caroline Clark, for doing general housework, the washing, the folding, the ironing of work shirts, the dishes, and everything else while I was rewriting the main body of this book and you were supposed to be on holiday. Thank you, your help doesn't go unnoticed and is always appreciated.
To my dad-in-crime, William Clark, for doing the school runs, the grocery shopping, the weeding, taking out the bins, watching the forecasts to ensure the boats are tied down in stong wind warnings, and generally picking up the slack while I was writing this book and you were visiting on holiday. Thank you for just being you.
To my son Kyle, who did my original electronic mud maps â thank you for making the life of the design team at Harlequin easier so they didn't have to read my handwriting for most of the process.
To my son Barry, who watches my type of TV programs with me, and often figures out who the killer is before me. For discussing the villains in my stories repeatedly with me, mostly during the school run, and who doesn't mind going over and over different scenarios with me. Because he decided that Buffel was a âcollector', and it pushed my imagination further, to darker places.
To staff at Harlequin Mira Australia, thank you!
Sue Brockhoff, who bought
Shooting Butterflies
after a conversation without a full synopsis. I love you for that as I'm totally useless at those. Thank you for your belief in me and for your help in growing me as an author.
Annabel Blay, who is so great at answering emails so promptly, and for whom nothing is ever too much to ask.
Glenda Downing, for your help in making my stories sparkle in the real world, and in helping shape my book into a better story.