Dungarees! I'm so excited about them. I pretty much lived in them as a kid, and now I have my very own grown-up pair, perfect for chores, dog-walking and the like. Although today all I've done in them is curl up in an armchair and make notes on a book of Rhodesian history.
The book I'm working on at the moment is set in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in the 1960s and 70s, and has a lot to do with the liberation war (also known as the Second Chimurenga or the Bush War). It requires a lot of research: interviews as well as reading. A lot of my family members lived in Rhodesia during that time, which is helpful, and both my grandfathers have been mentioned in the history books I've been reading. I've even found a photo of my stepfather in one of them (he fought in the war). I was never interested in Zimbabwean history while I lived there, which I know seems strange - it was just too commonplace. To me, Zimbabwe was 'ordinary' and everywhere else was exotic. Since leaving, however, I have been obsessive about it. I suppose I'm trying to understand my heritage ... and to make sense of things that I never questioned as a child but which have been very much called into question in the past few years.
Thank you as always for all your comments - I'm gradually replying to them all!
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