Before heading out to Tetbury, Oliver took me to the closest beach called Gyllngvase Beach This is something that I appreciated so much for I love seeing water and appreciating God’s creation in how he has made the various water bodies such as rivers, lakes, seas, waterfalls, oceans and so on. Though we spent about 30 minutes it was just refreshing to be at the beach. After that we headed out to Tetbury, a distance of slightly over 200 miles i.e. approximately 322 kilometres.
We had some lunch at a MacDonalds restaurant located somewhere midway between Camborne and Tetbury. It was great catching up with Oliver as we drove to their home. As we drew close to his home, Oliver pointed out to me the Royal Gardens of Highgrove which belongs to Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales. He also pointed out to me the Church House and Market House, built in 1655. Tetbury is a town and civil parish inside the Cotswold district in England. During the Middle Ages, Tetbury became an important market for Cotswold wool and yarn. The Tetbury Woolsack Races, founded 1972, is an annual competition where participants must carry a 60-pound (27 kg) sack of wool up and down a steep hill. Tetbury is renowned for its antique and bric à brac shops; Homes & Antiques magazine named Long Street one of the UK's top 10 favourite streets for shopping in December 2018.
It was a joy to be with the family of Oliver during the few days I spent at their home. I have known Oliver since my secondary school days at Kafue Secondary School. We both actively attended Scripture Union meetings at school where we both had become Christians. Later we were to serve as Scripture Union leaders which involved us organising and speaking at the Scripture Union camps. During their days in Zambia before they left for the UK, I also knew Pauline, Oliver’s fiancee then who later became wife. Pauline is a gospel musician who sings with passion and songs rooted in the Bible. Some of the songs she has sung are By Grace and Lesa Wandi Wamaka (My God is Almighty). In the evening Oliver and I went to pick up the daughter Tamara, who had travelled out of town, from the train station. Later, we chatted some more with Oliver and Pauline before I retired to bed and left Oliver to do some work. The following day he was travelling to Wales for work.
The following day I spent most of the home indoors working on a UNESCO Project Proposal. In the afternoon, I escorted Pauline to the workplace where the daughter was arranging for an internship. She showed me the Royal Agricultural College where a number of Africans have done studies from. Later, she left me in the shopping centre of Tetbury, where I took a walk to appreciate something of the town. I was impressed with the outdoor seats that I saw built by someone for the good of the community. These seats are used to relax or read books. I did a bit of shopping at the local Tesco shop. Later a Zambian friend of Oliver and Pauline came to get me from the shop and we went together with him to the Singogo’s home. We had a lovely time of fellowship over a Zambian meal prepared by Pauline.
On 17th September 2019, it was time for me to move on to my next destination in Chatham. After breakfast, Pauline drove me to the bus station. The bus heading to London came in 30 minutes. What I found interesting is that the bus crew apologised for the delay and apologised at least twice more during the journey. That rarely happens in my part of the world! Thus ended my brief and lovely stay with Oliver and Pauline Singogo. I grew fond of Tetbury. A small but lovely and quiet town.
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