RustyGate

I hate it when someone in a store acts like I’m privileged to be shopping there. This is an attitude I’ve come to expect from a few shops at Sam Levy’s Borrowdale.

But even shopkeepers in that tiny enclave of settler excess have come to realise that the customer is king, and we tend to be welcomed with (sometimes forced) smiles, and genuine customer service.

Not so much with Spar Athienitis.

I walked in there Sunday afternoon looking for something quick and dirty to chow, so picked up a box of Spar brand burgers and a bag of rolls.

At the till, I wasn’t surprised to see a difference in the sticker price and what was on the screen, but it was by TWO FUCKING DOLLARS!! So I tuned her, these burgers are supposed to be five bucks thirty, there must be a mistake, can you check at the fridge?

She gave me that look – you know it, the one people give when you’re really messing with their groove, like I was at fault and should just pay seven dollars for a box of generic burger patties!

Now, I know this happens, and I’m pretty used to till prices being different from sticker prices, but usually it’s dealt with timeously and courteously, because it’s an inconvenience to the goddamn customer, not the supermarket. Hell, one girl at Bon Marche Borrowdale even took my word for it and charged the price I told her was at the fridge!

Not the same at Spar Athienitis.

She half-heartedly calls for the supervisor/manager type (I think it was Mlambo) who didn’t appear at all interested, and went about his business by the next till without even seeming to acknowledge us and our half-hearted till operator.

That’s when it ended, and I just asked her to cancel the entire transaction, and we fucked off out of there. According to Minnie that kind of behaviour is not rare in Fife Avenue Spar (and being her local, she’d know) which leaves me wondering.

Whose money do they think is paying their salaries? Because once your staff start slipping, and your management starts slipping, believe me your profits are gonna start fucking slipping!

Needless to say I’ll be avoiding Athienitis with their high prices and shitty service, and continue spending my money where it’s appreciated.

Not at Spar Athie-fucking-nitis.

So I’m sitting here watching the football friendly between South Africa and Zimbabwe. Go Warriors, go!

Firstly, can’t help but wonder if ZIFA skimped on travel costs by selecting a squad made up of mostly SA-based players. No shocks there, although I’m still wondering if Zhaimu Jambo deserves a cap.

Secondly, both teams are wearing Adidas kit, but SA are looking sleek and lithe, yet Zim are the usual deformed baggy Dickensian urchins we always are, and that kit looks like it was sewn together in some sweaty pit of despair in deepest darkest Djibouti.

Plus, the flags on the chest were slapped on kinda squank.

Thirdly, this stadium is pretty full for a fucking friendly, and it makes for a raucous atmosphere, with the usual intermittent hum of vuvuzelas in the background. Talk about atmosphere.

Oh well, seeing as I’m going back to work on Monday, I guess I’ll watch this game then the Manchester derby after (go City) – and see if I can down this bottle of Klipdrift.

I know, I know; fuck my life.

Anyone reading about Zimbabwe over the last ten years could be forgiven a few misconceptions, with the most prominent being that it was ZANU-PF which sacrificed everything to free this country from the yoke of British colonialism.

You’d think we were a nation divided in two parts – the war veterans on one side, those who fought and “died” for this country; and the “born frees” and sell-outs on the other.

If you’re ZANU-PF, you’re a super-patriot who has given up all hopes of personal comfort for the salvation and sustenance of Mother Zimbabwe, forsaking all else for the good of the nation.

If you’re in civil society, the independent media or (heaven forbid) the MDC, you’re a cowardly sell-out working tirelessly to deliver our beloved homeland back into the grubby hands of your neo-imperialist British paymasters.

Having neither the time nor patience to go back into history, and illustrate how the legacy of the liberation struggle has been hijacked for unscrupulous party-political machinations, I’ll just say one thing – we’re no fools.

Those who mistake dissent for unpatriotism are blinkered in the cloying darkness of their own paranoia, and it’s only those with something to hide who don’t want the lights switched on.

For it is only under the glare of a vigilant citizenry that state-sponsored looting, violence and murder can be brought to light. Only if the people are paying attention to who has been granted what, which former military officer is now running what, who has invaded what farm and who’s been given a diamond mine can the future history of our Zimbabwe be correctly recorded.

It’s time to shine the light into all those dark places, before the rats eat us out of house and home.

For anyone thinking of investing in Our Zimbabwe, here’s fair warning – your money is not safe.

You may sign all the papers you want. Fuck, you can get stamped letters and certificates and what-not, but your business can be destroyed on a whim and your property seized in a second.

Never mind the arrogance of telling a multi-national company who they can do business with (cough cough Nestle cough). Never mind the audacity to ignore BIPPAs and allow, nay, sanction the takeover of “protected” investments.

It’s the stupidity of taking over productive farms (usually close to harvest time, strangely) and victimising the entire farming class, usually with violence.

It’s turning a not-insignificant portion of our populace, and a highly productive one at that, into a second-class casteless shambles, denied the services of both the police force and the attorney general.

It’s amazing to see people running around begging for the repeal of “sanctions” and trying to attract investors, when the facts on the ground tell the story of an arbitrary, out-of-control ruling style where what’s “theirs” can be ours in an instant, and “they” are an ill-defined enemy sponsoring regime-change and counter-revolutions and what-not.

I know investment is risk, but investing in this Zimbabwe is plain insanity.

It’s better spent on booze and whores, because either way you’re gonna get screwed.

My peeps in Zimbabwe may have noticed a slight drop in speed when browsing rustygate.org from this morning.

This is because I’ve moved the site hosting to the UK, for a couple of reasons. Having looked at the statistics, and considering the number of visitors over the past year, I’ve had to weigh the costs and benefits of hosting the site here at home.

The vast majority of my visitors are from abroad, so for convenience and cost purposes, it makes more sense to have the site on a more globally accessible platform.

For those at home, the browsing speed shouldn’t degrade all that much, so all-round everything should be alright.

Any problems, queries or comments, lemme know in the comments below.

Otherwise, just get back to browsing porn.