What's in a name?

The inspiration for my blog comes from one of my fondest childhood memories. Growing up in Harare, Zimbabwe, in what at the time seemed like the centre of the universe, and now is just a large scar on Africa's political landscape, my little sister and the kids from next door, now scattered around the world, used to wander down the road to a shopping centre called Ballantyne Park.

Along we would traipse on our 20 minute stroll, under the hawk eye supervision of our beloved nanny, Anna, (much to our mother's insistence and our disappointment), to buy whatever treats we could with our savings for the week. Savings were made up of mostly coins - lots of coins - which now I can't remember the exact amounts, but we used to score big.

Sugar mice, licorice, freddo frogs and milky bars, biltong (a dried meat delicacy), fudge and the list goes on...

Anyway, the point being our childhood strolls to Ballantyne Park, which later became jogs to a familiar landmark, are to me such a wonderful memory. What if we could have kept all those memories in film, photography, diaries, or even more clearly in our minds? How many magical plans did we make for ourselves during those walks in the hot African sun? What if we had remembered just a few of them?

Ballantyne Park is still there and I believe still has the best Biltong in town.

Maybe one day I will get back there and retrace our "walk to the shops". It would be great to do it with the old gang - highly unlikely but you never know, and one can always dream.

In the meantime, I will mark all those "memories in time" here, so I never forget the everyday life that passes by so quickly and fades in our minds too soon.

What are your favorite memories in time?