T WAS around the turn of the millennium; Brian Marsh leaned forward to push a burning log further into the fire then sat back. “It’s amusing,” he said, “how this once-in-a-thousand-years calendar change makes us get philosophical about our lives and the characters that entered them.” “Yes,” I said, “And haven’t we known some interesting characters in Africa – characters that only rural Africa could produce, especially in decades gone by. I’m always sad that so many of them died without writing their life stories; so much died with them.”
