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Anchor
& Hope © KJS 2006
another
fiction-thriller on Internet
—
featuring Gertrud Steiner &
Lainet Musora
— protagonists of Drums
within an Ivory Tower
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London |
| Time: |
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180
days, 23 hrs, 54 mins, 19
secs
to election of the 2012
host city of the Olympic
Games |
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BACKGROUND OF THE PLOT:
Having survived the African adventures in 1989,
Gertrud Steiner has settled as a lecturer for
photographic studies at a college in her German
home-town Bremen.
Her friend and co-adventurer, Zimbabwean Lainet
Musora, remained in her country’s capital
Harare — alas, without being able to work as
a press photographer anymore. The tumble of
domestic politics and economy in Zimbabwe,
accelerating in the year 2000 — two decades
after independence — combined with drastic
actions by agents of Mugabe’s spin-doctors
against the media, made it suicidal to continue
in this field.
Instead, Lainet and her brother Paul, a former
ZBC-broadcaster, ventured into IT-business,
setting up and maintaining websites as a
networking tool for regional NGO’s, thereby
helping to empower civic society in Africa.
Both women had turned 25 when they had met in
Zimbabwe in 1980, both at that time somehow
clue-less with regard to their personal future,
but finally tapping into funds of a development
agency which allowed both of them to establish a
professional career by studying press photography
in Germany.
Both had turned almost 35 when they met again on
the mighty Zambezi-river for an excursion which
was supposed to become a leisure trip but sucked
them into a conspiracy whose international
implications did cast shadows from Africa to
Europe, further to the Middle East, to Russia and
to China, and then back to Zimbabwe.
Both women
are close to 50 now. They remained unmarried,
however, Lainet had adopted Burombo, the little
boy who had helped her to escape from the
"Village of Doom" in the
Zambezi-Valley, and Gertrud had been only too
keen not to fail as a second step-mother of this
foster-child ...
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(in
Shona "Burombo" means:
"child born in poverty")
... Burombo is now 26... Six years ago,
Gertrud had been able to use her contacts
to repeat what she had done for Lainet
and for herself at the beginning of their
joint career. |
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She managed to secure a
fellowship for Burombo, enabling him to study
architecture at the Technical University of
Berlin, with her as a tough but reliable
representative of absent Lainet who could manage
just a couple of visits to Germany. Now, Burombo
has got a safe and challenging job under a
well-established architects' partnership in
London ...
 ... In January, 2005, he
has invited his two step-mothers to celebrate his
move into a tiny flat of a cosy
two-storey-building along Mt. Pleasant Lane in
Hackney. Lainet and Gertrud had helped to
purchase it with the proceeds from publications
of their African adventures ...
FIRST CLUES
ON THE WEB:
 http://www.property-go.co.uk/area_guides/hackney.asp
PROPERTY-GO
GREATER LONDON PROPERTY GUIDE
LONDON BOROUGH OF HACKNEY
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Statistics
don't tend to do Hackney any favours. One of the
UK's most deprived areas, the borough has
London's highest unemployment rate, some of the
worst schools, half of its residents in council
maintained property and no tube stations. Despite
these obvious setbacks, today's Hackney is
recognised as London's most up and coming borough
with property price increases to match.
Government and private investors are pouring
millions into Hackney. Plans for a Chelsea tube
link seem to have been put back into place by Ken
Livingstone, and hopes are also very high for a
direct tube link to both the Docklands and the
City.
Shoreditch and Hoxton to the south of the borough
sit uneasily against the wealth of the City of
London. North of the Regent's Canal around
Victoria Park and De Beauvoir Town, amongst the
council blocks, can be found some of the best
Victorian and Georgian houses in London. Stoke
Newington, to the north has become the new yuppie
Mecca whilst Stamford Hill and Clapton remain in
favour with the Jewish community.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/2334859.stm
Friday, 18 October, 2002, 10:11 GMT 11:11 UK
Hackney gets first elected mayor
Labour councillor Jules Pipe, left, took
42% of the vote |
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Hackney's
council leader has won the borough's election for
a US-style executive mayor by a landslide. Labour
councillor Jules Pipe took 42% of the vote,
10,000 votes more than his nearest challenger, to
become the east London borough's first elected
mayor... The new mayor will have overall
responsibility for running council services.
Labour had lost power in Hackney after splits in
the party six years ago but regained overall
control in a by-election last year.
Speaking after the declaration, Mr Pipe, 37,
promised a fall in street crime, two new
secondary schools and said he would campaign to
bring the Tube to Hackney. But he said it would
take years to change the borough's image. He
added: "I can understand people might be
sceptical about anything to do with local
politics in Hackney because of the legacy of the
hung council years. "So much damage was done
to the borough at that time." Last year an
Audit Commission report called on the government
to intervene to protect the running of essential
services. The council is still being monitored.
http://www.hackney.gov.uk/text/index/hackney/olympics.htm
Hackney’s directly elected Mayor, Jules
Pipe, … said 'London’s bid to host the
2012 Olympics and Paralympics has the potential
to radically change east London. As Mayor of
Hackney, I am working with colleagues within the
borough and in our neighbouring boroughs of
Newham, Tower Hamlets, Waltham Forest and
Greenwich to ensure the potential changes deliver
real benefits to the residents of Hackney and
east London. Nearly one quarter of the land
needed to host the Olympic precinct is in
Hackney. We must secure a sustainable legacy for
local people and businesses from developments on
this land. I am also making sure that the bid
does not knock planned regeneration off course
and that metropolitan open land is protected for
the long term. The 2012 bid also gives Hackney
extra leverage to get badly needed rail and tube
infrastructure which must be delivered whether or
not east London hosts the Olympic Games in
2012…
http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/insideldn/radio/robert_elms_yourmanor_hackney.shtml
Every Thursday Maxwell Hutchinson is visiting a
different area of London and uncovers some
interesting facts about the place. Then it's over
to you. We want you to send in details of your
favourite restaurants, pubs, shops, places to go
and things to see etc. This week Hackney ...
Your
Comments:
shiveringgoat
The 'Stingray Globe' cafe on the end of Columbia
Road has wonderful pizza, really chilled vibe,
open fire and Nastro Azzuro on draft, great food
and very reasonable too.
Sophie
Broadway Market, London Fields — every
Saturday there's a fantastically vibrant and
varied street market, selling everything from
fruit and veg to really special designer vintage
clothes.
sizzler
The Anchor and Hope on the river. Whenever I am
back in London this is my first port of call.
Living next door for several years has nothing to
do with my thoughts on the place. Best pint of
Pride in the world.
http://www.johnamer.freeserve.co.uk/east.htm
Anchor and Hope
15 High Hill Ferry, London E5
Owner — Fullers
Beers — Fullers London Pride, ESB
Telephone-020-8806-1730
Small traditional basic pub with the same
landlord for over 50 years on the banks
of the River Lea. A serious drinkers' pub
serving some excellent beer in a intimate
locals' atmosphere. This pub is not easy
to get to and the surrounding estates are
not exactly inviting, but worth the
effort.
John 8.5/10 visit Nov 2003
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Super
position by the river Lea — although the
council estate which surrounds it is not exactly
a work of art. The pub can be seen on the
Stanstead to Liverpool Street line. The interior
of the pub had a Carol Smiley makeover in 1962
and is pretty well unchanged. The old gas fire
looked dangerous. The locals looked as old as the
Landlord, very friendly and good beer.
Stuart 8.5/10 visit April 2002
Sadly, landlord Leslie Heath died in September
2003. So there might be changes to this pub.
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THE PLOT
CONTINUES:
This evening, all three
went for a walk down to the river Lea where, just
ten minutes away, the "Anchor &
Hope" seemed to be the right port to call in
for a beer. Gertrud discovered an abandoned
glass-container with "pickled eggs".
After having consumed a couple of them, she
needed some more pints of ale, which — on
their belated way home — causes her to
stumble. Lainet, ever prepared to stretch out a
helping hand, stumbles too — the obstacle
being a small vehicle hanging precariously at the
embankment of the river. Whilst Burombo
identifies it as a battery-driven wheelchair,
Gertrud’s vision is obscured by a body in
front of her, dipping head-on into the
river’s water. |
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| When beams of
floodlights, erected by police
and ambulance, illuminate the
scenery, it becomes easy to
identify the origin of the
accident’s victim. He is
wearing an old-fashioned scarlet
coat. It is the type of uniform
which army-pensioners of the
"Royal Hospital
Chelsea" are dressed in
during official occasions ... |
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The victim as seen last time by
tourists
when he left Chelsea |
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| ... But how would
a retired ex-officer from a protected environment
of a medieval hospice at the other side of London
end up at this part of the city where immigrants
from all over the Commonwealth have found refuge?
Why did he wear his official uniform, and did he
indeed fall victim to an accident? |
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| http://www.chelsea-pensioners.org.uk |
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CLUE
ON THE WEB: |
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Chelsea Pensioners are permitted to wear
civilian clothes outside the Royal
Hospital and Pensioners can come and go
as they please. Within the Royal Hospital
and around, Chelsea Pensioners are
encouraged to wear a practical blue
uniform. On all official occasions they
wear the famous scarlet coats,
complemented for ceremonial events by
tricorne hats.
When in Scarlet, Chelsea Pensioners are
immediately recognisable and are an
important part of the London scene. Many
home and overseas tourists like to stop,
talk and admire the uniform, many even
want to take a photo! |
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Being
a Chelsea Pensioner
Chelsea
Pensioners meet an amazing range of
people both inside and outside the Royal
hospital. Pensioners are invited and are
guests of honour at many events,
ceremonies and Royal occasions. |
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