: About Me

Colleen Taylor nee Cripps Born and still living in Zimbabwe (previously Rhodesia). Educated at Girls' High School, Salisbury and Cape Technical College, Cape Town, South Africa. Diploma in Proofreading and Copy Editing from Maple Academy, London. Present occupation - Secretary at Leopard Rock Hotel in the beautiful Vumba mountains east of Mutare. Widow of Jim Taylor, horticulturalist and farmer, born in Belfast N. Ireland. Two children - daughter Kerry, married to Ian McSmith now living in Kentucky with two sons, Alastair 11 and Neill 9. Son Alec presently living in Woking, UK. Professional cricketer, not yet married. Started writing a history of my family from 1890 when grandfather came to Rhodesia with the pioneer column. Interests, reading and writing, gardening, horse riding, walking my dogs, wild-life and travel.

My passion is ...

Family

I know too much about ...

Zimbabwe politics

My parents always told me ...

Anything worth doing is worth doing well

My childhood ambition ...

To be famous

My favorite memory ...

Our silver wedding anniversary

Why I write ...

To record memories and entertain

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

Spy stories, history, biographies; comedies; vinyl records

My first job ...

Secretary in a timber company

My best moment ...

Arrival of our children

Creative Writing > Memoirs Memoirs: My unusual garden story about weeds or pests

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Where I live, in a beautiful wild part of Zimbabwe, some of the most destructive pests are baboons, monkeys and moles. The moles tunnel underground until they come across a nice fat carrot or parsley root and you won't realise anything is wrong until one day the tops start wilting. On closer examination the whole top comes away in your hand, with just a little shell to show that it once had a large root underground. If you discover them quickly enough you can at least dry the parsley to flavour your cooking, but carrot tops are not very appetising. Sometimes I put them in my dogs' soup and...

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