That top picture is very similar to the one in the column today but they've sorted out the lighting.
This is the main bit of the column, the full version from Cameron as it was kinda hard to summarise.
I had high hopes for this being the year that I would get some time off. I also aimed to get a bit more foreign travel under my belt. And despite it being first and foremost official business, this trip to Zambia has enabled me to do both. I’ve been a few times to Africa and have experienced different aspects of that huge continent. I loved Morocco in North Africa for example, and was delighted to stay in some of the ‘real’ places, rather than the marble-walled, palm tree-lined tourist resorts that we saw from the distance. South Africa is a beautiful place to visit, but you have to heed the warnings given by locals when it comes to personal safety and security. I don’t think I’ve experienced greater contrasts in Africa than I have in Zambia. Having Cherise as a constant source of local information definitely helped to highlight these differences; a native guide is always a great boon. We often see images of starving children and malnourished mothers when we hear about poverty in Africa. The day-to-day reality even for working people is that they may not receive their wage if there’s no ready cash available. A housemaid receives a legal-minimum salary of about £45 a month. Policemen and teachers receive not much more. Contrast this with foreign bosses in the mining industry who can earn salaries upwards of £25,000 a month. No wonder there’s a lack of respect between groups.
You’d even wonder about the inconsistent approach to services maintenance. Some main towns have limited water supplies and intermittent electricity. The main highway between the capital Lusaka and Livingston is mostly fairly good, but for the last hour and a half of the drive you’re reduced to 10mph in order to avoid the potholes and disappearing verge. I was relieved we persevered with the road to Livingston as it was the true highlight of my time in Zambia. The town itself doesn’t escape the divisions between street trading and a more slick retail scene, but here they manage to co-exist more fluidly than elsewhere in the country. Even at the magnificent Victoria Falls roadside vendors and local craftsmen haggle side by side with air-conditioned galleries displaying the same carvings and curios, selling for a dozen times the price. Shocking perhaps, until you realise that in neighbouring Zimbabwe they’ve resorted to bartering with bones as their currency is reduced to practically worthless.
And the rest is...
How he's off on the cruises with the National Trust in two weeks time and how it'll be particularly memorable for many people as it is the last cruise on the Black Prince which is a ship used by the National Trust for a number of years.
Aberdeen getting placed 9th in the list for excessive drinking in UK towns and the top UK city in the list. (What an achievement eh
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How it's wrong that Paris Hilton should get off with half her prison sentence for drink driving because of a lack of space in the jails. He says if this is the issue she should be doing some form of community service but NOT getting followed about by a TV crew to make a documentary!
Briefly mentions meeting up with Gos in London and going to see Wicked.... Gos kept asking when they were going to sing about the yellow brick road apparently!
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) Kylie Minogue performing at a charity do in Cannes with Sharon Stone joining her on stage for some songs. Also mentions a woman bidding £175,000 to get a kiss with George Clooney...!
