A nostalgic week in Chingola

Barbara and I arrived in Chingola this afternoon after a very hard 7 hour drive from Lusaka International Airport.

This is the first time we have been back to this pleasant Zambian Copperbelt town since we returned to the UK in August 1973. We spent four of the best years of our life here and have very fond memories of the town and its people. Our daughter, Amanda, was born here just over 40 years ago.

Chingola is home to Zambia's largest mine, Nchanga, one of the great copper mines of the world. On Tuesday I will be spending a day on the mine, where I made my debut as a minerals engineer in 1969, initially on the concentrator, then the tailings leach plant and high grade leach plant, as well as serving for 2 years in the Nchanga Fire Service.

Back in those days there were no hotels or tourists in the town, but now we are staying for 6 nights at the Protea Hotel. This is a purely nostalgic visit and when I return I will be sharing my memories and photos with all of you who have been lucky enough to have lived in or visited this special African town.