Disaster and Triumph

From 1971 to 1973 I was the forecasts accountant for Roan Selection Trust on the Zambian copperbelt. I was fed the copper price by telex from RST's London office.

As a result my wife and I visited the fabulously rich Mufulira mine (lowloaders could pay for themselves in two weeks' digging) and was greeted by a Malcolm Swallow at the entrance. We descended 3,000 feet to a vast chamber the size of a cathedral which housed the winding gear.

Malcolm mentioned that, the night before, fresh mud and, believe it or not, green grass emerged through a crack in the orebody, clearly running from the surface. Nine days later 270 men were drowned by one of the most serious disasters in mining history.

Perhaps fourteen years later I visited Anglesey Mining (in of course Anglesey) to consider its prospective copper mine. I was met at the entrance by Malcolm Swallow. I made good money out of the warrants.

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Today's Times letters page mentions that Nancy Astor MP was quite as quick-witted as Harold Wilson when she was giving a speech on agriculture only to be interrupted by a heckler with "If you are so knowledgeable about agriculture tell us how many toes has a pig got." She flashed back "Come up here, remove your shoe and I will count them."

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Readers who would enjoy an investment tutorial at my flat should email me on Cawkwell@btinternet.com for further and better particulars. Chocolate eclairs can be served.