There, surely, on the right hand side of the picture, was an Odi weave. These things are distinctive and I doubt that I could have made a mistake. I learnt recently that the government had presented another weave to the government of Mozambique when that country became independent in 1975. It puzzles me that more is not made of such achievements, as achievements they undoubtedly are. So now we need to know if the government did indeed present an Odi weave to the Queen?
What else could it have given her? But are there relevant records and if not, will anybody remember? But what a curious scenario! Anyway, the last few weeks have been perhaps the most dramatic in the last 50 years. There was the death of that remarkable pioneer, Patrick van Rensburg. There was the lavish, money no problem, annual congress of the BDP and then the mayhem at the two BMD meetings, the death of ex President Masire and the undignified whiff of division over his funeral, the continued rumblings regarding the Gripen jet fighters, and, not least, the weird, bewildering affair of the Dalai Lama about which so many questions remain unanswered. The invitation, if you recall, was made to him by the Mind and Life Institute here, the government’s endorsement of the visit, and the news that the President would deliver the opening address.
