The Sunday Mail
Rosenthal Mutakati
Temperatures have started dropping, signalling the beginning of winter, which is usually infamous for broken promises and missed appointments.
Most often when it is cold, people lie a lot in order to wriggle out of engagements and spend as much time as possible in the warm embrace of their blankets.
“Can we reschedule that appointment because my brother has been taken ill and I need to be close in his hour of need? Ndapota ndinzwisiseiwo,” are the kind of requests received during this time of the season.
“I was operated on some five years ago, so I get this ping whenever it’s cold,” is a popular line sold to superiors.
“I could have come there, but I fear that the moment I come to work I will infect everyone. Give me four or five days to recover,” some workmates will tell you without even bothering to visit the doctor to get a sick note.
Called “chando”, “kutonhora,” “chillaz”, “kaweather” or simply winter, the moment temperatures dip, expect trouble.
This is the time of the year when people attend school, church, village meetings or even go to work without bathing. No wonder it is a season associated with bad odours.
“There is no reward for bathing. If it gets really cold, I just cannot take a bath. Whom will I be fighting to please, given that I am already married and gainfully employed?
“I only take a bath when time and conditions permit,” I heard an elderly man saying while drinking opaque beer at an illegal drinking joint in Zengeza last week.
“Has anyone ever been jailed for not bathing? What makes you think I could be the first person to be arrested for not bathing? I do not take kindly to people poking their nose in my affairs,” charged one unkempt chap donning sooty overalls.
Cases of people who do not bath, especially in boarding schools, are many. If matrons and boarding masters are not tough, boarders can easily complete the whole term without taking a bath. This is also a time when learners would rather bunk lessons to bask in the sun.
The winter season is particularly the favourite for fashion police, as the most fashionable clothes may not be as warm as the weather demands.
It is not uncommon to find people wearing unusual clothing combinations as they prioritise being warm.
The most irritating lot are those who leave their homes without warm clothes only to borrow your jacket or jersey. Also, whenever it’s cold, people drink a lot of beverages like coffee, tea and soups.
Children also hate people who visit for weeks on end because this disrupts their sleeping patterns, and because they are often requested to handover some of their blankets.
Cold seasons are also bad for colds.
People generally get sick when it’s cold.
If there was an option, people would rather not have winter.
Inotambika mughetto.
Feedback: [email protected]
