#BlueAndWhiteChronicles misadventures on public transport in Zambia
Seasons come and seasons go.Some trends become popular and some no.Otis Redding said a change is gotta come.But why do you have to take my hashtag Mister President?Bubblegum.
As is CLEARLY evident, my poetry is pretty pathetic, but I had to express my emotion in some way! Public transport in Zambia is changing. By now, most of you may have noticed that the colour scheme of public buses is changing — from blue and white, to an orange strip/ribbon around the length of the bus, and a secondary colour of choice. Apparently blue and white are the colours of the previous regime. The current Government wish to change that.
To some of you, this change means nothing. You will step into your air-conditioned cars, you will continue your dusty foot patrols, or you will even hop on the new orange-strip buses, without second thought. But to me, this change is much more than that. As insignificant as it may seem, the ushering in of a new colour scheme means I must say goodbye to my first interactive hashtag — the first idea that ever got me published. Heart wrenching, is it not?
#BlueAndWhiteChronicles
#BlueAndWhiteChronicles is/was a hashtag I used for my tweets and Facebook updates about my misadventures on public transport in Zambia. I’ve heard the funniest stories, the most absurd revelations, and eavesdropped on a number of shocking conversations! I once heard a drunken passenger compare the invention of the aeroplane to the ‘discovery’ of our country’s beloved nsima! It was only right that I shared these little anecdotes with people. Soon enough, other people used the hashtag, sharing their own interesting experiences.\
About a year after the invention of #BlueAndWhiteChronicles, I got published. My friends London Kamwendo, My friends Jarell Thompson, and I put together a comic strip starring a rude, and loud, bus conductor for Flip Magazine. This was meant to be an exciting event. Sadly, I didn’t get credited for that first piece of printed work. Let’s put it down to a slight mix up. The comic strip was a lot of fun to create and it’s definitely an experience I will never forget. And now, unfortunately, #BlueAndWhiteChronicles will be no more. So to say goodbye to my beloved hashtag, I will write a series of posts. This is the first of three. I’ll take pictures of some interesting Blue and Whites along with their stickers and slogans.
Tweet your #BlueAndWhiteChronicles, and you could get published!
To say goodbye I would appreciate it if you shared some of your own #BlueAndWhiteChronicles, your own experiences of public transport in Zambia. Share your quotes and pictures on Twitter. Mention me, @Benny_blow and @TheBestOfZambia, and don’t forget to add the hashtag #BlueAndWhiteChronicles. We’ll pick a few of the best and add them to the next posts.
I hope this will be as much fun for you as it has been for me.Send your pictures and tweets and you will see,#BlueAndWhiteChronicles are a lot of fun.Here’s a little flavour of what’s to come!The wheels on the bus go round and round…Bubblegum.
Tweet your #BlueAndWhiteChronicles pictures and quotes to @Benny_blow and @thebestofzambia
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Benny Blow is an amateur alchemist, blogger and freelance writer. You can read some more of his writing on bennyblow.blogspot.com