My Home from Home

The old timers will tell you it’s not how it was, but there’s still a special spirit among foreign correspondents. The new arrivals from London don’t always get it at first but they usually fall into line eventually. The point is that exclusives are few and far between and they will anyway end up on page 43. So why stitch up your colleagues? Being part of a team and sharing info is more effective than being a one-man band, constantly trying to throw everyone else off the scent of your story. More often than not the one-man band misses out on the big trip or the quiet briefing because everyone knows that what comes around, goes around.
Anyway, I’m waxing slightly lyrical because at the moment my underwear is hanging in AFP’s sitting room, while I use her high-speed internet and borrow her office float for tomorrow’s trip to Darfur. In return I can offer as much Ozone ice cream as she can eat, a neverending supply of bad jokes, and the understanding that she is welcome at African Safari’s ill-equipped bureau in Nairobi any time she wants.