With the Kalahari in her heart and its dust in her hair, Leonora Baring leaves with the TV crew, bumping south on the long road to Cape Town and then home to London. She knows her heart will ache with worry about the Bushmen she has come to understand and love. The image of a particular friend, Kalai, a beautiful young woman and mother, standing behind the vehicle to say goodbye, makes Leonora’s eyes prickle. Kalai had come back all the way to camp after having been taken deep into the desert to give birth, just to see them one last time.
Making the documentary on the Bushmen for the TV programme, Total Exposure, had been just another exciting assignment. That is, until Leonora had come to know the players; these beautiful nomads who had such deep history and intricate social systems. Kalai, having been largely ostracised by the group, because of her relationship with the Other, had been a fascinating study in itself.
During a stop on the long drive, Leonora hears a noise in the back of the Land Rover and discovers with shock, a tiny new-born baby wrapped in cloths and animal skins – Kalai’s new-born. The Bushmen had left, as they do, to move on to fresh territory and the crew had pressing deadline obligations in London. But these matters are incidental only to Leonora’s resolve to give Kalai’s baby the fighting chance his mother recognised she could give him. She is determined to take him to London, whatever it takes.
Railing in anger and against his better judgement, Jamie – Leonora’s Director, helps her. Falsified documentation and a good deal of palm greasing, and they make it happen. Baby Leo flies home with Leonora and his remarkable story unfolds.
With the Kalahari in her heart and its dust in her hair, Leonora Baring leaves with the TV crew, bumping south on the long road to Cape Town and then home to London. She knows her heart will ache with worry about the Bushmen she has come to understand and love. The image of a particular friend, Kalai, a beautiful young woman and mother, standing behind the vehicle to say goodbye, makes Leonora’s eyes prickle. Kalai had come back all the way to camp after having been taken deep into the desert to give birth, just to see them one last time.
Making the documentary on the Bushmen for the TV programme, Total Exposure, had been just another exciting assignment. That is, until Leonora had come to know the players; these beautiful nomads who had such deep history and intricate social systems. Kalai, having been largely ostracised by the group, because of her relationship with the Other, had been a fascinating study in itself.
During a stop on the long drive, Leonora hears a noise in the back of the Land Rover and discovers with shock, a tiny new-born baby wrapped in cloths and animal skins – Kalai’s new-born. The Bushmen had left, as they do, to move on to fresh territory and the crew had pressing deadline obligations in London. But these matters are incidental only to Leonora’s resolve to give Kalai’s baby the fighting chance his mother recognised she could give him. She is determined to take him to London, whatever it takes.
Railing in anger and against his better judgement, Jamie – Leonora’s Director, helps her. Falsified documentation and a good deal of palm greasing, and they make it happen. Baby Leo flies home with Leonora and his remarkable story unfolds.
Leo
Leo
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940165843785 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Christine Farrington |
| Publication date: | 04/21/2022 |
| Sold by: | Smashwords |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 2 MB |