OUR VERY OWN HOLLYWOOD STAR
We are straight out of the Easter holidays so I will choose to focus on light news.
But before I get into the main story, I can’t help but mention that fuel prices have gone up again.
Actually, the trend now seems to be that fuel prices go up every month.
A local news site made a comparison of the fuel prices in the region and, yes, Zimbabwe is the most expensive; God knows why!
Quite disheartening, I must say, considering that our petrol is blended with ethanol, something which should make it cheaper since ethanol is a local product. In the United States Dollar, Zimbabwe average fuel price is $1.34, Botswana $0.73, South Africa $1.07 and Zambia $0.97. I understand there was a P1 ($0.10) increase in fuel prices in Bots at the start of the month but as you can see, you’re still paying well below your neighbours, so don’t stress too much!
Anyway, we now suffer in silence. Remember how scores of people were badly beaten while others were killed in the 2019 fuel price hike protests. No one wants to take that route again.
Enough about our overpriced fuel, now let’s focus on something lighter.
I have no doubt that you all know the Hollywood actress, Thandie Newton, yes, the A-list celeb, but I am not sure if you are aware that she is half Zimbo. Well, she is as her mother was from here, somewhere in Mashonaland.
Newton, 48, became a talking point this week when she revealed in an interview with British Vogue that she was reverting to her original name, Thandiwe (loosely meaning beloved) a very common name in Zimbabwe especially among the Ndebele people.
The ‘W’ was apparently dropped in a spelling error in the credits to her first film back in 1991. As a result, Thandie Newton became the widely used spelling of her name and has stuck with the actress for three decades.
All that will, however, be a thing of the past as she now wants her name to be spelt properly.
“That’s my name. It’s always been my name. I’m taking back what’s mine,” declared the ‘Mission Impossible’ star in the interview.
Newton was born in London to a white father, Nick, and a Zimbabwean mother, Nyasha.
So, you see, she is one of us; she is our sister.
You know how Kenyans went all out about former US President, Barrack Obama, being a big part of them and how there were widespread celebrations in that country when he came into office.
Our euphoria hasn’t quite reached such levels of giddiness but there is an obvious happiness that despite her global status, Newton acknowledges her roots, that she has Zim blood.