Friday 9 March 2012

Friday: Gold Rush

Couldn't resist posting this one,
.
I dropped in on Michael, an old friend who now owns an electronics store on Robb Street. Two seconds after I walked into his office another old friend, David, walked in. After catching up on old times M. and D. began looking nervously at the clock and  speaking of gold. M. gives me a round, flattish lump of gold about two centimetres in diameter. It's bright and beautiful and heavy; I weigh it in my hand, make the appropriate noises, and give it back.
Turns out M. owns land in the Interior which is being leased by gold prospectors.  M. has got his commission in gold which he needs to rush to the Guyana Gold Board before 11 am because after that the price will go down.
So right there they begin unpacking the gold. It is in a plastic bag, each nugget wrapped up in packing paper, and it all has to be unwrapped quick time. They seem to be wondering if it would be rude to unpack the gold in my presence.
 "Go ahead," I say. So they start unpacking. It's a bit of a fumble, but finally it's all done and the gold nuggets are in a plastic bag ready to be weighed. Once weighed, D. grabs it and rushes off on his motorbike to the Gold Board to cash it in.

Here it is:

Gold straight from the mines




This litle packet of gold is worth US $32000.The actual prospectors get about ten times that amount. Who says Guyana is a poor country?

 Speaking of gold: there's a lot of it around. I'm surprised at home many people - simple, ordinary people like market stall owners, taxi drivers, shop assistants, maids -- have gold prominently displayed intheor mouths; a crown or bridge, and I'm not speaking of molars here (I have gold molars) but incisors. Seems to be the trend of the moment!


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