when i interviewed for the bursary, i talked about my work in the anti—apartheid movement to alan rusbridgerhe editor. and it was a kind of typical liberal dilemma. they knew that there were stories that white journalists couldn't get in south africa in the run—up to the elections, but they hadn't employed enough black journalists that they wanted to send, actually, barely any that they wanted to send. so they looked around for someone who is young, cheap, and black to send them to see what was out there. and i was the youngest, cheapest, blackest thing in the office. so out i went. but then south africa is quite a difficult place to navigate if you can't drive, and so i would get lifts from people and i ended up getting a lift with a tv crew who were doing an official account of mandela. they dropped me at a gas station and said there are some others coming through to pick you up and they were mandela's bodyguards. and, frankly, i amused them and made it my business to amuse them. i had been involved in the anti—apartheid movement, i had studied in the soviet union, as had they. they would