The Colors of All the Cattle by Alexander McCall Smith

I have written many times about my love of the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency books and that meeting author Alexander McCall Smith (here) is one of the highlights of my literary life.

In this latest installment, The Colors of All the Cattle, there are plenty of cups of red bush tea, generous slices of Mma Potokwane's cake, and the lenses of Mma Makutsi's glasses still flash a danger signal when she is upset. And, finally, Charlie, mechanic apprentice and detective in training, gets a serious girlfriend. He is also instrumental in solving the case of the hit-and-run motorist.

But it was the main thrust of the story that resonated with me. As it happens, Mma Ramotswe is reluctantly running for a seat on Gaborone's City Council. This is at the urging of Mma Potokwane, matron of the Orphan Farm - as insistent as only she can be. Her reasons for encouraging Mma Ramotswe in this endeavor are two-fold: one, that arch nemesis of Mma Makutsi and pretty much every one associated with the detective agency, Violet Sephotho, is running for the same seat and who knows what havoc she would wreak as a council member.

The other reason Mma P. is so adamant that her friend should run is her strong opposition to a developer's proposed building of a garish Big Fun Hotel next to a town cemetery. In a country that holds great reverence for its late family and friends, this will never do.

We are facing a similar issue here in Louisville. A developer wants to build a 33-story condo/apartment/retail center right at the entrance to one of our fine Frederick Law Olmsted parks. It would loom over our historic Cave Hill Cemetery.

Believe me, people - and I include myself - are quite upset about this and although there have been many meetings with the developer he seems unwilling to amend his plans.

The property is actually quite small. A mere triangle of land. To me, the design looks like someone attempting to stuff ten pounds of potatoes (although that is not the word I usually use) into a five pound bag. You get the picture.

To give you an idea of the scale of this monstrosity, the tallest building in Louisville, a downtown tower, is 35 stories. It fits in with other commercial buildings in the city center. Thirty-three stories in a residential area is outrageous. Not to mention that my family and I own 'property' in Cave Hill Cemetery and we would all be resting in the shadow of such a monolith for eternity.

The plans have not been approved by the planning commission and city council as yet, but this same developer recently got approval to tear down a three-story apartment building in a nearby residential area and is planning to build a 15-story condominium in its place. That was opposed by the neighborhood association (it took the developer to court and lost) and many residents of the area. 

But, back to Mma Ramotswe and her friends. Over tea, they spend time musing about greedy property developers, the difference between good progress and bad progress, the honesty or dishonesty of politicians, and the importance of voting in civic elections.

I won't tell you how things turn out for Mma Ramotswe and Gaborone and the late residents of the cemetery as that would spoil your enjoyment of this book. 

But, even if your city or town is not being overrun by concrete and glass high-rise buildings, I think you will be entertained by this tale. It is a charmer.

The Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon by Alexander McCall Smith

Even a traditionally built woman such as Mma Precious Ramotswe can jump...to conclusions, that is. As Botswana's clever detective discovers, even after the most careful investigation, sometimes what seems to be the truth isn't always. 

In the latest book about the No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith, the detectives are baffled by a case of the anonymous character assassination of the owner of the Minor Adjustment Beauty Salon (that gives the novel its title). Then there is the client who hires Mma Ramatswe to verify the identity of a young man who has inherited a farm from his uncle. Could the nephew be an impostor or does the client stand to gain in some way by proving that he is?

There are a few new characters introduced and, of course, there are the regulars that make this series such a delight: the prickly associate detective Mma Makutsi; her gentle husband Phuti Radiphuti; and Mr. J.L.B. Maketoni, husband of Mma Ramostswe, who owns the Tlokweng Road Speedy Motors and is concerned that he is not a 'modern husband'. 

Over the course of the investigation of these newest cases, there is a deepening of the friendship and respect between Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi as each woman learns a lesson or two from the other. Quite a reminder of how valuable some friendships can be.

I love settling in with these citizens of Botswana. Mr. McCall Smith writes with such tenderness for his characters. And, somehow, he can make even an episode of Mma Ramotswe getting stuck in the mud in her little white van amusing and enchanting at the same time.  

As always, during the investigations there are many cups of tea, slices of cake filled with sultanas, talk of cattle, musings on life and human nature, and bumpy rides in the little white van that Mma R. feels such an affection for. I am always happy to be along with her for the ride.

Calculating the Cups

Alexander McCall Smith
Author of The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency
series

Yesterday I ended my post with a question:

How many cups of bush tea will it take before all these dilemmas are sorted out?

The person with the dilemmas is Mma Ramotswe, owner of The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency in The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection by Alexander McCall Smith.

When I posed the question about the tea, it wasn't until later in the evening that I turned the page and discovered the very next chapter was called "How Many Cups of Tea...." in which Mma Ramotwe and her assistant Mma Grace Makutsi discuss that very question on their way in the little white van to the edge of the Kalahari to find the matron of the children's orphanage.

They start to count the number of cups of red bush tea that Mma Ramotswe drinks each day. Turns out it is about ten. And that is before the evening tea, so about fourteen cups each day. Mma Makutski quickly calculated and rounded that out to one hundred cups of tea per week.

"One hundred cups," repeated Mma Ramotswe. "That will be doing me a lot of good. One hundred cups of red bush tea, Mma. The bush tea is full of good things. It will be making me very strong." She paused. "I am not ashamed of all that tea, Mma."

"Of course not," said Mma Makutsi. "There is nothing to be ashamed of in drinking one hundred cups of tea a week, Mma. Which is..." She paused again. "More than five thousand cups of tea a year. That is very impressive."

I am happy to report that the tea works; all the problems were sorted out.

Now, I will be drinking tea while waiting for the next installment in The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series.