Long Street, Cape Town, South Africa

Whilst living in Cape Town I befriended a bearded, bristle-headed, bespectacled German. Gunther was head of an advertising agency. He invited me to his office on Long Street to view his collection of books on the American Civil War. He wanted to discuss the merits of linear warfare as applied at Gettysburg. It was clear he was under the impression I was a Union sympathizer. For lunch we met some of his friends for curry at an Indian restaurant down the street. They were educated professionals from well-known Cape families. One of his friends, an academic writing on the Boer War, remarked that he felt he was being followed. He was paranoid about being targeted by the intelligence services. Another man, a banker and SADF veteran, told us that a group of right-wingers were planning a bombing campaign, "just to remind them that we're still here."