‘Well, what’s new my friend?’ Camp asked me when he sat down at our usual corner table at our favorite watering hole.

            ‘Two items have caught my attention this week. One is about elephants and the other about Swiss senior women,’ I said.

            ‘Oh, please tell. I haven’t followed the news this week; busy with the store and the new spring releases in the ever-fickle publishing market. It’s a guessing game I play every year as in: who will buy what to read this summer?’

            ‘Berlin’s Green environment minister, Steffi Lemke, proposed a new law restricting the import of elephant hunting trophies. When Botswana’s president Masisi heard about this, he threatened to send 20’000 elephants to Germany. Botswana is home to 130’000 elephants, about a third of the world pachyderm population while Germany is one of the biggest importers of such trophies in the EU. Masisi said elephant numbers had exploded as a result of conservation efforts, and hunting helped keep them in check.’

            ‘I suppose the spectre of neo-colonialism hasn’t occurred to Ms Lemke, Camp said, shaking his head of white curls. ‘What about the Swiss seniors?’