ABSTRACT
Nkosi (6 years 2 months 11 days) has become an expert in spinning round and round on the vertically hanging fi re-hose. He leaps onto it with great force and winds the rubber-hose up as tightly as he can. Then, still holding onto it, lets it unwind, slowly at fi rst and then with ever-increasing speed. Like some kind of hairy ballet dancer or ice skater, he alters his speed by either hunching up along his vertical axis with his knees bent and his legs tucked in (to accelerate), or else lengthening himself out and splaying out one or other leg (to decelerate). He does this several times. One time, he carries a small piece of crumpled polythene in his teeth and lets it fl y off in the centrifugal force he produces. With his mouth wide open, his head arched back and his eyes closed, he looks like he is in Heaven.
