And so our life in education began
Wednesday 29th July, 2009
My Dear Jeremy,
While living at the Manse we had several visitors My Mother came to stay and looked after Christopher while I was teaching. David visited from Cape Town where he was working in the houses of Parliament as a stenographer – he could do shorthand in both English and Afrikaans - and my friend Betty Paterson also spent a time with us. Poor Betty, one night she woke us up as there was a bat flying round in her room. We spent a hilarious time trying to persuade it to go back out through the window – there we were waving around tennis racquets but the bat kept its distance flying up into the high ceilings. Poor bat but it must have got the message at last so we could retire once again to our beds
At last the day came we were to move into our own home. The Mission lorry came to collect our goods and chattels in the afternoon. The heavens opened and it rained really hard. I am not sure if perhaps it was a thunderstorm. Domira was further away from the school and was below the irrigation furrow which ran from the Tyumie River down the road where it continued round the small town of Alice. Domira was partly thatched. It had been the home of the British Commissioner and there was Queen Victoria’s coat of arms above the fireplace in the sitting room. Adjoining the sitting room was a study. The place had been divided into two houses and a dining room, two bedrooms, kitchen, pantry, bathroom and verandah had been added on. Next door lived Rosemary and Albertus and their two very blond children. Rooms had also been added onto their bit of the old house. Domira was the name of a place in Scotland where the first principal of Lovedale Mission had lived.
We crossed the furrow over a small bridge where Christopher used to play Pooh Sticks. Opposite the house was a large vegetable patch which was watered by removing the plug from the furrow to let the water flow down to irrigate the garden. There was also a very large tree which I think was an Aleppo Pine.
It did not take long to arrange our bits and pieces. By this time we had acquired a dining room table and chairs, a dressing table wardrobe combination, another bed and a pressure cooker.
To our huge delight there was a geyser in the bathroom and we all enjoyed a real bath at last with plenty of hot water. The next morning Michael got up first as usual and made us cups of tea. “Drink this first”, he said “and then I will tell you the bad news”. I did as I was bid. “The geyser is leaking”. I couldn’t believe it could be true but it was only too true. We cleaned that up and I suppose the Mission must have put in a new one for us.
Lovedale was a big Mission Station. As well as the High School there was a Teacher Training College, a teaching hospital and a farm and in the African village a practising school. We adjoined the farm lands and there was a good walk across the fields into Alice or down the road to the farm and the Tyumie River.
We met Dr Shepherd who was in charge of the Mission Station.. He was a very serious learned man. Every Sunday we all went to church. During the summer the services were held ‘Under the Oaks’ This was where I heard Helen Keller speak. On cold, rainy days we met in a large hall in the Teacher Training College.
The staff played tennis on Saturday afternoons which was a very pleasant social time.
The wives, who were not also teaching, invited each other to morning tea while the younger wives with children visited each other so the children could play together.
The chaplain, Donald MacTavish, arrived from Canada with his wife, Shona, and daughter, Terry and took possession of the Manse. Shona was a ballet dancer and had toured with the Bodenweiser Modern Dance group. Shona was forever doing pirouettes or high kicks. Terry and Christopher often played together.
Michael became friendly with Henry Shearsmith, the science teacher, and I got to know his wife, Grace who was an accomplished pianist. They were from England. Grace was also a good housewife and I remember that she grew wonderful dahlias in her garden. They had two adopted daughters, Mary and Margaret.
Michael joined a carpentry class and made a desk in beautiful Imbuia wood which you must remember and which Jill now has in her house. I joined the Occupational Therapy Committee and ran a small mobile library – that is on a trolley – in the hospital.
Slowly we were meeting more people and making contact with others at the African University, Fort Hare, which was on the other side of the river.
And so our life in education began.
Love, Mum