Queens Coronation - boating - holidays - car breakdown
Wednesday 26th August, 2009
Dear Jeremy
Are you sure I am not going into too much detail? A life story should be selective but it takes time to decide what to put in and what to leave out so I will just have to leave that task to you after all it is just for the family anyway.
My last letter told of the arrival of Jill so at last we were a family not just two adults and a child. We called her Elizabeth Jill because we like the name Elizabeth, because it was the year of the Queen’s coronation and somehow we felt that the time needed to be marked and of course we had to keep the tradition of the J in middle of the name and Jill seemed to suit her. She was a pretty, round, cuddly baby with big brown eyes and was of course much loved. Christopher loved his little sister too and said to me: “It is good that you had me first to practise on and not little Jilly”. He was very protective and Michael just stopped him in time from battering a venerable gentleman of the cloth who teased him and said he was going to steal his little sister. Rage clouded his face as he started to rush forward but Michael caught him in time so an embarrassing situation was avoided and glossed over.
Boats were one of Michael’s passions. He had tried to join the Navy when the war broke out and for some strange reason they only recruited men who lived at the coast he said. Finally he was able to realise his dream – he built a flat-bottomed boat which we floated on the Tyumie River. During the school holidays, I think it must have been July, my parents rented a cottage at the sea, at the Igoda River where we joined them. Michael launched his boat and my Mother stood on the bank and said: ‘Michael has built a boat and it floats!!’ He teased her about her lack of confidence in his ability. We had great fun on the river.
We decided to give ourselves a treat and go and see the film at the ‘bioscope’(cinema) about the breaking of the sound barrier. We were driving home in the dead of night down the Buffalo Pass twisting and turning round the curves while Michael relived the moments the aeroplane crashed through the sound barrier when there was an awful noise coming from the engine. What to do miles from home and any habitation and no other cars on the road. We limped back to camp feeling as shattered as the engine sounded.
The next day Pop decided to tow the Rover to Uncle Ellie’s garage with his precious Oldsmobile. To his frustration he just could not get it up the steep hill. We begged him to stop but stubbornly he kept on until he burnt the clutch out. No mobile phones in those days so they had to walk to the farm house to phone Uncle Ellie who came with his powerful old Dodge and towed both cars out one behind the other.
The men spent much of that holiday grinding the valves and re-tuning the engines. They camped in the garage as they had no means to get back to us while we waited patiently for word from them. However, it seemed they had a good time working together and Michael learnt much about motor car engines. There must have been some good jokes too.
It was 1953 and the Queen’s coronation and everywhere there were celebrations. South Africa was still part of the British Empire. In Alice there were sports on the playing fields and a fancy dress for the little children. Christopher went as a cowboy he was really into cowboys then. The children were each given commemorative handkerchiefs.
Hamish Dickie-Clark told Michael that they were due for study leave and he was going back to Rhodes to study for a further degree. Michael applied to Natal University to study for an Honours Degree in English Literature. We calculated that on quarter salary and the cost of living allowance we would be able to manage financially. We sold Pinochio, this was a great wrench to Michael and bought me a bicycle. Michael already had one on which he rode to school each day. I carried Jill in a seat which fitted over my handlebars and Michael took Chris on the bar of his bike. We also sold our furniture.
After spending Christmas and New Year with our parents we sailed from East London for Durban on our return to Pietermaritzburg and Natal University.
While in East London the Government decided to consolidate Cost of Living with salary so our income was considerably reduced. We subsequently had to borrow to get through that year. Hamish arranged with his brother to lend us the money which we paid back in due course.
That was 1953.
Love you lots, Mum