Letter 062 - Bulawayo holiday

Dear Jeremy,

1964 was a very busy year with many visitors coming to the college so few of whom I can recall. However I do remember a Hollander who showed pictures to the students.

His English was not very good and Dad and I were amazed how easily we managed to communicate with him through Afrikaans. It has always been a regret that we never visited Holland on our many travels to the continent.

It was the 8th August - Tim's 5th birthday. Celia woke at 3 am and came to tell us that she heard a bang and that was Tim turning 5 - that is what Dad told her would happen and she believed him... She was very excited as she always was when it was a family birthday. She helped Dad put up the tent we got for Tim's present. His cake was called 'On Safari' and I decorated it with lots of little wild animals. As you know Tim was always keen on animals. Lots of boys and girls came to his party. It was a great success.

Once again it was holidays so Dad went to Swaziland to see Waterford and talk things over with Michael Stern about accepting his offer of a post at the school. We all went down with him in the land rover and caravan as far as Bulawayo and stayed with Gerry and Val while he caught the train to Johannesburg and then on to the border at Breyton from where he had to take the bus. I towed some of the way on rough dirt roads and strip roads after we got to Southern Rhodesia.

We had a fun time with the Smiths. They took us for a picnic into the Matopo Hills - there is a photograph of Jill carrying you on her hip while the boys, Kevin, Michael and Tim and some of their cousins scrambled up the rocks.

Michael Stern offered Dad a salary of £l,000 and I would have to work too. I had many reservations about all this but realised Dad had to get the multi-racial school idea out of his system.

Christopher came back with Dad but was held up at the border as his vaccination certificate had run out. He went back to Mbabane, 80 miles, to be re-vaccinated while Christopher waited in the station at Breyton with the other boys until the evening train. Finally he got back and he was allowed to enter South Africa and they travelled by train back to Bulawayo

Off we set for the Copperbelt once again. Kevin came with us and I remember visiting the cave at Sinoia which went deep down into the earth. At the bottom was a small lake. I recall how very blue it looked from the top. We walked down to the waters edge. Sinoia is a farming area where oranges grew.

Granny went back to Johannesburg at the beginning of September and Kevin travelled down with her back home to Bulawayo. Later that month Christopher went back to school on the last train he would catch from Ndola.

We were now approaching the last months of our tour in Zambia. It was very hot - these months before the rains broke were called suicide months. We were busy planting shrubs and plants in the college grounds which were very barren.

Next time your birthday and departure.

Love you,

Mum

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