Letter 009 - Rhodes University

13^th May, 2009

Dear Jeremy,

Here I am late again and with excuses as usual. Daily living takes my time and then I have developed a weakness for the lunchtime/afternoon movie. These are mostly old ones so I am probably making up for the time in Zambia when we lived in the Bush and had no cinema. Also other things have happened since I last spoke to you. Finally I have given in to the family and am employing a gardener to clear the jungle at the bottom of the garden. A charming young man, Matt Spicer, came to see me last Friday and was not overwhelmed by the nettles. Also Ron Taffs has been round to measure up for the new Pergola. The wood has arrived and I have spent time clearing the weeds and ivy from the wall behind the grape vine.

My last letter to you told of my arrival at Rhodes University – the beginning of my new life.

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Mary took me down to the main quadrangle and to the Library under the Clock Tower to meet Dr. van der Riet, the Librarian. He was a very shy man but friendly and welcoming. I was introduced to Miss Barker and Miss Strickland the two Assistants. During the day I met Kitty Paterson (not related to Mary and Betty) and Marjorie (Bobby) Redgment the other two student librarians.

The hours for working in the Library were fitted round my lecture timetable and this included opening the Library at night on my own and being in charge. This was a bit daunting at first but I soon got used to it. I had my own key and had to close up again at the end of the evening. Almost immediately I was put to work typing out the cards for the filing cabinets for the new books.

As well as the degree studies I had to do a correspondence course with the South African Library Association. I had been advised that I needed to spread the degree over four years but I tried to do it in three years. It proved too much. I failed one subject. The university offered me another year’s work in the library and the opportunity to retake the Accounting examination. I never quite understood how I had failed as Accounting was my best subject.

As well as cataloging and typing I did duty at the desk attending to students, helping them to find books and sending them fines when they failed to return their books on time. Another job was putting the books back on the shelves every morning. It was at the desk that I first made contact with your Father when he came to sign up and later pay his fines.

I went to the Ink’s Ball with Denis, a young brother of a senior science friend of Mary’s. He was very shy and I suppose I was too.

When the holidays came we student librarians remained for another two weeks working full-time in the Library. We worked together preparing books for the shelves and it was a very happy time. Sometimes one would read Jane Austen while the other two worked. There was plenty of time to hide the book as we heard the unmistakable steps of Dr van der Riet coming down the library.

I had become friendly with two science students, Mary and Anne, from Rhodesia.

They worked with Dr J L B Smith and Mrs Smith. Dr Smith had identified the Ceolocanth when it was discovered amongst the haul of a fishing trawler which was from East London. Mary and Anne asked me to join them when they looked after Dr Smith and his son, William, when Mrs Smith attended a conference. I used to go on early morning walks with them up the ‘mountain’ which, in those days, was tree-covered.

William was well known to the students as he ran barefoot through the residences. I understand his feet were bare so he could absorb the earth’s natural energy. Their diet separated carbohydrates and proteins and they drank a mixture of orange juice and milk also for health reasons.

When we returned to Grahamstown in 1966 we met up with Dr and Mrs Smith. She was then in charge of the Ichthyology Department which was then attached to Rhodes. They gave us a signed copy of the book he had written about the Ceolocanth. They had made a study of the fishes off the Cape Coast. They came and had tea with us at Marble Halls and I was told he called me ‘the girl with the laughing eyes’. One sad day Professor Smith took his own life. Mrs Smith asked us all to understand that once he felt his mental powers were going he could no longer go on living. Jill sent me a cutting of William which I will send to you..

That first year was a good year and during the vacation,back at home I met up with some students. They took me to a Night Club which I did not enjoy and I never went again. I fear I am a Puritan at heart.

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