THE KRAZI KIDS GROW UP PART 11 - KERRY

In Krazi Kids 11, we ended with Kerry studying for matric. Time has marched on somewhat, and to fast forward a little, 3 years later she joined a team of young people who travel through Africa ministering in music and song. It had been her dream for years to do so, so we find ourselves here, outside St James Church in Cape Town. Some of you may remember the massacre that took place in that church some years ago. When we walked in, I looked at the beautiful church around me and could not imagine terrorists rushing a church service with guns mowing down many people.

Kerry is the blonde girl in the centre.

After one year of travel, she came home and spent a year working with young people locally.

During this time she became engaged to and married Johan whom she had gone to  high school with.

They were married in Ermelo where they lived for many years. Kerry became 100% bilingual as she married into an Afrikaans family. Her first job was with the company her father in law owned and ran on his farm.

Nine months after they were married, Tessni was born. 

Followed by JP.


Kerry carried on working, but she was a lucky Mom as she had a relative who used to go to her farm cottage and look after the children while she worked. A very good arrangement all round.

Kerry and Johan moved to Middleburg and after 8 years added a daughter, Shanni to the gang.

Here is a picture of the two sisters, Kerry and Lisa (who is the 3rd Krazi Kid) and Shanni.


Shanni is 3 years old now, JP is 12 and Tessni is 14. It's all good for them and Johan has just been promoted. 


They are happy which is all a mother could ask, isn't it?

THE KRAZI KIDS GROW UP PART I - SHIRLEY

A while back I Posted a series called KRAZI KIDS. I am going to move on from that and show you briefly what came next.

In Krazi Kids l - Shirley, she was in matric and planning to become a nurse. That did not happen but life has this strange way of not letting us decide our own fates, you will see now how her plans followed a very different path! Take a look.

We have jumped forward 4 years since Shirley left school. During that time  she worked as a Personal Assistant to a businessman in Johannesburg. It earned her a good living, but her heart was not in it, so she attended Legatts Academy of Design  with a view to becoming a clothing designer. 

With that under her belt, she wanted to raise some cash for herself while deciding in which direction to take her design carreer,  so worked in the food industry as a waitress at night where she not only saved some money, but fell in love with her boss, who was the manager of the restaurant she worked in. They spent 1 year together overseas, travelling through Scotland, England, and Canada. They arrived home and announced their engagement and were married not long afterwards.

They were married in a little chapel in the Drakensburg Mountains which was beautiful.

After the ceremony the pictures were taken outside with the view of the Magalisburg Mountains surrounding us. Here she is with her new husband and ex boss!  (He became a Manager to a well known 5 star hotel in Durban. And many other hotels over the following 13 years.)

 Months went by, and what do you know, look closely, a baby! This picture was taken In Durban at Mitchell's Park.

  Now wasn't she worth the wait!! Enter Victoria-Leigh Gail Vels. Who is at present 13 years old, but she still needs to get there!

 

  As time went by, when Vicky now 22 months old, she was listening for her baby sister's heart beat. She loved the coming baby until the baby was getting around, and then tried to shove her into the rose bushes whilst her new sister was in her walking ring. That would be the start of sibling rivalry?

However, we need to get to that point, so enter Jessica-Laine Vels. 

There were to be only 2 children for this little family.

Growing up with them has been an adventure. They have travelled but lived in Cape Town for many years. The picture above is one of my favourite, and was taken during their time in Cape Town.  

Arn't they gorgeous? Can you believe that two sisters can be so unlike one another. Victoria-Leigh on the left takes, after her fathers side of the family and is dark, while Jessica-Laine takes after her mother.

  Today they are living in England, and this picture was taken in December with the first snow man they made, clever girls!


Shirley home schools them which I think is a very brave venture, but they are all doing very well.


A very successful ending to KRAZI KIDS1 don't you think!?                                                                                                                                                                               

GOODBYE TO AN OLD FRIEND

Almost three weeks ago we lost another member of our pet family. This was a tough one and the little chap in the picture, Crunchie, had been with me for a little more than 20 years.

I have written a couple of posts which include him, the first was "He links my worlds" because I bought him for R20 from a friend of mine's son, for my 6 year old son, and Crunchie stayed long after my son left home and came with me into the second chapter of my life.

He lived indoors as the ants wouldn't leave him alone outside. We never got around to making an enclosure for him, and he was so small that he just mingled with the cats and dogs. He learned over the years what the fridge was for and that it kept FOOD.

When I used to watch him walk across the room, in the dark and almost forgotten recesses of my mind, I almost thought I could hear little children laughing, picking him up, feeding him and playing with him. The children then left home, but as tortoises live to a very ripe old age, he certainly outlived their childhoods and Crunchie stayed on to live with us.

He was a well seasoned traveller as he came with us everywhere. He even had a travel bag. He was a wonderfully low maintenance pet to have as he ate and drank about 3 times a week and hibernated for 6 months of every year.  

When he came out of hibernation  I wrote and posted a post which centred around Widget the parrot and his craziness and Crunchie crashing out of the cupboard in November after his winter hibernation.  

He loved the sun. We often found him lying stretched out, head on its side, eyes closed as he soaked up the sun. The very first time I came across this I though he was dead and picked him up so fast he shot back into his shell!

His death was a painful accident.  I tried to save him but failed.  We have buried him along side Bokkie, out Ring Necked Parakeet who died last year.

It is is hard losing pets, they give us much joy, and I always saw to it that I gave them the  best life that I could whilst they were with us.  So I will miss you my little friend, we were together for many years. You have taken memories to your grave, memories of  a very small, smart little tortoise, and the joy he brought to 4 young children.

Where ever you are, I hope there is an abundance of carrots and tomatoes, finely chopped of course!

There are many things in life that we just cannot change and have to accept. Loss is one of them. 

Arn't you glad that whatever the loss, we have a memory that can keep things very much alive for us.

POLITICAL THRILLERS

We all remember the much loved nursery rhymes of our childhood.  They were passed down from generation to generation.
My own children loved them and knew them off by heart, I had to read at least 1 or 2 to them each night.

I was saddened the other day when I was having a conversation with as 2 year old, and recited some rhymes by way of entertainment. I was given a strange look and asked him if he knew them. "No. What are those," asked my intellectual companion in astonishment. When I had collected my scattered thoughts, I said "You know who Jack and Jill are, don't you?" he gazed at me as though I were speaking another language, then replied "Can't I listen to my Blackeyed Peas cd?" I asked him if he wanted to go that route, could't we rather listen to Cliff Richard, at least I understand THAT.

Someone asked me once why nursery rhymes were so violent, ogres, witches often having  endings rooted in bloodshed.

Soooo.....I went on a digging and delving spree and came up with this....

I found an article on the origins of nursery rhymes. They were not intended to ever be rhymes for children.  

Researchers found that composers were forced to disguise their commentary on current affairs in the form of childrens' rhymes - or risk a nasty death.

Many are directly related to British Politics of the time, and some were cunningly invented to spread gossip about royalty, and many nursery rhymes are blatant reference to violence, war and politics in Europe. Blackeyed Peas don't sound so bad now!

                                                  JACK AND JILL

 The clumsy Jack referred to is France's King Louis XVI, who was beheaded in 1793. "Jack fell down and broke his crown" ..... His wife, Queen Marie Antoinette, met the same unfortunate fate... and Jill came tumbling after.  The rhymes ending was made a little more child friendly  by concluding that Jack didn't actually die, but mended his head with vinegar and brown paper.


                                      MARY, MARY QUITE CONTRARY

Most rhymes about Mary refer to the English Queen Mary Tudor, nick named "Bloody Mary", who was the daughter of Henry VIII, a catholic who  flushed out protestants in England. 

Mary's garden  was apparently an illusion to graveyards full of protestants who met untimely deaths because of their religious beliefs.  The silver bells and cockle shells growing in  her garden were subtle colloquialisms of torture, while "maids" were supposed machines that beheaded people in a similar fashion to the guillotine.

                                             THREE  BLIND MICE

The "Heroine" of this simple verse is once again Mary Tudor who allegedly  had three  noblemen (the mice)  burnt at the stake for plotting against her. The reference to the "farmers wife" alludes to the vast estates owned by Mary and her husband, King Phillip of Spain. Scholars,  however, are stumped as to why the violent words suggest that Mary cut off their tails with a carving knife.

Probably the worst fairy tale I can think off is Hansel and Grettel.


 Imagine having parents who purposely lost you in the woods because food was scarce at home, not enough for the kids, you then found yourself at the mercy of an evil witch whose  culinary tastes favoured little children.

YESTERYEAR'S GIFTS STILL TREASURED TODAY

We all have favourite things, they are not expensive or rare in the grand scheme of things, but have meaning to us, are priceless and irreplaceable.

When I decided to write this post, I had no idea how hard it was going to be to decide. My kist is full of pre-school drawings, handmade gift from small children, first grade one books etc. But we all have those and many more, like first baby clothes, dresses, shoes etc.

I started to put things into categories. What a long tiresome process it was, I almost gave up at one stage. But then it started to become easier (after about a week of rummaging).

At the top of the page are my treasurers.


The jewellery box (really) was given to me by my parents for my 16th birthday. As if it were yesterday I see us in the dinning room, there was a a bowl of flowers on the table. I opened up my first jewellery box. It was bright pink, had satin lining and was delightful. Today it is 3 parts, the lid has fallen off, that is it under the left side of the box, and one side in kept inside the box, not longer attached to anything! I have used it all these years to keep important papers in, birth certificates, immigration papers, and all the documents I have  needed to keep safe. I normally keep it together with a strong elastic band! But part with it? NEVER!!


Pictured in front of the box is a gold broach. It was given to me by my paternal grandparents for my 21st birthday. It used to have a cultured pearl in the centre. It lives in the box, along with my 3rd treasure. It is card that came with a bunch of flowers sent to me by my husband when our first daughter was born. On it is written "My Darlings. To Gail and Shirley the two wonderful women in my life. congratulations both of you, xxxxxxxxxxDadxxxxxxxxxx.


The writing is not easy to read, but get out a magnifying glass Shirl and you will see it!!


These items will be "junk" to whoever cleans up after me once I have shuffled off this earth, but I would have treasured them during the course of my life. There is no price tag to these 3 treasures. When I come across them as I often do, The years fall away, and I smile as I remember......

EXASPERATING FRIENDS OF THE BEST KIND

It was in the middle of the night, and I was woken by what sounded, in the middle of the night anyway, like an air raid.

I got out of bed to investigate, and discovered that the thunderous  sound came from a cupboard in my kitchenette. I very tentatively opened the door, and the mystery was solved.

It is the cupboard that Crunchie my tortoise hibernates in. For those who are acquainted with him will know that I go through this every October. Here's why.

I tend to forget of is existence  when he hibernates as he vanishes into the cupboard for 6 months of every year, until the BIG SLEEP ends.

This is what greeted me when I opened that cupboard door. He must have been trying to break out and when I opened the door he rolled out, enter Crunchie for the summer! He landed on his back as you see.

FOOD AND WATER.  That was his first quest once I had righted him. He wasn't waiting til morning!  So he is back into the swing of summer and consciousness since May, stalking me for food and water as he always did. He still remembered where the fridge is and what is in it, where the front door is so it would appear that his memory  is in top form.....

Ah yes, and lets not forget the clown of the family. He hates me with a vengeance at present because 2 weeks ago I clipped his nails, they were hooking on everything. He has the blood of an elephant running through his veins and forgets nothing for a very long time. I go near him and he backs away as though I were a serial bird murderer. My husband has to put him to bed each night in the cage he sleeps in. That used to me my job, but when Widget sees (I think he has eyes in the back of his head too) me coming,  he runs under the bed as if his life depended on it and simply waits me out. If my husband is not available to do the honours, it is an exhausting game of cat and mouse which positively frays my nerves whilst operating on a very short wick.

I did take advantage of the situation though, so clipped his wings while he still hates me. I can't do more damage now can I?

Above he is hanging from one leg on one of the 3 rods that keep his tray in place. He climbs up and down the legs and being the acrobat he is......

No, the picture is not upside down, his head is facing the floor and he is hanging onto the rod with both legs now. Showoff.

Who knows what goes on in his little stubborn feathered head, or what goes on in Crunchie's pre-historic head, one thing is certain, they are as bright as little buttons and I would say there is a LOT going on inside there!

FORGOTTEN DURBAN

Since a recent post in which I remembered the rickshaws of my childhood, little did I know that I was to come to learn far more about the history of the rickshaw and of Durban itself.

The years from 1910 to 1933. A Durban most of us never knew. A small town with houses and gardens, no high rises or streets inundated with traffic, road rage unheard of, a pace of life we cannot imagine.

In the year 1904 there were approximately 2 000 registered pullers. At first they were the Japanese type holding only one passenger and having a wooden wheel.

All Durban's steep roads had notices at the top stating "DANGEROUS TO RICKSHAWS". The signs were all red with white lettering so the illiterate knew what it meant.
 Residents needing transport would lift up an arm and yell "Shaw" and would attract the attention of all within hearing distance who would rush to his assistance.  Pretty much the same thing happens today, we raise our arm and yell "Taxi" and are flattened by at least 6 taxis who have this rather aggressive little man who jumps off before the taxi stops, in an attempt to collect as many passengers as he can before anyone else gets to you. He often goes so far as to wrestle you away from other bizarre little men in their own attempts to abduct you. Quite traumatic when one has cornered you and actually drags you by the arm. If you want to reduce your chances of this happening, never, never look for a taxi near the Workshop.

On the up side, I only have to walk out of my door and my taxi awaits to take me to where I want to go, and returns me to my front door.

Take a look at Smith Street. Don't even have to look both ways here, no danger of being knocked down.  No more Smith Street of course, or West,  Aliwal, Pine and others. Overnight some genius changed all the names and now the only people who know them are tourists who come to Africa armed with their "know how" books on the geography of Africa.

Here we have Addington Hospital. In this picture it looks like a country estate.  Today's reality of course is quite different. Queues fill the corridors, and NEVER get in the wrong queue, because after 3 hour in the wrong  queue you will have to start again in another queue ... for another 3 hours. The staff still don't recognise patients who have been going monthly for 15 years or more, they change the system every 2 months and lose your file every month, which is probably why they fail to recognise faithful, longstanding patients.

  Above is Florida Road and Musgrave Road. Florida Road is host to enormous New Years Eve parties every year. See the old bus which ran on tram lines

Albert Park and Berea Road have the rickshaws with their pullers waiting for passengers.

Unbelievable? Believe it!

Thank you for strolling back through time with me to a Durban forgotten, a Durban remembered by few. 

I would love to spend just one day with them.