Gallery Samples Stories of our Ancestors | Page 68
family and little Alan at the coast. “You won’t need me here anyway” he said as she languished
in the Sanatorium for the stipulated two weeks! At least the nuns didn’t kill us.
My poor sense of timing left us all a bit miffed. Had I been born at twelve midnight on the last
day of 1939, ‘we’ would have received a beautiful layette as the ‘First Baby of the New Decade’
(White baby of course!). This was indeed sad but what made me really angry was that my being
born twelve hours before the year ended meant that I would have to start school the minute I
turned 5: Furthermore, I wasn’t ever going to get the black curly hair and blue eyes that my
mother had prayed for. With my wispy pale locks and brown eyes I was undoubtedly ‘a
Hodgkiss’ even if Alan wasn’t! Poor Ruby tried so hard and unsuccessfully to make my hair
curl, massaging ‘Toddle-Locks’ in daily to no avail!
Once the ‘lie-in’ time was over, the rest of the family came back from the beach suntanned and
jolly and we left for Empangeni. My Mother was not that jolly.
T
CHAPTER 4: BACK TO PIETERMARITZBURG
hen there was change. In 1943, Les attained a position at the Local Health Commission
back in ‘Maritzburg. The position was a step forward on his career ladder and so they
packed up and moved with all their possessions including Alan aged seven and me,
aged three. Although they had been happy in Empangeni they were prompted to move
not only for the sake of Leslie’s career but for the sake of Alan’s education. The one and only
teacher in the village school had attempted, unsuccessfully, to teach all the junior classes
together, the result being that at the end of the first year she admitted with horror and shame
that “Alan has not learned one single thing!” Not that that bothered Alan.
Les, who could never tolerate heat, now threw himself o ]? H??Z[?? [?[??X??[?? B??\?HY?Z[??? H]?\?H ?] \??Y ? \?? ??\?H]?[?H^\?\?HH\?H]\?]?H?Y[????YH???\? X?\? ?] ???? ?[???????B??] H????]?? ?\? ]\??[??[Y[? ?Y?Y[?XYH???X?X??H[????? ?[?H ?B?] H?\?H[?x?&R??[?H?\??] ?YH8?&X\?] ??\?? ???\?] H?[Z[ H ?\?X?H ? Z?B????\??[???[X?\? ??\??? ?Y] ??\??\??[Z[ H ?]?][?H[?[]??H??H[?H ?H ?\?B????H ? H[?\????[??X?H]\?]?H?Y[?\ HX??] ] ??H ?\??] [?? ???? H[?\????[Z[ N?^H?[? H?X??^H?[??HYKZ[ ?[??[B??? ?\?H?? ?? ?\?H]X??\? [?YH ?? ^H ?\?H?]?\? ?Y?\??Y ?\?[??H?][? ??\?HHY] ?\?[?\?Y[X?\????X???&\??[Z[ H[?? Y[???X]?[??H?]\?[?H ???H???\? ?\?H??] ?[ ?\?H?Y\??[[??[?]Y? \??\? \?[? ?\??\?]?YYY???[??K??[? NM
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