DID YOU KNOW…
Almost 40 years ago, a night at the Beacon Isle in Plettenberg
Bay cost R25, and this was generally unaffordable. Ian Lipman
IN THE 20s…
I’ll never forget as a child we would buy a
‘penny lick’ – a soft serve that cost just a
penny.
IN THE 30s…
We would get a shilling for pocket money
which would last us a week. My father
bought a Chev motor car for 250 pounds.
IN THE 40s…
My uncle would give us all two-and-six, a
half a crown, spending money on a Sunday morning on holiday. With it we could
splurge on sweets, comics and magazines.
me to save what I would be paying in
rent had I stayed elsewhere. Because my
dad was in the jewellery business, I
bought five Kruger Rands with my first
cheque. Unfortunately, I never bought
another one again, which might have
made me a lot richer. But they did help
me 10 years later, when I bought a
house in Rivonia and I didn’t have
enough money to put in a pool. Those
five Kruger Rands bought me an R8 000
sparkling blue pool. – Ian Lipman
THIS HAD BETTER BE GOOD
On a recent trip to 770 (central headquarters of the Chabad-Lubavitch Chassidic movement in New York), the high of
the experience was put to the test when
our flight back home was delayed and we
had to stay over in London for a night.
With no choice but to fork out for lunch
in Golders Green, we decided that
schwarma was the best priced and most
filling meal that we could have. On seeing
the price of the sit-down menu, we decided that we had been sitting for far too
long after all and wouldn’t mind stretching our legs a bit while we ate. (The sit
down schwarmas would have come to 25
pounds each). It was only after paying
that the shock of the pound-to-rand exchange rate at the time hit home – after
all, we had just come to terms with the
rand-dollar rate in New York. Even
though we had gone with the cheaper,
less relaxed option, the schwarma, chips
and coke still cost us R300 each. I really
hope it proves to be the best schwarma I
ever have. – Moishe Moffson
THE BEST INVESTMENT I
EVER MADE
When I got married in 1968, I was earning R210, together with my new husband
who was doing his accounts articles. In
1972, we built a three-bedroom house in
Bramley View for R25 000 (we didn’t buy
in Glenhazel because, at about R32 000, it
was a bit pricey). But it couldn’t have been
the worst buy, because in 1988 I sold a
subsequent four-bedroom house in Bramley View for R180 000. I remember buying a brand new Datsun 1200 for R1 800
in 1973, around the same time that I
would use it to go to Pick n Pay in Bramley Gardens and fill a shopping trolley
with enough groceries for a week – including chicken and meat and vegetables
– for R40. And when my kids were at King
David, I remember paying about R15 000
a year in the early 90s and R20 000 for
the year by 1995. But the best investment
I ever made was the Kruger Rand I
bought for R27 in 1970. Pity it was a wedding gift for my sister-in-law in America.
– Peta Lurie
www.krugerrandsa.co.za
IN THE 50s…
A return ticket to Cape Town was around
64 pounds.
IN THE 60s…
We sold our house in lower Houghton
that my husband gave to me as an engagement present for 25 000 pounds. It
had a tennis court and swimming pool.
IN THE 70s…
My daughter paid just R120 for a beautiful wedding gown. – Olga Levy
A milkshake at the local steakhouse
would have cost you 15c, an extra 10c for
a double-thick. And a burger? Just 50c.
IN THE 80s…
A week’s accommodation in peak season
at the Umhlanga Sands cost R2 000.
Now it’s more than that for one night!
– Dani Nerwich
IN THE 90s…
A movie and a coke would have cost
about R14. The movie alone is about R50
today! – Devorah Kirkel
R6.60 (the average cost of a hamburger
and chips with a drink) in January 1991
would be worth about R30.64.
R6.60 today is equivalent to roughly
R1.42 from January 1991. How scary
is that!
www.inflationcalc.co.za
IN THE 00s…
By 2005, the Sunday papers cost R8.50
and by 2009 they were up to R14. In the
60s and 70s, newspapers generally cost
5c, with the Sunday papers running to
the unheard of price of 25c!
www.allatsea.co.za JL
JEWISH LIFE
ISSUE 72 53