18) Mabelreign
The people who owned the house that we were moving to were a young couple. He had just got his commercial pilots licence and had signed a four month contract to spray crops in the Lomagundi area of Rhodesia. They did not have a lot of money as they had been living on her wages as a nurse while he had been studying for his licence so it made good sense to rent out there house while they were away and it was wonderful for us as we were sure that our loan would be granted soon and the builders would start building and we would be in our house in four months time. Mabelreign was not far from Haig Park were our house was going to be built so we were pleased that we would be able to watch the progress easily.
Once we were moved in and the holiday period was over I once again rang to find out about our loan. I was fobbed off again with the “ring back next week” story and got really mad. I asked to speak to the manager and told him that we had been waiting four months to hear about the loan and it just wasn’t good enough. I got so upset I burst into tears and really upset the poor man. He explained to me what the problem was. The building society had for some time been worried about the builder who was doing the actual work on our housing project and they suspected that he was going to go bankrupt. If our loan was granted and he then went bankrupt our money would be tied up with his estate and it would take ages to sort out the problem and it could be years before we were able to start the building of the house. They had not been able to tell us before because they were not one hundred percent sure that he was going to fail but the manager asked me not to say anything to anyone else. They would be sure of the position in another week or so and he would let me know then. Once we knew why things were taking so long it was much easier to deal with.
Jonny got a job with a firm called Cockrans Boilers. He was a boilermaker but he had never actually worked for a boiler manufacturer before. The job was better than the one with the cement factory but he was not very happy in his trade and would have liked to have gone into sales so with this in mind he did a sales course.
Before we left Greendale we had taken the children to a doctor there but when we knew we were going to leave I asked his receptionist if he would be willing to do house calls to Mabelreign and she said “No, it was too far” I did not expect it really but I wanted her to tell me the name of a doctor in the Mabelreign area. She said that the only one she knew of was Dr. Knight. I planned to make myself known to him once we had settled down in our new home. Before I got round to it though Dominic got very sick. I woke at about 2 o’clock in the morning to his screaming. I rushed into him and found that he had a raging temperature and was as stiff as a board. Jonny held him and tried to comfort him while I looked up the doctor’s number in the telephone book. I was thankful that I at least had a name to look for, otherwise where would I have started. I rang the number and the doctor answered straight away. He asked me if I had another doctor, I thought that he was going to be awkward about coming out in the middle of the night and explained that we were new in the area and that the doctor we had been to in Greendale had told me that he could not make a house call to Mabelreign. Doctor Knight asked for my address and told me to put on all the lights in the house and if possible someone should stand outside so that he could find the house quickly and not waste time. I don’t know what kind of car he was driving but he certainly got there very quickly. He told me to put cool water into the bath and we took off Dominic’s pyjamas and placed him gently in the water. The doctor dabbed him all over with the cool water and he started to relax a little, his limbs were no longer stiff and his screaming was less. We kept this up until he was quiet again and then the doctor gave him a through examination and an injection. He explained that Dominic had had a febrile convulsion because his temperature was so high, but he could not find any cause for the high temperature. We got a terrible scare and so I asked what I should do if it should ever happen again. He said “Call me” I said “In the middle of the night?’ and he replied “I am the one who has been to medical school, I am the one who should know what to do so if you ever need me you just call” Even in those days doctors were beginning to limit house calls but this young doctor was willing to come when ever I needed him and I have never been so grateful. He was to be our family doctor for many years and even when we moved right to the other side of Salisbury we would cross town to see him, as we never felt the same about any other doctor. He called in again in the morning to see how Dominic was but he was fine by then. About a month later Dominic got another high temperature and I called Dr. Knight out, once more he could not find the cause and decided because he had had the convulsion before to admit him to hospital to do tests. He was in for four days, he was in a cot with electric fans playing on him to keep him cool and they did all sorts of tests including a lumber puncture but never did find the cause of the temperature. It was a worrying time.
Not far from where we lived there was a hotel called The Sherwood Arms. It had a very pleasant beer garden and we would sometimes go for a drink when we had finished our shopping on Saturday afternoon. It was on the edge of the golf course and it was a good place for families and the children really liked it. One day when we were there Dominic gave some of his biltong to a cat. (Biltong is dried meat, a bit like American jerky) The cat could not believe its luck and swallowed the hard meat too quickly and it stuck in his throat to try and dislodge it he opened his mouth as far as he could, displaying a fine set of teeth. Dominic who until then, I think, had been thinking that the cat was just a soft fluffy thing was amazed and pointed to the cat and said, “Look, it’s got teeth.” He was not quite so eager to play with it after that.
In March of that year we would have been in the country for six months so we could sell our Jaguar and so we started making plans in the middle of February. We advertised it in the newspaper with only a telephone number to identify us, we did not particularly want people just pitching up at any time of the day or night to view the car and we thought there would be a queue of car enthusiasts wanting our car. Only one young man only answered the advert; he rang on the Friday afternoon and asked if he could view the car on Monday morning. I remember thinking that it was a bit odd, usually one would use the weekend to do that sort of thing but Jonny arranged to take time off on the Monday to show him the car. When he arrived he was wearing a customs uniform and he did not really want to see the car as much as he wanted to see the papers for it. He said “You are not allowed to sell this car without paying the duty on it before 1st March”. We agreed with him and said that we were just getting prepared to sell it and were looking for a buyer but we had no intention of selling in during February. We were amazed that the customs were so thorough and that they had picked up on this sale through only a small advert in the classified ads in the paper. They must have gone through the paper with a fine toothcomb every morning. Of course he wanted to see the car and he sat in it and drooled over it and promised that if he won the lottery before the beginning of March he would be back on the first of the month to buy it.
There was another incident concerning that advert that showed us that the government departments were pretty efficient and one could not hide much even if one wanted to. We got a telephone call from our landlord; he said that the Income Tax department had contacted him. They had picked up on the advert, with only a telephone number don’t forget, and had asked him if his tax returns were correct and that he had not been earning anything for the last two years but had been supported by his wife while he studied how could he have such an expensive car to sell? He apologised and said he was afraid that he just had to tell them that it was not his car but the car of the people living in his house and they wanted to know our names and he felt that he had to tell them to prove that he was not lying to them. I said that it was fine as we were perfectly entitled to bring the car in and to sell it in March so we did not mind who knew about it.
When March came we could also sell the VW Kombi and we looked around for a small family car. We spent a few hours going around the used car lots and decided on a Morris 1100. It suited our needs and was a reasonable price. By the time we had made our decision the boys were tired and needed their lunch and a rest so Jonny took us home and he went back to do the deal on the car. After he had gone I remembered that the Kombi was in my name. When we had left Zambia each person was allowed to export one car and as Jonny was bringing out the Jaguar we had to put the Kombi into my name for it to be legal. I thought Jonny would not be able to do the deal and would have to come back for my signature but not long after he arrived home in the Morris. I was rather put out about that, if it was in my name how could he sell the Kombi. I know that if it had been the other way, if it had been in Jonny’s name I am sure that I would not have been able to sell it. I remember about that time trying to deal with some problem with Jonny’s tax returns and being told that they could not give me any information about my husband’s tax, even though I had been the one who had filled in the forms in the first place. Yes, women were defiantly treated as second class citizens in those days. It was fine for me, as Jonny and I made our decisions together but what about the poor women who were not so lucky with their spouses.
Once we were moved in and the holiday period was over I once again rang to find out about our loan. I was fobbed off again with the “ring back next week” story and got really mad. I asked to speak to the manager and told him that we had been waiting four months to hear about the loan and it just wasn’t good enough. I got so upset I burst into tears and really upset the poor man. He explained to me what the problem was. The building society had for some time been worried about the builder who was doing the actual work on our housing project and they suspected that he was going to go bankrupt. If our loan was granted and he then went bankrupt our money would be tied up with his estate and it would take ages to sort out the problem and it could be years before we were able to start the building of the house. They had not been able to tell us before because they were not one hundred percent sure that he was going to fail but the manager asked me not to say anything to anyone else. They would be sure of the position in another week or so and he would let me know then. Once we knew why things were taking so long it was much easier to deal with.
Jonny got a job with a firm called Cockrans Boilers. He was a boilermaker but he had never actually worked for a boiler manufacturer before. The job was better than the one with the cement factory but he was not very happy in his trade and would have liked to have gone into sales so with this in mind he did a sales course.
Before we left Greendale we had taken the children to a doctor there but when we knew we were going to leave I asked his receptionist if he would be willing to do house calls to Mabelreign and she said “No, it was too far” I did not expect it really but I wanted her to tell me the name of a doctor in the Mabelreign area. She said that the only one she knew of was Dr. Knight. I planned to make myself known to him once we had settled down in our new home. Before I got round to it though Dominic got very sick. I woke at about 2 o’clock in the morning to his screaming. I rushed into him and found that he had a raging temperature and was as stiff as a board. Jonny held him and tried to comfort him while I looked up the doctor’s number in the telephone book. I was thankful that I at least had a name to look for, otherwise where would I have started. I rang the number and the doctor answered straight away. He asked me if I had another doctor, I thought that he was going to be awkward about coming out in the middle of the night and explained that we were new in the area and that the doctor we had been to in Greendale had told me that he could not make a house call to Mabelreign. Doctor Knight asked for my address and told me to put on all the lights in the house and if possible someone should stand outside so that he could find the house quickly and not waste time. I don’t know what kind of car he was driving but he certainly got there very quickly. He told me to put cool water into the bath and we took off Dominic’s pyjamas and placed him gently in the water. The doctor dabbed him all over with the cool water and he started to relax a little, his limbs were no longer stiff and his screaming was less. We kept this up until he was quiet again and then the doctor gave him a through examination and an injection. He explained that Dominic had had a febrile convulsion because his temperature was so high, but he could not find any cause for the high temperature. We got a terrible scare and so I asked what I should do if it should ever happen again. He said “Call me” I said “In the middle of the night?’ and he replied “I am the one who has been to medical school, I am the one who should know what to do so if you ever need me you just call” Even in those days doctors were beginning to limit house calls but this young doctor was willing to come when ever I needed him and I have never been so grateful. He was to be our family doctor for many years and even when we moved right to the other side of Salisbury we would cross town to see him, as we never felt the same about any other doctor. He called in again in the morning to see how Dominic was but he was fine by then. About a month later Dominic got another high temperature and I called Dr. Knight out, once more he could not find the cause and decided because he had had the convulsion before to admit him to hospital to do tests. He was in for four days, he was in a cot with electric fans playing on him to keep him cool and they did all sorts of tests including a lumber puncture but never did find the cause of the temperature. It was a worrying time.
Not far from where we lived there was a hotel called The Sherwood Arms. It had a very pleasant beer garden and we would sometimes go for a drink when we had finished our shopping on Saturday afternoon. It was on the edge of the golf course and it was a good place for families and the children really liked it. One day when we were there Dominic gave some of his biltong to a cat. (Biltong is dried meat, a bit like American jerky) The cat could not believe its luck and swallowed the hard meat too quickly and it stuck in his throat to try and dislodge it he opened his mouth as far as he could, displaying a fine set of teeth. Dominic who until then, I think, had been thinking that the cat was just a soft fluffy thing was amazed and pointed to the cat and said, “Look, it’s got teeth.” He was not quite so eager to play with it after that.
In March of that year we would have been in the country for six months so we could sell our Jaguar and so we started making plans in the middle of February. We advertised it in the newspaper with only a telephone number to identify us, we did not particularly want people just pitching up at any time of the day or night to view the car and we thought there would be a queue of car enthusiasts wanting our car. Only one young man only answered the advert; he rang on the Friday afternoon and asked if he could view the car on Monday morning. I remember thinking that it was a bit odd, usually one would use the weekend to do that sort of thing but Jonny arranged to take time off on the Monday to show him the car. When he arrived he was wearing a customs uniform and he did not really want to see the car as much as he wanted to see the papers for it. He said “You are not allowed to sell this car without paying the duty on it before 1st March”. We agreed with him and said that we were just getting prepared to sell it and were looking for a buyer but we had no intention of selling in during February. We were amazed that the customs were so thorough and that they had picked up on this sale through only a small advert in the classified ads in the paper. They must have gone through the paper with a fine toothcomb every morning. Of course he wanted to see the car and he sat in it and drooled over it and promised that if he won the lottery before the beginning of March he would be back on the first of the month to buy it.
There was another incident concerning that advert that showed us that the government departments were pretty efficient and one could not hide much even if one wanted to. We got a telephone call from our landlord; he said that the Income Tax department had contacted him. They had picked up on the advert, with only a telephone number don’t forget, and had asked him if his tax returns were correct and that he had not been earning anything for the last two years but had been supported by his wife while he studied how could he have such an expensive car to sell? He apologised and said he was afraid that he just had to tell them that it was not his car but the car of the people living in his house and they wanted to know our names and he felt that he had to tell them to prove that he was not lying to them. I said that it was fine as we were perfectly entitled to bring the car in and to sell it in March so we did not mind who knew about it.
When March came we could also sell the VW Kombi and we looked around for a small family car. We spent a few hours going around the used car lots and decided on a Morris 1100. It suited our needs and was a reasonable price. By the time we had made our decision the boys were tired and needed their lunch and a rest so Jonny took us home and he went back to do the deal on the car. After he had gone I remembered that the Kombi was in my name. When we had left Zambia each person was allowed to export one car and as Jonny was bringing out the Jaguar we had to put the Kombi into my name for it to be legal. I thought Jonny would not be able to do the deal and would have to come back for my signature but not long after he arrived home in the Morris. I was rather put out about that, if it was in my name how could he sell the Kombi. I know that if it had been the other way, if it had been in Jonny’s name I am sure that I would not have been able to sell it. I remember about that time trying to deal with some problem with Jonny’s tax returns and being told that they could not give me any information about my husband’s tax, even though I had been the one who had filled in the forms in the first place. Yes, women were defiantly treated as second class citizens in those days. It was fine for me, as Jonny and I made our decisions together but what about the poor women who were not so lucky with their spouses.
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