64) People of Umtali
Now that we were living in town we met more people and some of them were very funny. We met a couple that did not live far from us. One evening we were in their company in a local pub and their son and daughter-in-law joined us. The couple that lived near us were older than us and their children were more about our age. There was obviously not much love lost between the mother-in-law and the daughter-in-law. Some other people also joined us so we were quite a large crowd. I ended up sitting far away from our neighbours, next to their daughter-in-law. She started to tell me about her in-laws. She said that her father-in-law was known throughout the town as being very tight fisted but that he was a good business man and had made a great deal of money. He had recently sold his business and was retired. She told me the story with delight it was obviously one of her favourites. When he had been paid out the money for the business he said to his wife “Now that we have got all this money, what shall we do with it?” He could not make up his mind if he wanted to go on a world cruise, buy a boat or something like that. But his wife after years of having to squeeze every penny out of him answered “Well, you could do with a new jersey and I would like some new sheets” The younger woman just loved the story and as she had had a few drinks it tickled her no end. She could not stop laughing, her mother-in-law knew she was being laughed at and as she had had a few drinks too stood up and shouted “Your telling that story again, I know you are” Daughter-in-law denied it rather half heartedly and was doubled over with laughter and she told me in a rather loud whisper “Almost a million dollars in the bank and she wants, new sheets and a jersey for her husband” The older woman continued to shout at her until her husband got very embarrassed and took her home.
I think the mother-in-law was the same person who told our children over and over again how spoilt children were ‘these days’. She used to say, “When I was a girl we had bread and butter or bread and jam, but never bread and butter and jam”. As she managed to get the story in every time she saw them it caused much merriment.
There was also the man who dabbled in used cars. He was always buying and selling things but he was very unreliable and not all together honest. He would have someone’s car that they had asked him to sell and one of the other cars he was trying to sell would have a dud battery so he would take the battery out of the one car and put it in the second one. Then the second one would be sold and off would go the good battery. Then maybe the first person would want his car back because it had not sold and there was no battery in it. The dealer would tell the customer that the battery was in the car that he had sold last week and expect the customer to go and retrieve it if he wanted it. Of course if he did go and confront the person who had his battery and manage to get it off him that person would be after the dealer again for another battery. Then the dealer would have to run around and find a battery from somewhere. Sometimes he managed to borrow one “Just for a few days” and then his friend would be looking for him to get the battery back and he would be running round town substituting one battery for another and getting more and more into deep water. But he was a very likable guy and he got away with it over and over again. Being in the car trade we often saw these things going on, though we were not involved in them and we would shake our heads and wonder how he could do it. If it wasn’t batteries, it was spare wheels or jacks or some other part of the car.
We met another couple through the car business called Ian and Annie. Ian owned an E type Jaguar like the one we had brought into the country when we first arrived in Rhodesia. They often popped into our office for a cup of tea and a chat. One day we were all talking about the possibilities of going to Australia. There were people who were promoting immigration to Australia, showing documentaries and give lectures and advise on the subject. It was a topic much on people’s minds. I told Annie that we had friend who had gone to Australia and that they were very happy there. She told me that she had an Aunt there. We both though it would be a good idea to find out more about it from people we knew. She said she was going to write to her aunt and I offered to write to my friend. I don’t suppose either of us was very keen to leave Umtali, as we didn’t get those letters off too quickly. I would see Annie and she would say, “Oh dear, I still haven’t done anything about that letter, have you?” I would have to admit that I hadn’t but would promise that I would get down to it soon. After a few weeks of this, seeing each other every few days and talking about the letters and what we had already learnt from our respective ‘Australian contacts’. Annie said to me “I am not sure if anything my Aunt can tell me will be of any use anyway as she lives in a town called Paraburdoo and it is miles from anywhere and I certainly don’t want to go and live there”. I said “Paraburdoo, she can’t do, my friends live in Paraburdoo and there can’t be that many people living there” Would you believe that her aunt was my friend, what a coincidence, neither of us had ever used their names but we had been speaking about them for ages and we did not imagine that we were speaking about the same person.
One evening when Jonny was coming home from work, he gave a lift to one of the young men we employed to keep the cars clean. The young man locked the gates for Jonny and then got into the car. Jonny drove on without thinking to ask for the keys back. In the early hours of the following morning we got a call from the local police. They had picked up the employee in possession of one of our cars, he had had an accident in the car and the police had asked him for his licence. He told them he did not have a licence and that he worked for us. Jonny went to sort it out and only then did he realise that he had not got the keys back from the employee. When he went to the yard he discovered that there were actually two cars missing. The man had gone in the night and taken one car driven it a short way from the yard and smashed it. He could not get it to start again so he went back to the yard and collected a second car only to have another accident with that one too. Fortunately the police got involved in that one or he could have gone on all night until he had cleared the yard of all our stock. We were amazed at the audacity of him; you’d have thought that after one accident he would have been too scared to go back for a second car. I have a feeling that he was given a six months jail sentence.
We had in stock a small Mazda car that I enjoyed driving and so I often used it when I needed transport. One day I went and did some shopping and came back to the car yard and parked the Mazda back in the line of cars at the back part of the yard where I had taken it from and I went into the office. A little while after I looked out of the window and could not see the Mazda. I thought maybe Jonny had moved it for some reason but went out to see where it was. Our yard had a slight slope and the Mazda had rolled down the slope and into the side of the very best car we had in the yard, a dark blue Mercedes that belonged to Mike Harris. I protested that I had put the hand brake on, as I was sure I had, but the evidence was against me. No one else had touched the car and the hand brake was not properly engaged. Fortunately the damage was covered by the insurance company but it was a very silly thing to do. Poor Jonny what with me and the employee he was really having a hard time.
Then as if he did not have enough problems the government joined in too. A new regulation was brought in by the government that changed what overseas companies could do with interest they earned on the money that they had invested in Zimbabwe. The money could no longer be invested in commercial banks that lent money for the purchase of vehicles, machinery, plant and equipment. All overseas companies had to invest their interest with the government. This meant that many companies immediately withdrew all their invested funds but some of them did just transfer to government investment. This move of course, left the commercial banks in a very difficult position. I remember that the announcement was made at the end of the week, before a holiday long weekend. When business started again the commercial bank had to announce that they did not have enough money to lend to everyone who requested it so they would have to restrict their lending to people who were buying new cars, new machinery, plant or equipment. Any one wanting to buy second hand would have to pay cash. At that time used cars could fetch a higher price than new ones because new cars were regulated by a price control but there was no control on the price of used car. The waiting list for a new car was pretty long so most people were looking for used cars in good condition so that obviously pushed the price up. It was a huge blow to Jonny’s business so he had to think of what else he could do.
I think the mother-in-law was the same person who told our children over and over again how spoilt children were ‘these days’. She used to say, “When I was a girl we had bread and butter or bread and jam, but never bread and butter and jam”. As she managed to get the story in every time she saw them it caused much merriment.
There was also the man who dabbled in used cars. He was always buying and selling things but he was very unreliable and not all together honest. He would have someone’s car that they had asked him to sell and one of the other cars he was trying to sell would have a dud battery so he would take the battery out of the one car and put it in the second one. Then the second one would be sold and off would go the good battery. Then maybe the first person would want his car back because it had not sold and there was no battery in it. The dealer would tell the customer that the battery was in the car that he had sold last week and expect the customer to go and retrieve it if he wanted it. Of course if he did go and confront the person who had his battery and manage to get it off him that person would be after the dealer again for another battery. Then the dealer would have to run around and find a battery from somewhere. Sometimes he managed to borrow one “Just for a few days” and then his friend would be looking for him to get the battery back and he would be running round town substituting one battery for another and getting more and more into deep water. But he was a very likable guy and he got away with it over and over again. Being in the car trade we often saw these things going on, though we were not involved in them and we would shake our heads and wonder how he could do it. If it wasn’t batteries, it was spare wheels or jacks or some other part of the car.
We met another couple through the car business called Ian and Annie. Ian owned an E type Jaguar like the one we had brought into the country when we first arrived in Rhodesia. They often popped into our office for a cup of tea and a chat. One day we were all talking about the possibilities of going to Australia. There were people who were promoting immigration to Australia, showing documentaries and give lectures and advise on the subject. It was a topic much on people’s minds. I told Annie that we had friend who had gone to Australia and that they were very happy there. She told me that she had an Aunt there. We both though it would be a good idea to find out more about it from people we knew. She said she was going to write to her aunt and I offered to write to my friend. I don’t suppose either of us was very keen to leave Umtali, as we didn’t get those letters off too quickly. I would see Annie and she would say, “Oh dear, I still haven’t done anything about that letter, have you?” I would have to admit that I hadn’t but would promise that I would get down to it soon. After a few weeks of this, seeing each other every few days and talking about the letters and what we had already learnt from our respective ‘Australian contacts’. Annie said to me “I am not sure if anything my Aunt can tell me will be of any use anyway as she lives in a town called Paraburdoo and it is miles from anywhere and I certainly don’t want to go and live there”. I said “Paraburdoo, she can’t do, my friends live in Paraburdoo and there can’t be that many people living there” Would you believe that her aunt was my friend, what a coincidence, neither of us had ever used their names but we had been speaking about them for ages and we did not imagine that we were speaking about the same person.
One evening when Jonny was coming home from work, he gave a lift to one of the young men we employed to keep the cars clean. The young man locked the gates for Jonny and then got into the car. Jonny drove on without thinking to ask for the keys back. In the early hours of the following morning we got a call from the local police. They had picked up the employee in possession of one of our cars, he had had an accident in the car and the police had asked him for his licence. He told them he did not have a licence and that he worked for us. Jonny went to sort it out and only then did he realise that he had not got the keys back from the employee. When he went to the yard he discovered that there were actually two cars missing. The man had gone in the night and taken one car driven it a short way from the yard and smashed it. He could not get it to start again so he went back to the yard and collected a second car only to have another accident with that one too. Fortunately the police got involved in that one or he could have gone on all night until he had cleared the yard of all our stock. We were amazed at the audacity of him; you’d have thought that after one accident he would have been too scared to go back for a second car. I have a feeling that he was given a six months jail sentence.
We had in stock a small Mazda car that I enjoyed driving and so I often used it when I needed transport. One day I went and did some shopping and came back to the car yard and parked the Mazda back in the line of cars at the back part of the yard where I had taken it from and I went into the office. A little while after I looked out of the window and could not see the Mazda. I thought maybe Jonny had moved it for some reason but went out to see where it was. Our yard had a slight slope and the Mazda had rolled down the slope and into the side of the very best car we had in the yard, a dark blue Mercedes that belonged to Mike Harris. I protested that I had put the hand brake on, as I was sure I had, but the evidence was against me. No one else had touched the car and the hand brake was not properly engaged. Fortunately the damage was covered by the insurance company but it was a very silly thing to do. Poor Jonny what with me and the employee he was really having a hard time.
Then as if he did not have enough problems the government joined in too. A new regulation was brought in by the government that changed what overseas companies could do with interest they earned on the money that they had invested in Zimbabwe. The money could no longer be invested in commercial banks that lent money for the purchase of vehicles, machinery, plant and equipment. All overseas companies had to invest their interest with the government. This meant that many companies immediately withdrew all their invested funds but some of them did just transfer to government investment. This move of course, left the commercial banks in a very difficult position. I remember that the announcement was made at the end of the week, before a holiday long weekend. When business started again the commercial bank had to announce that they did not have enough money to lend to everyone who requested it so they would have to restrict their lending to people who were buying new cars, new machinery, plant or equipment. Any one wanting to buy second hand would have to pay cash. At that time used cars could fetch a higher price than new ones because new cars were regulated by a price control but there was no control on the price of used car. The waiting list for a new car was pretty long so most people were looking for used cars in good condition so that obviously pushed the price up. It was a huge blow to Jonny’s business so he had to think of what else he could do.
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