82) Off to Work we go
Jonathan and Dominic were now thinking about their careers. Jonathan had done his year at Technical collage and had passed his NTC3 exams so was ready to start an apprenticeship. Dominic being two years younger had a little longer at collage but he had decided that he wanted to be an instrument mechanician when he was ready to apply. Jonathan had decided on an electrical apprenticeship and applied to ESCOM who were the suppliers of all the electrical power in South Africa and ran all the power stations in our area. He was given forms to fill in and was granted an interview. He did aptitude tests and the interviewer asked him if he would not prefer to take up an instrument mechanician apprenticeship instead. I am not sure what Jonathan had against becoming an instrument mechanician but I remember he was not keen. He asked the interviewer if he tried instrumentation and was not happy with it could he change and take up his first choice, electrician? His interviewer was sure that that would not happen but said that if it did Jonathan would be able to make the change.
Then Jonathan had to have a medical examination and the eye tests said that he needed to have glasses. He had never felt that he had a problem but we went to an optician and had his eyes tested. The results were as we thought, he did not need glasses. He went back to Escom and told him what the optician had said. Their answer was in so many words, Our tests say you needed glasses so unless you get glasses you don’t get the job’. Back we went to the optician for a retest and explained to him what Escom had said. He told us that Jonathan did not have 20/20 vision but that he felt that it was not bad enough for him to need glasses. He thought that Escom were just covering themselves so that if there was an accident of any kind they would be able to prove that they had told Jonathan to get glasses. The optician said that if the job depended on glasses he would prescribe some for Jonathan and if Jonathan just kept them in his pocket everyone would be happy. So that’s what he did.
When Jonathan signed up with Escom he was told to bring with him on the first day his birth certificate, his proof of citizenship, his driving licence, and his passport. We had a good laugh over them. His birth certificate was Zambian, his passport was British, his driving licence was Zimbabwian and he had South African citizenship and a certificate to prove it. He was in fact a mini United Nations all on his own.
Both Jonathan and Dominic had British citizenship. In about 1972 when we were still living in Rhodesia, as it was called at that time, my parents had wanted us to visit them in The United Kingdom but because of the political situation at the time Jonny and the boys would not have been allowed in as they would have had to travel on Rhodesian passports. I could have gone alone of course but I knew that it was the children my parents really wanted to see so I did not go. A few years later my mother wrote and told me that they were bringing in new sex equality laws in Britain that meant that children could claim British citizenship through their mother or their father. Until then British citizenship could only be claimed from ones father or paternal grandfather. I thought it would be a good idea to make their claim, as they might one day want to go to Britain to live and work. It turned out to be a rather lengthy and expensive process but in the end they were both issued with British passports because I had been born in Wales. By that time it was looking pretty sure that Rhodesia would become Zimbabwe and I thought that it might be beneficial for Jonny to have a British passport too. I asked about it at the British Embassy but the lady there told me that was not possible. I said that I remembered that at one time if someone married a British citizen they automatically became a British citizen. She told me that as Britain had allowed citizenship through the maternal line they had had to stop automatic citizenship by marriage. She said that if as a family we presented ourselves on English shores they could not refuse entry to Jonny as he was married to a British citizen and after he had lived there for four years he would be entitled to apply for citizenship but nothing was automatic any more. Oh well what you gain on the roundabouts you lose on the swings.
Jonathan was accepted for an apprenticeship with Escom and was sent (along with his glasses and his four nationalities) to Duhva Power station to work. Pretty soon they sent him to do a term at their college in Johannesburg. One of the other lads that he was working with was called Hannis, they shared a room and got on well together. Each week when they went off to college after spending the weekend at home I would give Jonathan a tin of home made biscuits to take with him. I remember that Hannis particularly liked the biscuits. Hannis had already passed his NTC4 maths and so when Jonathan had a problem with any of his he would go to Hannis for help. Hannis would say jokingly, “I will only help you if you give me a biscuit” or if it was a very big problem he would ask for three or four biscuits. Jonathan used to say that he only passed NTC4 maths because of the biscuits.
Another of Jonathan and Dominic’s friends at that time was a lad called Richard Phillips. He was from Zimbabwe. His family were still living in Gwelo at the time so he was in single quarters and I think was very homesick so he spent quite a lot of time with us. He was studying to be an electrical engineer so he was a bright young man but we did laugh when we saw that he had filled in some form or other saying that he was studying ‘Electrical Ingineering’. Poor Richard how we teased him, we said he couldn’t be an engineer until he could spell it, but he took it in good spirit. Richard had his 21st birthday while we were living in Jackaroo Park and he asked if we would allow him to have his party at our house. He had planned to have a braai (barbeque) and he supplied all the ingredients I just made the salads for him and supplied the venue. I told him I would make him a cake and as he was having quite a few friends I made my usual chocolate cake recipe and just doubled it up and made it in a larger baking tin. It was a terrible flop and looked a real mess but Jonny tasted it and said tasted fine. I was too ashamed to present it to the people like that but felt that I had to have a cake to put some candles on. I baked another cake, a small one, the way I usually made them, put candles on it and Richard blew them out. I then took it off to the kitchen and cut it and the large flopped cake up and put pieces on to plates that Jonathan and Dominic distributed to the guests. If anyone wondered how I had managed to get about thirty slices out of one little cake they did not ask and I just kept quite.
Then Jonathan had to have a medical examination and the eye tests said that he needed to have glasses. He had never felt that he had a problem but we went to an optician and had his eyes tested. The results were as we thought, he did not need glasses. He went back to Escom and told him what the optician had said. Their answer was in so many words, Our tests say you needed glasses so unless you get glasses you don’t get the job’. Back we went to the optician for a retest and explained to him what Escom had said. He told us that Jonathan did not have 20/20 vision but that he felt that it was not bad enough for him to need glasses. He thought that Escom were just covering themselves so that if there was an accident of any kind they would be able to prove that they had told Jonathan to get glasses. The optician said that if the job depended on glasses he would prescribe some for Jonathan and if Jonathan just kept them in his pocket everyone would be happy. So that’s what he did.
When Jonathan signed up with Escom he was told to bring with him on the first day his birth certificate, his proof of citizenship, his driving licence, and his passport. We had a good laugh over them. His birth certificate was Zambian, his passport was British, his driving licence was Zimbabwian and he had South African citizenship and a certificate to prove it. He was in fact a mini United Nations all on his own.
Both Jonathan and Dominic had British citizenship. In about 1972 when we were still living in Rhodesia, as it was called at that time, my parents had wanted us to visit them in The United Kingdom but because of the political situation at the time Jonny and the boys would not have been allowed in as they would have had to travel on Rhodesian passports. I could have gone alone of course but I knew that it was the children my parents really wanted to see so I did not go. A few years later my mother wrote and told me that they were bringing in new sex equality laws in Britain that meant that children could claim British citizenship through their mother or their father. Until then British citizenship could only be claimed from ones father or paternal grandfather. I thought it would be a good idea to make their claim, as they might one day want to go to Britain to live and work. It turned out to be a rather lengthy and expensive process but in the end they were both issued with British passports because I had been born in Wales. By that time it was looking pretty sure that Rhodesia would become Zimbabwe and I thought that it might be beneficial for Jonny to have a British passport too. I asked about it at the British Embassy but the lady there told me that was not possible. I said that I remembered that at one time if someone married a British citizen they automatically became a British citizen. She told me that as Britain had allowed citizenship through the maternal line they had had to stop automatic citizenship by marriage. She said that if as a family we presented ourselves on English shores they could not refuse entry to Jonny as he was married to a British citizen and after he had lived there for four years he would be entitled to apply for citizenship but nothing was automatic any more. Oh well what you gain on the roundabouts you lose on the swings.
Jonathan was accepted for an apprenticeship with Escom and was sent (along with his glasses and his four nationalities) to Duhva Power station to work. Pretty soon they sent him to do a term at their college in Johannesburg. One of the other lads that he was working with was called Hannis, they shared a room and got on well together. Each week when they went off to college after spending the weekend at home I would give Jonathan a tin of home made biscuits to take with him. I remember that Hannis particularly liked the biscuits. Hannis had already passed his NTC4 maths and so when Jonathan had a problem with any of his he would go to Hannis for help. Hannis would say jokingly, “I will only help you if you give me a biscuit” or if it was a very big problem he would ask for three or four biscuits. Jonathan used to say that he only passed NTC4 maths because of the biscuits.
Another of Jonathan and Dominic’s friends at that time was a lad called Richard Phillips. He was from Zimbabwe. His family were still living in Gwelo at the time so he was in single quarters and I think was very homesick so he spent quite a lot of time with us. He was studying to be an electrical engineer so he was a bright young man but we did laugh when we saw that he had filled in some form or other saying that he was studying ‘Electrical Ingineering’. Poor Richard how we teased him, we said he couldn’t be an engineer until he could spell it, but he took it in good spirit. Richard had his 21st birthday while we were living in Jackaroo Park and he asked if we would allow him to have his party at our house. He had planned to have a braai (barbeque) and he supplied all the ingredients I just made the salads for him and supplied the venue. I told him I would make him a cake and as he was having quite a few friends I made my usual chocolate cake recipe and just doubled it up and made it in a larger baking tin. It was a terrible flop and looked a real mess but Jonny tasted it and said tasted fine. I was too ashamed to present it to the people like that but felt that I had to have a cake to put some candles on. I baked another cake, a small one, the way I usually made them, put candles on it and Richard blew them out. I then took it off to the kitchen and cut it and the large flopped cake up and put pieces on to plates that Jonathan and Dominic distributed to the guests. If anyone wondered how I had managed to get about thirty slices out of one little cake they did not ask and I just kept quite.
Richard and Me
Yes it would seem that we were all settling in and beginning to make some friends in South Africa but I think we all still missed Zimbabwe, I know I did.
posted by MC at
10:53 pm
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