Had something similar e-mailed to me recently, this is my version....
DO YOU REMEMBER?.............
Long, long ago, before TV games, internet, drugs and cell phones......
The time of "hide-and-seek" with your neighbours which you could call by their names for you knew everybody around you, or the times when there were "hop-scotch", rubber band skipping and "tolletjie-brei" for girls, and colourful marbles, tops and elaborate but innocent games of "cowboys'n'crooks" or English kids against the Afrikaans boys, which lasted only for the short break between classes after which we were immediately all friends and pupils of OPS again.
Cricket in one of the parks or on the amazing smooth tarred roads in front of your house, the same smooth tarred roads that allowed you to use chalk or desert rose crystals to draw out full racing circuits for "draadkarre", go-carts or bicycles, writing your girlfriend/boyfriend's initials in a heart to show what "Love is....", and using it as a drawing board for graffiti which faded away within a week without causing damage to property.
When we had to wash and get dressed properly before you go to neighbours or even just went shopping in the Department store, with the cool floors on which you can hop from one square to another. Going for walks with your parents, brothers and sisters at dusk, maybe to go window-shopping, or just because it's such a lovely evening....
Toffee-apples, candy floss and honeycomb "crunchies" when it's athletics time, and everybody was very proud to show whether you were from Barnato, Rhodes or Oppenheimer, and days were spent to make the rosettes and fix ribbons on Mom's old feather-duster with Dad's insulation tape – all in your colour, for you are the best!
Wait, there's more.... Can you still taste and smell: dry jelly powder from the packet, ice lollies made from Oros in small tupperware containers, your own sherbet made from Eno's and icing sugar, long shoes strings of liquorice in red packets you could only get at Cora's cafe.
A time when it wasn't strange to have 2-3 "best" friends, who climbed trees with you, and helped you up when you fell from your bike or go-cart and had the scars to show on your knees the next day. The same go-cart or bicycle your Dad and friends helped you build from old pram wheels and spare parts from the town's scrap-heap.
When nobody would lift and eyebrow when any grown-up would give any naughty kid a firm swat on the bum to help him learn good from bad, or tell him to help his friend in the garden as well, and expect the same grown-up to feed all the kids on his plot at lunch-time because that's just how it's done.
To be punished at school was NOTHING compared to what will be waiting for you at home when Mom hears about it!
Money matters were only part of Monopoly, being caught with a weapon at school meant your bic pen pea-shooter was confiscated....
If you remember this, you have lived!!!!
Kind of the way it was for me as a kid in Oranjemund at some stage. Thanks for the reminder on the last day of the year. I went for a ride into forest area yesterday and took some photos of the beauty of nature around us. Fact is I would have traded the time for some time at the beach in O/M. Thanks for the memories Bertie.
Best wishes for the New Year.
John
Hi John,
Now I remember you.....the Karate Club was it not? When I left for Affenrucken I donated my Sai's to the club as I was not allowed to take it back and forth through xray...also because it was metal I suppose? With htem you never knew the reason. I had a mortar bom that was chromed and the would not let that out when I moved back to town....a year or so later I walked into this security guy's house...no names, no packdrill, he was bragging with his chrome 44 magnum. Lo and behold, on the pelmet, proudly displayed was my mortar! Needless to say there was several embarrassing moments/excuses there! Luckily for him I knew my wife did not like suchl ike in the house I told him to keep it. yesno
Bertie, what a rush of nostalgia!! So very accurate of our groing up days in Oranjemund as 'laaities'!
Hi Carl
It was the Karate club. Training at that time was Iggy van Greunen, Sarel Cillier, Whitey - (doc) - Bredenhan, Keith Spackman, Andre (lives next to Mike and Michele but has no surname oddly - or I dont recall it), Eddie Heusdens and Bonnie that I remember. I taught Iggy sai, bo, nunchaku and we both learnt to drink beer after class. Keith helped make a pair of stainless steel sai in work and I still have them. Thanks for the memories!
I had karate quite a few years in the 70's, but can't remember my sensai's name. Somehow I think it was Sensai Harry? Maybe I'm wrong. Anybody know who was in charge there between 1975-78?
ANdre Fourie.... his brother is also a longtime Karate nutter....Egon FOurie........
The Harry guy was probably Harry Pieterkosky who was running an organisation called SA Goju Ryu Association. The is a picture of him, myself and Iggy van Greunen on the FORUM somewhere - I think. He was ex Karate-Do. Karate Do were the first in CDM to help start the club under a guy called Hugh St John-Thomson. Some useless information for you. I think Andre was your Sensei then.
Thanks John. I must have had Sensai Harry. The name stuck in my head, so it must have been him. I do not remember an Andre. Will look through my documents, I still have my grading certificates somewhere - maybe there's a signature on them!
You're a star John, I went digging and found my "Technique assessment" certificates from the S A GOREI KARATE association - from 1971-1975. And indeed they were all signed: "Sensai Harry Pieterkosky". Wow, if I look at the comments, he was really harsh, strict and to the point!
Interesting, the address on the forms is: 206 Medical Square, 156 Main Rd, Sea Point.
In my day there were no Bic pens to make pea shooters, but behind the building we called the Magazine, there was a sort of scrap yard. There we found long (about 400mm) glass tubes. There were also shorter ones (about 250mm). These were ideal for pea shooters. Got into lots of trouble in classes.
The town (camp) had two gates, one went to the river, the other to the mines. The magazine was near the gate that went to the mines.
Hi Bertie
Jy beskryf alles net soos ek dit onthou en nog baie meer. Dit was regtig die perfekte plek om in groot te word. Waar is die 10 sent flief op n Saterdag Middag? Ek onthou baie van dei name nog baie goed. Fransina was jou suster as ek dit reg het? Dankie vir die trip down memory lane.
Gerda Cloete
Hallo Gerda,
Ja, Francie is my ousus. Ek hoop sy gaan binnekort meer tyd he om ons op die site te join. Ja-nee die flieks - goeie herinneringe. Daar is elders op die OMD site nog gepraat van die Saterdag middag flieks en matinee's. Soek bietjie rond, hier's baie lekker tye wat weer opgewakker word, ou vriende, en baie mense met die selfde ondervindings wat ons almal in gemeen het. Hierdie babatjie van Mike (OMD online) is regtig 'n wenner!