Days Of Youth

George Bernard Shaw was well-known for his acid wit and had very clear opinions on most subjects. One of his gems is that “Youth is such a wonderful thing; it’s a pity it is wasted on the young”.   How right he is! Like most children I wished my youth away then continued this stupidity into adulthood and on into old age.  Wishing my life away is possibly the only wish that has ever come true for me but somehow I don’t think congratulations are in order.

How well I remember the long summer days

The golden sun swimming in a cloudless sky

Of brilliant blue

 

How easy it was to lie in knee-deep green grass

And think thoughts of no consequence

Or think not at all

 

How long those days and peaceful too

 

How well I remember the cold winter days

The anaemic sun crossing a cloudless sky

Of palest grey

 

How pleasant it was to feel frost underfoot

Or shatter the fragile layer of ice

On a pond

 

How short those days and far away

 

How could I know? Who dared tell me?

That those precious days would quickly pass

But they did and me so busy I hardly noticed

Until now

 

Christmas Lights

The Johannesburg of my youth was a fascinating place to be at Christmas time because the city centre was transformed by the City Council and Department stores into a night time wonderland of twinkling lights, window displays and giant, decorated Christmas trees. Hundreds of families would descend on the city after dark to stroll along Eloff, Rissik and President Streets and because traffic was light it was safe to walk arm in arm in the middle of the road. The summer weather would be balmy with star filled skies above, except, of course if there happened to be a sudden thunder storm. These rarely lasted very long so you simply took cover until the rain stopped and the stars came out again and then you continued your tour of the displays.

While the Christmas and Nativity scenes in the department stores were very attractive it was to Joubert (pronounced jewbear) park that everyone made their way because there the City Council pulled out all the stops and created the most magnificent fairytale wonderland imaginable.

Folks would buy big bunny balloons for the kids and ice creams and candy floss for everyone then stroll at their leisure through the park staring in wonderment at the displays.

 The City’s all dressed up for Christmas

The streets are ablaze with bright lights

Families stroll hand in hand on the main streets

Wide eyed at the Yuletide delights

 

Shop windows with scenes of the North Pole

Mock snow renders everything white

And the heat of an African summer

Detracts not one jot from the sight

 

Santa’s workshop is busy as usual

With industrious elves making toys

For the girls doll’s houses and cradles

Wood blocks and wagons for boys

 

In their parlour sit Santa and Mrs Claus

Before a cheerful log fire gently rocking

Soon he’ll leave on his annual journey

To fill many a child’s Christmas stocking

 

Outside stands the sleigh quietly waiting

To be drawn at great speed I suppose

By the reindeer team led by Rudolph

The one with the shiny red nose

 

Street lights and store windows are pretty

But the best place to see after dark

Is the glittering world of the fairies

That each year transforms Joubert Park

 

No doubt the right place for enchantment

Every turn holds a brand new surprise

And we marvel at the storybook pageant

Brought to life under Johannesburg skies

 

Cinderella’s busy sweeping the kitchen

While her step-sisters prepare for the ball

And Humpty sits wobbling precariously

Surveying the Kings men from his wall

 

Snow white waves goodbye to the seven

As they march off to work in the mine

While the hatter runs ‘round in a frenzy

Double checking his watch for the time

 

In contrast mother goose reads a story

To a group that includes Little Boy Blue

And a dozen or more of the offspring

Of the woman who lives in a shoe

 

But the favourite display without question

Is the tableau of First Christmas night

With the infant asleep in the manger

Soft lit by the East Star so bright

 

An ox and an ass look on quietly

At father Joseph and mother Mary serene

While Three Kings bearing gifts for the Baby

Complete this timeless nativity scene

 

For a month ‘til twelfth night each summer

Noël lights shine bright as many a jewel

Then fade but leave not without promise

To return again for our pleasure next Yule

 

Voëllym

One of the “characters” living in our neighbourhood (and there were a few) was Hannes Venter who lived with his wife Hester in the house vacated by the Strydoms after the “Lebs” had trashed it.  They had no children and that’s perhaps the reason they had a car when so few others did.  It was a cream coloured 1948 Pontiac four door sedan which made it about five or six years old when the events described below took place.  If you lived in Mayfair it was because you didn’t have much money and Hannes and my father were constantly hatching “get rich quick” schemes one of which was to drive out to an area Southwest of Johannesburg and there tap a particular species of succulent plant of its milky sap which would later be boiled to produce birdlime.  Once this was done we would leave in the early hours of a Saturday morning to drive to Rustenburg (a country town located a good distance from Johannesburg) where there was a farm dam that Hannes knew of.  According to him the dam attracted many thousands of exotic wild birds which we could capture using the birdlime smeared on the thin side branches of the trees surrounding the dam.  The birds would attempt to land on the sticks covered with birdlime and become stuck. We would then grab them, clean the birdlime off them and put them in holding cages.  When we had caught sufficient numbers and varieties we would transport them back to Johannes burg and sell them to breeders and pet shops and thereby make our fortune.

That was the premise. The reality was a little different. We captured only seven birds in total, five of one species and two of another and neither species was particularly rare.  I doubt they recovered the cost of the petrol to get there and back but we youngsters didn’t care. We had a fine time in the car and at the dam so our world was okay.

 

 

Oom Hannes Venter sê ons kan wilde voëls gaan vang

By  ʼn dam naby Rustenburg genaamd Sukkelaarspan

Blousuisies is volop en Vinke is miljoene verby

En ons gaan hope geld maak, altans so sê hy

Maar eers moet ons self die voëllym produseer

Wat ons dan sal gebruik om op stokkies te smeer

Dit op hul beurt word aan boomtakke gebind

Sodat voëls wat beland  hulle vas sal bevind

 

Suidwes van die stad lê n groot stuk braakland

Deel van oopvlaktes duskant die Suikerbosrand

Juis daar kry ons genoegsame beeskloutjie sap

Deur die plante te sny en die vloeistof te tap

In ʼn pot op die stoof word dit dan afgekook

Tot die inhoud wel lyk soos taai gouestroop

 

Voorbereidings is voltooi en die motor is gelaai

Vroeg bedtoe,môre wiel ons nog voor hanekraai

Kort  voor twee uur die oggend ry die ou Pontiac

Met ons jonges onder komberse op agtersitplek

Voor sonsopkoms is ons daar en als is gereed

Die toneel is spookagtig in ʼn misbaadjie gekleed

En die swerms waarmee ons ons rykdom bereken?

Daglank is daar weinig van hulle ʼn enkele teken

ʼn Skrale vyf ou Blousuisies en ʼn Sebravink paar

Is ʼn power opbrengs om by die huis te verklaar

Die kool was nou wel nie die sous werd gewees

Nietemin wag daar op ons ʼn koninklike fees