1990'S (2) | idleidea.co.uk

HOUSE SALE

There was a plague of fleas in the house which I dealt with using some serious poison. Later the official fumigation forced me out of the house for the w/e.

The house was sold to Barry's ex girlfriend although it did not go so smoothly on the personal front.

The day I moved out was a sad one. I had already driven some items up to Sandton. I moved into a lovely apartment in Beach. The landlords were great.

JOURNEY HOME

I drove 64 up to J'burg where he was then shipped off to a kennel in Worcestershire for his quarantine. I stayed in the apartment in Beach for a few weeks before I too boarded an Air Namibia flight home.

I checked into the YMCA in B'ham.

And so came to an end a most tumultuous year...1991

Y INDEED

I checked into the YMCA which was in a pretty plush area of town although I believe it has been developed into apartments now. I had a nice room...bathroom across the hall

I met with John Cameron who was from Halkirk in Caithness,North of Scotland...a place I would visit in the future. John was mostly blind But I took him out & about & he enjoyed a drink...not much!

Later he moved to Surrey to a special institution for partially sighted folks. I visited with him...I was living in Sussex by then. Sadly John died of cancer in the mid '90s.

I met Beatrice,23 & French... a little neurotic but we had a few dates not withstanding her roomate who was put out that she wasn't comming along. Lost touch as I moved on

64 was doing his quarantine in Worcestershire & I would visit him often. He was so excited when it came to the day of his release to his new home.

Made a bad error in befriending a couple of Italians from Sicily who were simply out to get anything for nothing. I rented a cabin at the back of Yorgo's building & let them stay. Things got heated & this is where my pinky got busted.

I cancelled the contract & they squatted on without power or heat in FEBRUARY for a time I heard.

I moved on into a great place ALONE!

BEATRICE

1992

THE OAKS OF SELLY

I rented a great little apartment above some shops in Selly Oak. I had good neighbours & a big shared yard. I had bought a trailor which 64 used during the day reminding him of his days in the bakkie.

Some kids tried to tease him only to turn a deathly pale when they realized the gate was open & he began to pad toward them...never saw them again,must have taken a different route to school. The butcher below would give free bones.

Rat & I took him to Wales,our closest coast...& it was good to see him loving the beach again

COURIER FIRM

I bought into a franchise of a courier company which did OK but I got bored managing from the office so would go out on the road a bit. Eventually, I sold it on.

KAREN

She came to work for me. Quite a bit younger but full of life & zest. We had a great relationship, did a lot of laughing & all looked like roses.

To boot she was a pretty girl with simple tastes & undemanding.

Again my itchy feet got in the way & I let this girl from Glasgow get away.

DEVON

Derek, a French friend of Karen's, Francine from her University days, Karen & I took a trip down to Sidmouth in Devon where we rented a mobile home.

Derek's band were playing in the South West so we joined up with them as well. It was a really good time & relaxing in a beautiful part of England. Karen & I were growing closer

SIDMOUTH

BRIXHAM

HOLLAND

The 4 of us also took a trip to Holland finding it difficult to get accommodation. Eventually, we booked into an hotel in Rotterdam which was also a brothel...I do find them!!

We had a great time especially the cycling in Amsterdam before racing back through 3 countries to be the last car on the ferry at Calais.

JAMES & TINA WEDDING

I travelled to SA with Derek for the wedding.

The reception was held at Jane Webb's home. Derek & I stayed in Roosevelt whilst J & T were on honeymoon. They took the famed Blue Train to Cape Town

They had also just acquired Sasha,a lovely Belgian Shepherd.

DENNY

I met a lovely girl, Denise at Tina's wedding, although I had briefly met her the previous yr.

We became close & enjoyed some great times together, some of them with the Rat in tow.

We went to Lion Pk north of JNB where we encountered a number of rhino...She was more concerned at getting good pics...I was more concerned at backing out...The Rat was kakking in his brooks.

At another time Denny & her good nursing colleague & I went to a fancy dress do put on by friends John & his wife. I went as a gorilla,Denny as a fairy & Jeandre made her own Cinderella outfit...I never took of my head & had everyone guessing who I was but boy did it get hot.

We seemed to have a lot of fun.

I helped move her down to Bloemfontein to her mum's before her European tour.

Our relationship cooled but we have always remained close friends. She married Cyril & I became Godfather to her 2 eldest. with the whole family staying close over the years.

Sadly Jeandre (Cinderella) died in her early 40's...such a sad loss...a lovely, lively girl leaving a husband & two young ones

John, his wife Caroline & I remained friends until their return to England where their marriage ended.

I had to make a decision about Karen & it was a tough one. Denise became instrumental in me seeing the truth of our existence & the truth of the one true God. It was not until the following yr that,that monumental occasion would be confirmed but Karen & I were not in the right place if I was to follow God.

DENNY

DENICE WITH HER 4 CHILDREN

DISCO...GO...GO...GO

Back on the treadmill, doing events, weddings, birthdays, etc. Eventually, I got fed up with the drunken brawls, equipment breakages & theft & abuse although the money was excellent.

RAT TRAP

Out of the blue I get a letter...yes no internet yet...from Pete in SA with a proposal to set up a High End fashion clothing business.

He always had wild but interesting ideas but not much to back it up, least of all the capital...So would the Rat & I finance it in a 3 way partnership. I didn't say that actually, that means minimally a 33.3% finance input from each partner.

Rat was game & so we set off for SA for a preliminary meet. Rat had never flown before so it was fun watching his eyes pop.

We stayed in Roosevelt for a few nights. During this time, John Fisher of fancy dress fame introduced me to Cilla, a colleague & I shall document her later.

We left early & headed for PE, hoping to get as far as we could. It was getting dark & I was getting tired so Rat took the wheel...BIG MISTAKE. He never could drive well & nearly killed us by losing control & doing a 180 on the road...amazing we didn't roll. I was at the wheel from then on. My nerves were shattered & so we stopped at the next town which was Middleburg, Eastern Province.

We spent a good part of the evening playing snooker & buying quarts of beer. The local boys thought we were great fun. We retired to a local B & B before setting off bright & early apart from a headache.

We got to the Gladwins...they had a lovely country cottage but were terrible housekeepers & real slobs. Pete had not even put a proper business plan together. We were shocked. Never the less we went through the whole plan which I would set up properley.

We left early after a couple of nights & raced back to JNB. Rat had seen the pekinines (small black boys )selling very good imitation water windmills made from an alloy. They all seemed to be identical...clearly these were the salesmen on the roadside. One kid said Rand 7...another "No baas,2 for 14"...a businessman for the future for sure. Rat tested it out of the window...it ended up on his mantlepiece...Mel was baffled.

We got back to JNB,cleaned up & picked up our dates...Kelly, who was an Aussie lodging with Jane Webb & her friend, a local girl, Sanita who was my date...very pretty & lively.

Off we went to a braai given by Gavin Golightly in Midrand. Well, we were not made to feel welcome by his friends, none of whom had dates. We didn't care...we danced, ate, drank & left...Sanita decided to marry a boy she had been seeing on & off.

Rat took Kelly on a date to a movie, borrowing John Fisher's VW Beetle minus passenger front seat, taken out to accommodate their new baby's,stroller. John said Rat could use the car but must secure the seat...which he did...or not...The moment he took off on the journey, Kelly went flying back...into the backseat...fortunately she had a great sense of humour.

We got the business plan sorted & Pete set about securing a premises & sourcing stock.

We flew home.

OUR QUARTS PARADISE...THINK WE EVEN BEAT THE LOCALS AT SNOOKER,BUT THEY WERE GOOD SPORTS

KELLY

SANITA

DIGNITY

So I packed up my place in Selly Oak & headed for SA.

64 was flown out too...I picked him up & was at Roosevelt a few days before putting him on the train for EL where Pete had secured a premises.

Sadly on the day I flew down to EL, Tina's cat Tibby was killed on the road outside their home.

We called our high end fashion store Dignity & had all the paraphanelia to represent it but not much foot traffic. The gear was great but not all paid for. There was a chap down the road who made real leather shoes & we did a deal with him too.

Yet the price of the stock was far too high & I told Pete to lower them ...He was working on a 250% mark up...I said that although this might be the trend it won't guarantee customers...our gear was top notch...and folks will decide on 1st class or coach...immediatley the traffic through the door increased & so did sales.

We were just off Oxford Street, the main street in EL...Already the trend was to locate in malls so I was a little apprehensive.

With the money we had forwarded to the Gladwins...they decided to find an upmarket home with gardener service etc...a lovely place but way out of line.

The xmas period was not productive,often the make or break for many businesses.

In the new year I bought the BMW & drove up to JNB & picked up Rat.

He immediately felt unhappy about the business. We decided to sell Dignity to Pete...to this day we have not been paid out...the whole operation folded quite soon.

I did some radio broadcasts whilst in EL.

Also one of the Homelands had built a brand new waste of money town next to KWT...Bisho; & had their own radio station...I did a bit of work there until one day the place was surrounded by the drunken, puny army...some self-decorated colonel had decided on a military coup. I escaped & raced off back to EL. There ultimately was some shooting & deaths but the rebellion was put down.

Rat was fed up & flew home & so began the disintigration of friendships.

What is the old addage?...Never go into business with family or friends

I began the process of selling off my assets & most sadly had to give 64 away. he went to a farm & I believe lived out a happy life...but I shall always be sad about this & it was one of the low points of my life.

And so I picked up a Virgin flight home & began what would be a whole new chapter in my life