Salisbury contd.

.)Many years later both of my sisters were to work for Cabs,but I am getting ahead of myself.My dad was offered a partnership by Jock Kahn in his business : The Institute of Pest Control,the largest of it,s kind in Rhodesia.Jock was spending less time at Pest Control and leaving the management of the firm to my dad,he was more interested in his toy factory.I re-call that my dad secured a contract with the Salisbury Municipality to spray the grass verges alongside the main roads,to kill weeds.For this he had to order a specially equipped tractor from South Africa,I remember well the excitement about this new challenge and my dad,s trip "down south" to see the supplier of the special tractor.

My father and Jock Kahn were considering buying a pest control company in Bulawayo,if so then the plan was for us to move there for a time, for my father to get the new business up and running.

We had moved out of the house in Msasa and were living in flats called Jamelin Court.There was a shopping centre nearby with a petrol station,above the petrol station lived a family named Gates,their son David and I became firm friends.David had a younger sister Leslie and an older brother Ian.His father was Harry and his mom was affectionately known as Bubbles.We kids did everything together,we were great friends.My own sisters Deirdre and Jenny were very fond of Leslie Gates.We were consequently very sad when the Gates family moved away to South Africa.I wondered if I would ever see David again?

At around that time a bunch of convicts escaped from a prison truck and came running and jumping over and through the gardens of the flats pursued by prison wardens,in a flash they were gone.It happened so quickly it was as if they had never been.This was also close to the time that I was playing with squibs(fire crackers) in the garage and accidently set fire to some garbage bags.My dad,s much treasured Rover three litre car was also in the garage and was lucky not to be set on fire.After my dad had finished with me my backside was on fire!

While we lived at Jamelin Court our houseboy James had one night been to his local beer hall and got completely sloshed,some tsotsis at the beer hall got our house keys from James,in his drunken state he also divulged our address! Whilst at work the next day they burglarised our home and made off with a lot of our household goods.James admitted to my dad what had happened,at which juncture my dad shouted at him....true to form James cried as he always did when he,d caused trouble.He had a very soft heart and kind nature,he was really good to us a family.