Chapter five
South Africa.
1945-1946
The Captain, who is unaware of the German submarine, decides that the raging storm is making it too dangerous to enter the Heads. Instead, we sail up the eastern coast of Africa and back again, when the storm subsides.
On our way back down the coast, Germany capitulates and the war ends, so the submarine goes into Durban Harbour and surrenders. As we sail into port, we are surprised to see a German sub, swastika and all, tied up to the wharf.
When we dock, they lift off one of the gun barrels and the ship lists considerably to one side. Then they turn the ship around and take the other one off. Then we disembark and catch a train to Cape Town.
Brian and I go to live with Mrs Genrick (H25) in Lansdown. She is a nice lady and cooks our meals for us. She even gives me the same cut lunch as her son. This is a whole new country here. They have chameleons in the hedge, that change their colour as they crawl onto different coloured plants.
Then we go to Mowbray Primary School (S9) and I have the same teacher, Johnny Walker, that Brian had two years earlier. Mr Walker tells me that two years ago, he had asked the class to write a story which started:- I was walking down the street when I heard somebody yell 'fire'. Everybody else wrote about a house fire but Brian wrote about ducking for cover as the bullets flew overhead.
Then Dad shifts Brian and me into his flat in Station Rd (H26) Mowbray. Here I am told that Brian and I have to do the cooking and wash and mend our clothes.
We are given $1 a week to buy food for the three of us. The food is shared out at one quarter for Brian, one quarter for me and two quarters for Dad. This is because Dad is bigger and has to go to work. This we resent as Dad often goes to a restaurant first and then come home and eats the food that we've cooked for him as well. He claims that he is entertaining clients. He also takes them to the pictures and buys them boxes of chocolates. We're never taken to the pictures.
Also we are never bought any new clothes and mine slowly disintegrate. I'm in bed one night, wearing my torn pajamas,