It’s a Namibian Thing V

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Here is a picture of Oranjemund hospital. I had some fine times here both as a patient and as an after-school visitor. I think the after-school activities here were the most interesting but blood and gore appeals to people’s dark side.

My first visit here was when I was born. For years, my father kept repeating the tale about Dr McGregor telling my mum to, “Hush woman and bare doon. Ye shoulda remember that 9 months ago ye were squealin with delight lassie!”

I arrived at a healthy 8lbs and changed my family’s lives from that moment on. I developed asthma. Bad asthma. A desert apparently was not the best place to live as a practising asthmatic so after two years of quack remedies, I made my parents decide to move country.

Having just learnt, by now aged 3 yrs, the art of swimming underwater in an outdoor pool, my parents took the good Dr’s advice and packed up the family to move to the dry cold of Canada.

We went to England from Cape Town by Union Castle boat to UK to say “hello, goodbye” to the family members of my parents who had not yet followed them to Namibia after the war. The boat trip took two weeks to get to Southampton. Apparently onward travel to Canada by boat had already been reserved and paid for. Our family remained in UK a month saying their goodbyes. Unbeknown to them, I had other plans. Heehee!

Two weeks before the Cananda boat was due to sail, I caught chickenpox!

Then the rest of the family caught chickenpox and so were advised not to board the boat for fear of infecting the entire human manifest with the plague! So that was the great Canada Caper cancelled and we returned by Union Castle boat to Cape Town and then back to Oranjemeund. I do not know the details but my dad was given his old job back. Lucky. It’s a Namibian thing.

I have been away too long. I will be back. I need to get earthed again.

It’s a Namibian Thing V