32 An Election and Two Weddings.

32 <> An Election and Two Weddings.

The first democratic elections in South Africa took place in 1994 while we were living in Dove Cottage. The times leading up to it were not without tensions as people were very uncertain about what might happen. There was a lot of nervousness among the Montagu town councillors and staff amid speculation about who would be the first Mayor in the new dispensation. We sensed the uncertainty also amongst the staff at the Police Station where we needed to have documents certified, all waiting to see how the relationships would change between white and black staff. We encountered it directly one day when there was a loud and persistent knocking at the front door and I opened it to find a black man, very drunk and very aggressive, demanding to know where the Anglican Priest was. I pointed out the Anglican Priest’s house which was directly across the road from ours. He said he knew that but where was the Priest? I had no idea where the Priest might be but I suspect in retrospect that he was possibly in the house but having seen who was at the door chose to lie low. I then gathered from the man that he was wanting the Priest to ferry him home to his own village some five or six kilometres away and it soon became clear that, because the Priest was not there, it was incumbent upon me to be the (free) taxi. I declined as politely but firmly as possible and he eventually left but it wasn’t a pleasant experience. That was in the first house in Montagu.

The coming elections unleashed a flurry of activity among members of the white community as several bought up goods to store as if expecting a long siege or period of shortage of essential foods — few expected any party other than the ANC to win. The day dawned and  DorothyAnne and I joined the queue which stretched zig-zag-fashion way down the street. Those who were canny had brought chairs or folding stools to sit on but  DorothyAnne and I just stood it out. It was a different experience for all of us, for the whites because it was the first time other races shared the same queue with us, and for the black people because it was the first time they had ever voted in an election (members of the Coloured group had previously voted in elections for the tricameral parliament). All in the queue were (outwardly) quite happy together. promising something good, if yet uncertain, for future relations between groups. With the elections over and the ANC/Nationalist Party government of national unity in power under the presidency of Nelson Mandela and with F W de Klerk as Deputy President, there came a day when President Mandela visited Montagu. There was tremendous excitement in the town. A stage was set up across a main street and preparations were made for the proper reception for the famous new President of South Africa. On the day, crowds thronged the street so that  DorothyAnne and I were able to stand only at the very back from where I tried to take photographs over the heads of the throng. I got several good ones of the crowds but, in the ones of the President making his speech, Mr. Mandela was so far away that he was hardly recognisable in the photos. After we left Montagu I sent the whole set of photos to the Montagu Publicity Office for their archives but I had no acknowledgement from them so the photos may have been dumped in a drawer and forgotten about.

While we were living in Dove Cottage, Timothy and Marcelle got married. They explored the possibility of marrying in Montagu but eventually settled on Hermanus where Tim was working at the time on the Fernkloof Nature Reserve. They were married on the 23rd of November, 1995, in a simple ceremony, the official legal part being performed by Sandy Gillfillan, a retired Minister and licensed Marriage Officer, in his study. The service was then concluded in an informal ceremony conducted by me under the trees in the Fernkloof Nature Reserve. We had the Reception with all the eats right there under the trees. Of Tim’s siblings, only Suzanne was able to be at the wedding. Andrew was working in Germany at the time so was not able to be there, and Jenny had just left for Canada in preparation for her marriage to Gordon.

That was the next great event while we were living in Montagu — Jenny and Gordon were married in Canada on the 23rd of March 1996.  DorothyAnne and I went Toronto to attend the ceremony which took place in a chapel at The Old Mill Inn & Spa, a popular wedding, function and conference venue in Toronto. As we travelled from the apartment block where they were to live, and where they had booked us in to a separate unit for our stay in Canada, the ground was covered with snow. At the service, I was very happy leading Jenny down the aisle, and then when the marriage officer said “Who giveth this woman to be married to this man?”  DorothyAnne and I stood up together and said, “We do!” The ceremony completed, we all adjourned to the Reception Dinner in a dining room in the same complex. To my regret, I missed out on the after-dinner truffle because I had no idea if it would conflict with my nut-allergy!