Woken in the early hours by the platform tannoy at Germiston station. Not sure if I’m dreaming but would swear they were saying “Whisky Alpha…….Whisky Alpha……” over and over again. Maybe it’s a tannoy test along the lines of “One….two…..one….two…”??
Woken again in the early hours, about 0500hrs, and am disturbed by a lot of locals singing on the platform. It’s what they do whilst waiting for a train. Sounds like something out of Zulu Dawn.
Hire a driver for the rest of the day to visit the Apartheid Museum and the all important World of Beer. Black driver speaks good English and originates from the Free State.
He asks how I think South Africa can be improved. How long have you got? Black driver tells me that he thinks that Africa’s problem is that, “We don’t help ourselves. We expect government and others to do things for us.”. Quite.
Interesting tour of the Apartheid Museum. Odd to think now that this was happening as recent as the 1980s/early 1990s. With the entrance ticket you are randomly assigned to be “Black” or “White”. Allocated a “White” ticket which allows me to pass through the “Whites Only” entrance. This is how it used to be.
Plenty of school children in blue uniform that looks suspiciously like the Nottingham Girls’ High School uniform. Mix of black and white children in their early teens. Small theatre room showing TV footage from the 1980s of clashes between white police and blacks. Whites kicking and beating the blacks.
And throwing a black onto a barbed wire fence. And throwing a black off the top of a van. And beating a black with a big stick. Vaguley remember these sorts of scenes on BBC News during my teenage years in the 1980s. The reaction from the children is quite startling. Plenty of gasps of horror and oohs and aaahs. Some of the black children can’t watch and leave the area. Suspect they’ve not seen these sorts of scenes before.
Expecting great things from the World of Beer. A number of people have said it’s one of the best attractions in South Africa. Hmmm. It’s pretty dire though and a long hour and a half tour. Glad when it’s finished.
Need ATM for some cash to pay driver for the day. He stops in the middle of Germiston at a room of ATMs. Thankfully guarded by a security man. It’s like pulling up in the middle of Hyson Green. Loaded with cash. Watch my back.
Looking forward to a relaxing weekend with friends. WAMC finds his way to Germiston to pick me up from the train. We’d last met in Jordan all those weeks ago. Good to see each other again. An evening with Prince Edward beckons. More of that in later blogs.
For obvious reasons the two white blokes in a Range Rover Evoque aren’t wanting to hang around too long in Germiston. We are sticking out like sore thumbs. Except we get lost trying to find the motorway. At least one of us works out how to operate the sat-nav.
Finally arrive in Bryanston. A far cry from Germiston. Chalk and cheese. Yet another contrast to Johannesburg. Chat with WAMC’s daughter on verandah (married – before you get your hopes up). She being about the same age as myself. Relate the story about the school children watching the video in the Apartheid Musuem. During her childhood she was never fully aware of what was happening the other side of Johannesburg. There was nothing ever shown on TV or in the press as it was heavily censored. Most homes this side of Johannesburg employ black maids, gardeners and security staff. It’s a seemingly relatively stable state of affairs. Only in the late 80s/early 90s did people of her generation become fully aware of the riots and such like.
