Speeding along at a fair whack through the night. Trying to make up time. Bounce. Bump. Grind. And that’s just the train.
Arrive at Witbank. 150km drive to Johonnesburg. Very small Chinese Canadian has put her bag on “my” usual seat to reserve it for herself. The other women are annoyed. They’re on my side. No one likes the Chinese Canadians. The’ve proved themselves to be the most annoying couple imaginable. Social outcasts on the train. The other women start on at her about moving seats. She obliges. Will be glad when this trip finishes tomorrow.
2hr drive into central Johannesburg. This is now black Johannesburg.
Like parts of 1930s Manhattan with its ageing commercial buildings and grid like blocks. Told that 90% are vacant. Can believe it as it all looks a bit derelict. Not sure it would be the best thing to jump out of bus and walk about. Would be the only white person judging by the state of things.
Interesting tour of Constitution Hill prison complex. In operation upto 1983. Squalid conditions. Apart from prisoners who have committed proper crimes like murder and the like it also housed blacks for nothing more than being black and not carrying a passbook. Black guide talks about the persecution of the blacks and their similarities between the Jews in Nazi Germany. Inmates made to eat in the outside mess hall whilst watching fellow inmates defecate in the long drop toilets located at one end of the mess hall. Later told by a white guide that there are two sides to every story.
On to SOWETO.
The South West Township. Parts are quite new and relatively upmarket. Small bungalows with gardens in nice residential areas. Parts are utter squalor. Basic wooden shacks. Another interesting visit to the Hector Pieterson Museum. He being a 13 year old shot dead in June 1976 by the police when he and fellow school students walked in protest at being taught in Afrikaans rather than English. Afrikaans being seen as the language of white supremacists. Fascinating history. Especially as not taught South African history at school and also the fact that it was happening in my lifetime.
Overhear two elderly Canadian gents standing at the urinals. One says to the other, “You can never trust a fart”. “Oh yeah…..” agrees his friend.
Two cooling towers towering over Soweto. Both painted in fantastic art. It’s some feat to have painted them.
Think various cooling towers along the Trent in Nottinghamshire could do with the same treatment. Would brighten the place up a bit.
Tour a Soweto shanty town. The sort of shanty town where you have to tread on dead rats. I kid you not. Rubbish strewn everywhere. Enter shanty town by crossing two rail tracks. Commuter train whizzes by before we can cross. Not wanting to be mown down cross quicly. The elderly aren’t so quick. Visions of a train splatting a few Canadians. Pass dirty nappies discarded on scrubland along with all the other debris of human living slung about. They don’t need to live like this. They don’t help themselves. It’s my biggest gripe.
Old black woman stands in the doorway of her brick home. Take photo and show her the image of herself. She exclaims in an excited manner, “Oh…..look how beautiful I am”.
She’s not. “My beautiful face.”, she admires herself in the image. She’s about 70. Charm her and tell her she’s beautiful. She cracks up laughing and cackling. Thank you. She says. And I remind myself of the power of taking someone’s photo and showing them the image.
Alleyways of the shanty town have a waterway running down the middle. Full of debris and detritus of human living. Pop into one shack. Consists of a main central room used as kitchen/dining. Two small rooms left and right as bedrooms. It’s much bigger than some township shacks I’ve been to previously in Cape Town. Two small children sit in small plastic chairs watching TV. Two young women lie on a bed staring at the visitors in the halflight. Its a startling image but there’s a limit to what you can take a photo of and two young women lying on a bed together is likely to get me arrested.
Constructed of a wooden frame clad in corrugated iron sheets. Plenty of holes in the roof and the sides allowing daylight to seep through and improve the ambient light. Electric wires dangle loose to serve a solitary light.
Don’t feel threatened in the township and people seem friendly enough. Not sure if that’s normal or whether it’s because a “community leader” is escorting us.
Excellent song and dance show by local children in the dining hall of the school.
Highlight is a group of lads dancing with wellies. Simply stunning. Hit the side of the wellies in unison such that it sounds like a single crack. Timing is perfect and it goes on for a good 10 minutes non stop. Awesome display.
So much rubbish lying about. See locals just dropping litter anywhere. They don’t help themselves.
Train moves to Germiston during the day. The black sububs of Johannesburg. It’s a grotty area and could easily be the back streets of Hyson Green in Nottingham. In fact, had you blindfolded and plonked me in Germiston I would’ve said we were in Hyson Green. It’s that nice.
Walk through Germiston station underpass to reach platform 6. Smells as though someone has died here. There’s an awful stink.
Last night on the Shongololo Express.
Want photo of an empty dining car all lit up. Without anyone else in the photo. Ask train manager to give me a nod when it’s all set so I can just take a photo of an empty dining car. As soon as I stand to enter the dining car all the others stand and surge forward. Thinking dinner is ready. Annoying Chinese Canadian couple have to be the first in to the dining car very night. Come hell or high water. They’re like that. Mr Chinese surges forward with his two mugs of hot water. Everyone is told to sit down and keep calm. Dinner won’t be ready for another 15 minutes. Explain to the vultures that all I want, what I really, really want is just one photo. Of an empty dining car. It’s a simple request. One you would think people would understand and respect. You would think.
Chinese couple are agitated. And I mean really agitated. They won’t be the first in the dining car.
And I queue jumped. Shock. Horror. I’m going in first even though they were first in the queue. As I step forward to give me more space. They step forward. With their mugs of hot water. As it’s the last night can afford to fall out with people now. No. More. Mr. Nice. Guy. My time has come.
Shout at the Chinese. Can do shouting when I want. Can’t I little sister?!
Mr Chinese is told to sit down. Mrs Chinese is told to sit down. And wait. You impatient little…….
All I want is one photo of the dining car. EMPTY. Not with you two little whatsits with your mugs of hot water in the shot. Don’t. You. F*****. Understand?!?! Shouting now.
Apparently not. Unbelievable.
Also have one of the Swiss women in the mix now. She’s somehow sprung forward a few places overtaking a few Canadians. They’re not happy. From the bar car we’ve gradually inched forward to the dining car corridor. Waitress tells them all to go back. Dinner is not ready. Start using my width to try and usher them back. Mr Chinese who doesn’t speak much suddenly starts chattering in Chinese. Mrs Chinese starts speaking in English. Why should I be at the front of the queue?!
Blah. Blah. Blah. They’re a bit thick. Again reiterate. All. I. Want. Is. One. Photo. They just don’t get it. My temper is lost. Could crush a grape right now. Mrs Chinese starts having a pop again. Mr Chinese starts jabbering again. With their mugs of hot water in hand. Lose it. Shout louder. So there we are. Two Chinese about 5ft tall. One Taurean at 6’5″ towering over them. The others are loving it. The constantly complaining Chinese Canadians are being put in their place. At last.
And then. The lights are switched on. At last. Can now take a photo of dining car. Walk in to take photo of an empty dining car. They all follow like lemmings. FFS. Waitress starts shouting at them to go back they’re not ready. It takes some cajoling for them all to reverse down the corridor. Shout some more at the Chinese as I finish taking photos. Along the lines of, “That’s all I wanted!”. Leave the car to go to the back of the queue but no one’s having it. They want me to go to the front. Just to wind up the Chinese Canadians. Swiss woman congratulates me on putting the Chinese in their place. Will not miss this scrum for dinner one bit.
Final farewells.
At last.
