I really had some exceptional teachers at the school, one of them was the head of the students at university and I was lucky enough to get her to come and work at our school.
She had the ability to organise, and work like very few people I knew. I truly never had to check any of her work.
She started a ladies morning, which was once a year but it had so much work as she got well known people to come and speak to the ladies about something interesting.
She also got an artist to sing and this was usually the highlight of the day. One I remember very well is Mathys Roets before he had his accident.
He is still carrying on even in his wheel chair and has just as many people loving him as before. He was worried after the accident that his voice would be affected but luckily that did not happen. I was supposed to give a welcoming speech and she use to write it for me because she just knew what she wanted me to say. I use to learn them, and when I was on stage it sounded as if I had written it myself. I always got this incredible applause for my speech because she knew just how to make me look good.
I must say looking down from the stage at the 50 tables with ladies all dressed as if it was a wedding, and the tables looked absolutely beautiful with their food and flowers. The reverend always opened the occasion with reading from the scripture and a prayer, made that we were two men between 400 ladies if the artist was a woman. The reverend always said after the artist finished thank heavens now we can eat at all these tables and enjoy what we never get at home, especially biltong.
Another activity that she organised was that there were people who did hand work, and they all exhibited and sold it there. The money was also used for the school.
All the ladies always said they wished that their husbands could have been there, as the person who came to talk to them always said something that most of these ladies felt their husbands should have heard as well. I must say I also enjoyed it as the reverend was very witty and even though I did not feel like going, I always enjoyed it tremendously.
This teacher husband also taught at our school and he was an excellent shot put coach, some of the children he taught still have records standing at the school.
After my retirement they moved to another town and she got a post as a head of department at another school.
The poor new principal asked one of his best staff to take this event over but unfortunately it was a flop van a-z.
This meant that the whole wonderful event does not happen anymore at the school. This I can understand as there are not many who could walk in this teacher of mine shoes.
I hope you enjoyed the story and have a wonderful day from the Wild Coast.