So I was going to write a blog post about old cars, chrome bodywork, lead paint, happy car faces and luscious curves. Basically old cars with huge personalities. I made a list of the cars my family or I have owned that have made an impact on my memories. It includes two Volvo Amazon's, a bright yellow Simca Sports car, a VW Beetle, a Mercedes SL 280 and at the base of the list are 2 extra cars, my aspiration is to own a Citroen Pallas or a Nissan Figaro. I was going to go through them all in one blog with a few photos and a little background history, but I realised that there are just too many stories to tell.
So I will limit myself to one car for this post, this weeks little chronicle will be about Felicity, the first car I bought for myself. Next week I might tell you about the 2 Volvo Amazons.
When I bought Felicity I was living in Honeydew, in the suburbs of Randburg (South Africa) and working in the township of Diepsloot. To get in and out of work I had been using the shared house car that we purchased as a community when we moved into our huge house in Honeydew. But now I needed to work while the others continued with their studies. For a season we tried to juggle the car, with me dropping everyone off at college and rushing back to pick them up in the afternoon. But it didn't really work, I needed my own car.
I had no money but I did have prayer and so I put in my request and low and behold a cheque came in the post, money sent for the specific purpose of purchasing a car! With a limited budget I set out to buy a cheap car with some personality and came across this 1968 Beetle for sale in Rosebank. I was instantly smitten and didn't really think about it beyond the fact she would be easy to maintain as the engine is easy to access in the rear of the car and not the front. ( I later realised that a rear based engine isn't that easy to access if the heavy boot door doesn't hold itself open. I learnt to keep the back propped open with a broom handle.)
She looked like a hard boiled egg and for a season I called her 'The Pod.' Later on South Africa updated its car registration plates and she became Felicity when her number plate changed to include the letters FLC.
I remember the day I bought her, it was a sunny Autumnal Sunday afternoon and I drove home with the horn blowing every time I turned a corner due to a faulty electrical connection which meant the horn was triggered when the steering wheel swung heavily to the right or left. It was rather a crazy journey home with lots of honking, embarrassed nods and waves from me and angry gestures from surprised pedestrians!
My house mates said she sounded like a tractor or an old sewing machine as she chugged down the drive.
With help from technically minded friends we disconnected the horn and I was left having to use a hand held clown horn instead! Felicity began her new role ferrying me in and out of Diepsloot to work. I decided to decorate her and drew her name, the pod, on her tail end. A move I later regretted and subsequently removed the writing.
Part of my job entailed transporting boxes of clothes and food that had been donated for the people of Diepsloot. I would roll in to the township sounding like a humming sewing machine. This distinct sound would alert the kids to my presence and like the pied piper I would soon attract a crowd of kids running after the car to see what gifts I came bearing.
Another detail of my job was simply to hang out with the kids. Many of the township children could not afford school and were at home all day. Some taking responsibility for cooking and cleaning duties. Some caring for sick relatives.
I filled our time with art classes, we played noughts and crosses in the dirt, we sang songs and I watched many soccer games based around a makeshift ball made up of knotted and tied up pieces of rag.
One winter day I planned a field trip and took my little gang of kids out into the grasslands that the township was planted in and did a nature walk. We came back with an abandoned birds nest, a jar of guppies and some seeds.
The little boy below with his tongue out is Jonathan, one of my favourites. It was rare to see him smiling, he was a serious little kid, with a world of responsibility on his shoulders.
One weekend we borrowed a minibus and drove over to a nearby school to use their sports facilities and pretend we were a talented basketball team!
On the whole Felicity was solid gold and faithfully carried me all over the city. But I do remember the day her battery caught fire and I had to put out the flames! A beetle has its battery placed under the backseat bench and my new battery hadn't been fastened securely into place. The movement as I rolled up and down the dirt track from our house caused the wires to catch on something and begin to smoke.
Just as I was about to launch off the dirt and join the tarmac I smelt something burning and turned around to see a cloud of smoke rising from under the backseat. Fortunately there was no passenger in the back when Felicity caught fire!
In a sea of wealth reflected in the number of fancy BMW's on Jo'burgs roads, my little retro Beetle always brought a smile to those around her. Occasionally I'd get caught in heavy traffic and find myself alongside well dressed drivers talking earnestly on their mobile phones in expensive shiny new cars. I was quite content sitting in my old humming Beetle with my clown's horn, contemplating putting a vintage phone on the dashboard and pretending to have important urgent conversations of my own.
My Beetle, Felicity, served me well. We did hundreds of miles together, traveling backwards and forwards from the township.
When I left South Africa I donated Felicity to the Ethiopian church in Johannesburg. I knew they would treat her well and had a wealth of experience driving and maintaining Beetles.
Happy days. Thank-you Felicity and the kids of Diepsloot township.