We settled in Port Elizabeth, one of the windiest cities in the world. We stayed with some friends of ours, the Chaffins while we looked for a house. During our stay, Aunty Gloria Cass went into labor with their 6th child, Philip. Basil drove over to the Chaffin's house to get Ron Chaffin to come and stay with the other 5 children. Ron and my Dad were sitting in the living room reading the newspaper when the knock at the door sounded. They both yelled, "It's Basil!", and the newspapers went flying. Ron went to start up his car, while Basil got back in his Kombie to drive Gloria to the hospital. My Dad went to get in Ron's car, but he told him to go with Basil. My Dad ran over to get in Basil's Kombie just as he was driving off. He had opened the door, so he was holding the side of the Kombie trying to get in as Basil was going around the corner. Uncle Basil always told this story better than I could and had us all in stitches as he told it.
We managed to find a rental house or a "to let" house, though I don't recall where it was located. I remember it was white with a back porch that had black paint on it which was waxed with a high sheen. I'm told I slept walked one night and tried to unlock the kitchen door that led into the courtyard housing the clothesline shaped like a bare upside-down umbrella. Luckily it was a skeleton key and my mom was able to slide it out relatively easily, so my escape was blocked.
Soon after we arrived, we began to attend the public school. This meant we had to buy school uniforms. This was a rather strange concept to me. We had to wear a collared, short sleeved, light blue dress with basically no shape. The attire was adorned with a navy blue blazer and finished off with a matronly blue hat, gray socks and black shoes. Lunch break at school usually involved a game of marbles on the play ground.
One reason I call Port Elizabeth the "windy city" is because it really was windy. One afternoon while my brother (aged 6) was playing outside, a gust of wind picked him up and set him right into the street. Thankfully there weren't any cars coming, and my mother witnessed what happened so she was able to rush outside and help him to safety.
