Kris Massie's memories of Kitwe.
Part 32
Life continued and in 1981 after our return we started to realise that the farm wasn't paying its way despite both of us working. This was not the only problem though, the drop in the copper price led to shortages. It became extremely difficult to obtain cattle feed as an example and slowly the painful decision was made to move. I had already spoken to my employers at BCal and after some time, the request for a transfer to Gatwick was granted. With one job in the bag we advertised the sale of the farm by mid year.
We were extremely fortunate when this was fulfilled and the buyers were a couple who were Zambian born. Ron offered us accommodation in his flat, older son would stay with our friends in St Peters Close and younger son was still in boarding school, by now in Johannesburg. He would fly to England when they broke up for the Christmas holiday.
The arduous task of paperwork complete, home contents were arranged to be sold and we were due to leave the farm at the end of August.
One evening, to be precise, 2nd August while we were sitting in the lounge playing games with the boys and Andrew, a school friend of younger son, was on holiday with us. We heard the sound of a vehicle. Not knowing who would visit at that time of the evening, younger son peeped through the curtain as the vehicle pulled up letting us know that the occupants appeared to be all right. This might sound strange but one could never be too lax especially on farms. We opened the front door and Ron practically fell through in a terrible state and in great distress saying over and over again 'my Gloria is dead' … We were in shock and the two Shiel brothers who had bought him to us, were our farmer friends who also supplied us with a steer now and then.
The story being, Jim and Marguerite had driven to Lusaka with their Basset Hound Fred for the Zambia Dog Championships. Ron had asked them to invite Gloria too. (We only found out later that Ron was seeing another woman, also known to us, behind Gloria's back …) On their return that night Jim evading a government lorry parked on a curve on his side of the road, had swung out to bypass it and in doing so had a head on collision with a car travelling to Lusaka.
The Shiels, returning from Lusaka came across the accident. They told us that Jim and Gloria died instantly and Fred, having been thrown out had died. Marguerite was thrown out but alive.
She was still conscious with many awful injuries and managed to let them know where to fetch Ron and to bring him to us. I cannot recall who Marguerite was taken to Ndola Hospital by but it was in an open 'bakkie' (small open truck) in shock and with her serious injuries.
In the other car were a husband and wife with one of their small daughters. Very sadly his wife didn't live and it was only some years later I found out that one of the girls in our hockey team to Kenya was their daughter, she had been at boarding school at the time.
We meanwhile coped with an even more hysterical Ron who spent the night and I more or less spent it sitting next to him for hours, consoling.
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