Chris Allan

Tony Richards was a Gentleman. He was also a gentle, man.

He was a man who believed in people and in putting family first.  He was the master of the well timed gin and tonic. He was very often, the only point of calm in the maelstrom that formed when the four headstrong, vivacious Richards girls got together, Mom and three daughters. He was a father that loved in a way that was both English and endlessly compassionate.

He passed away this week.
 I write this in a house filled with snotty tissues, sms’s, unreal moments, laughter, tears, baskets of flowers, a kettle that churns out coffee and tea on an hourly basis, and a phone that never seems to stop ringing.
 

This morning I stood in the kitchen and looked down at the kitchen table. It was an explosion of tea, rusks and cereal, and two cheeky smiling faces smiled back at me from either end. Thomas (4) And Annabel (2) were still dressed in their pyjamas and had hair sticking out at all angles.
Thomas picked up a yellow torch, which until that moment had managed to escape the breakfast mess, clicked it on, and shone it straight up into his face. He giggled and then had a thoughtful moment.
 

“This was Grampa’s torch� he told us.
“Really?� I said
 

He paused for a moment. Then he asked,
“Did you know that Phoebe died?�
“Yes,� I said, “it was very sad.�
 

“She was a dog, and she went to doggy heaven.�
“Erm…that’s right.�
 

“Does that mean that grampa is in grampa heaven?�
“Well yes, I suppose it does.�
 

“No� he said. “I think he is in people heaven.�
 

From the other end of the table Bella agreed that yellow was indeed one of her favourite colours.
 

These last two days have been a lesson for me. A Carpe Diem few days. Days of complete family grief and tears only eased by the wonderful distraction of children’s play and laughter. The enthusiasm with which kids approach each new day, or opportunity is infectious. From catching a fish to splashing around in the shallows without any pants on.
 

Life is precious, beautiful and finite. Lets use it well.

     

It all started with a beer bought for only R10, at a frontier gold mining town at high noon on a Friday. Not Just any beer, an icy cold castle draught.  And not just in any old bar either, the world famous, Pilgrim’s Rest, Royal Hotel Bar. 

Let’s start at the beginning. Picture a holiday at a Golf Resort on the banks of the Sabie River. Picture Hippos snorting and grunting away, in 45 degree heat. Picture the author sweating, swearing and hacking golf balls everywhere but onto the civilised greens intended for them. It was not my finest few days, and with head hung low all my wife and I had to look forward to  was perhaps a few touristy stopovers on the way back into the big smoke of Joburg.

An over eager, early start, meant that God had not yet decided to open the curtains at God’s window. Thick mist covered every panoramic look out en route, and we had tired of the pancakes on sale at every coffee shop and restaurant in the small towns that we passed through on the way. Clearly the luck that had deserted me on the golf course was here to stay. We had almost decided to put our heads down and make for Jozi at the speed trap avoiding travelling speed of 129kmph, when on a whim, at the last second, we decided to pop in for a look at Pilgrims Rest. Which brings me back to that beer.
 
“Why so cheap?� I asked the barman, before allowing the ice cold, gold liquid to persuad it’s way down my throat. Godfrey tore himself away from his midday, Oprah style talk show, long enough to tell me that  we had chanced upon the South African 2008 National Gold Panning Championships! We lost not a moment booking into the Royal Hotel, paused to take a portrait of Godfrey before finding our room in the old bank, and heading downtown to check out the panning action.

Gold Panning is difficult. Needle in a haystack is a walk in the park in comparison. Try twelve 1mm by 1mm by 1mm gold nuggets in a bucket of sand. And all you are allowed to use in order to find them is an LP record crossed with a cereal bowl, and some murky brown water in a trough.  After an hour or so of dedicated viewing amoungst the cheering fans, we decided that despite the remarkable skill involved, gold panning was about as thrilling to watch as family holiday slide shows. We finished up another R10 draught (it appeared to be a special all over town) and headed to The Vine restaurant and bar to continue our self styled pub crawl of Pilgrim’s Rest. There we met Lucky, cheerful, smart and wearing a bowler hat.

Lucky deposited us at the bar and went back out onto the street to attract more customers, but only after (cheerfully) posing for a portrait.   We left The Vine behind, and by this stage we were in love with everything in this little town, except maybe for the uneven roads, which we were having difficulty with from time to time, as we strolled. We bumped into Hendry at the petrol station, who seemed to know the name of every customer that pulled up, and he was quick on the draw with his petrol hose for another photo opportunity. 

  

Then back up to the Royal Hotel for the start of the Wheel barrow race.  
That’s right, the wheelbarrow race. For adults. With team uniforms, who warmed up and discussed strategy before the race. Modified Wheel-barrows lined up with runner and passenger teams alongside each other while beer sipping crowds lined the street. As the tension mounted, black, white, old and young were thrilled by the Can Can dancers who made a spirited appearance before the big event. By now we were cheering loudly and laughing alongside American tourists, Afrikaans panning champions, people dressed in costumes from 1899, street urchins and school kids. It was colourful, festive, South African fun in the sun.  While the only Gold we found during our visit was liquid, and left us with a nasty headache to contend with during the drive back home the next day, I will always remember that colourful, crazy afternoon in Pilgrims Rest, and the wonderful characters that jumped at the opportunity to be in front of my camera.  

                

   

  Although the ego took a bruising when I was called up, not for my photographic skill, but more for my ability to look the part, I thoroughly enjoyed doing a mock up shoot for the last six contestants on M-Net’s recently concluded reality show. I bounced around in front of the camera saying cheesy things like “work it baby”, “thats right hold it,” and “give me some attitude”, and managed to snap a handful of acceptable images.

  Flashes worked independently of my camera, and any half decent photographer would be able to see through the fake shoot, but nevertheless I made a show of it! Despite my best efforts, the most the public would see of me was the back of my head, for a whopping 4 and a half seconds as I bobbed and weaved. I decided afterwards that it was after all my better side, and I am prepared to take my journey to stardom one step at a time. What a great bunch of people the contestants turned out to be. Talented, fun and always up for a laugh. I hope they all go far.