When we were young Children play cricket on the streets
Children play cricket on the streets

Children play cricket on the streets

Lenox Lizwi Mhlanga

DO you still remember all those years ago, when going into the city centre seemed like going somewhere very special, like heaven and your mother made you “dress up” for the trip? Threatened that if you don’t finish your food uyasala?

And when in town, crying for fresh chips from Royal Sunflower and a Coke? Sipping on a 300 ml Coke bottle or Fanta for ever wishing you would not finish it?

Remember racing with half bricks or later old tyres, to see who was the fastest. Playing the street World Cup soccer with a ball fashioned from plastic and old newspapers.

Today kids are shoving bricks at each other or at anything and experimenting with mbanje.

Going to the shops to go play slug (table soccer) and not robbing defenceless girls?

And if you ran out of money, usually 10 cents, you then filed down two cents or hammered a one-cent coin flat to use instead and it always got stuck.

You would flee in all directions when u-Davie wemagrosa would discover your shenanigans and would be out to get you and your partners in crime.

Well those were the “crimes” then.

What about the fights? About you falling out with your buddies because they threatened ukukubamba meaning, “I will deal with you!” It meant that you had a hard time going to the shops unescorted or armed to the teeth with catapults and stones.

You were forced to go the long way round to avoid them but you never told your parents.

It was the same with the end of the school term, as we approached the beginning of the holidays.

You had to be on your best behaviour to avoid someone saying ngizavala ngawe! Running away was not an option because the whole school knew which fights were on the closing day bill.

Once you were on it, you were obliged to stick around or lose face labelled a coward.

Some did flee because kwabo kwagwala akulasililo.

Disputes were settled by simply ukubumba amabele that would represent every reason to fight.

Having a weapon in school meant being caught with an Eversharp pen pea shooter or an eraser catapulted by a 30cm ruler and nothing more sinister such as an Okapi knife.

And then there were omathanyela (sweepers) labomabhimu (garbage collectors) who hated being called that.

What about the municipal work crews who would start cooking izitshwala zamagabha before anything else?

Amongst them there would always be aPhiri, Banda, Sibanda or usekaMaNdlo.

When you saw them riding along in their big BCC trucks or walking along the road in their navy overalls, you would mischievously call out; Sibanda or Phiri and wave in their direction.

One of their number, Sibanda or probably Phiri would respond waving frantically, obviously impressed by being recognised.

You and your friends would laugh your lungs out at the apparent coincidence.

I’m not finished just yet. Can you still taste and smell raw jelly from straight from the packet, doing the same with sugar, powdered or sweetened milk? You would forget to wipe off the evidence from your mouth and the usual hiding would follow.

What about ice-lollies made from Mazoe in plastic holders in the freezer? Eating Willard’s peanut butter on the fattest slice of fresh Lobel’s or Haefelis’ bread?

Eating guavas till your stomach hurt and being constipated for days after that.

How about the summer bounty of berries, mangoes, peaches and roasted mealies?

You knew that come the maize season, you would have it for breakfast, lunch and supper including inopi, umxhanxa, inkobe lembambayila.

Having relatives in South Africa or overseas was a very big deal.

When they were leaving, it was important for the whole family to go to the airport and wave goodbye by the balcony.

You would never know when you ever saw them again.

And when they came back, you expected them to bring you new designer takkies which you wouldn’t wear, because you were saving them for Civvies Day (wearing civilian clothes as opposed to uniform.)

For some reason we called it “civics” day.

By the way locally there were two types of takkies you wore, o-Tommie and North Stars.Tender foots were a definite no-no, particularly the black ones that had a funeral feel about them. And of course the only time you wore them at school, was on Civvies.

Do you remember when nearly everyone’s mum was your mum and they could send you to the shops and reward you with five cents for toffees.

There was no danger of you absconding because after all she was your mum anyway!

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