Chapter 2

Where to from here?

I was now 17 going on 18 and had passed my driving licence test. As a celebration, I was coerced into taking my Mother away for a holiday. We went off for a holiday in the Drakensberg mountains, and while away, I received news that I had passed the matriculation examination.

As a child of about ten years of age, I stood and watched a Pharmacist at work dispensing prescriptions. He measured liquids and mixed powders using a mortar and pestle. Given my interest in science and chemistry, I liked the idea. Now thrust into a world with unlimited opportunity, I needed to be more mentally ready to embrace the unavoidable.

Being in the city, one day, near the College where the pharmacy school was located, I decided to visit the registration office. I made a spontaneous decision to enrol to be trained as a pharmacist. My family knew nothing about this. I had just completed the registration when a friend from school walked in. My Father knew his family; he was one of the most promising pupils at school, and he knew me well. His uncle was a Pharmacist.

Aghast, he stood for a moment and looked at me. "Glyn, he exclaimed, this is not for you!" Too late, I said, registration is all done and complete.

Little did I know then, but pharmacy and accountancy were among the toughest to achieve back then. Thousands of unsuccessful students were roving the country looking for jobs or apprenticeships.

I registered for the intermediate examination course to be taken over two years at the same time as doing a pharmacy internship. A final year had to be done after the three-year apprenticeship in a pharmacy. I cannot recall what made me commit to the endeavour. But upon reviewing the incident, I realised that the experience was another assurance of divine intervention. My friend chose to do the internship and the two-year full-time separately.

I can still vividly recall the day I went to purchase my textbooks. I have a clear vision of the bookstore in the Durban high street, "Griggs Booksellers" was its name. I remember the young fellow who served me; he had to help me pronounce the word "pharmaceutical". Where the money was coming from, I still needed to learn. 

Pharmacy internship.

My Father had an acquaintance with a pharmaceutical wholesaler. Together, they found me a job in a pharmacy on the Durban high street. It was a bustling shop, and to be expected; I was given the most menial of tasks. Most aspiring pharmacists would have rejected the position. 

This opportunity was another divine intervention. The job fitted me; I could cope and be happy doing it. I received and priced goods for the first year and did that well. I had no great expectations and attended College three nights a week, including a Thursday afternoon. That was a total of 12 hours.

I can distinctly recall my first pharmacy lecture. I arrived without a pen or paper. The lecturer strode in and delivered his lecture, and at the end, he gathered his pieces before departing, leaving me somewhat stunned. I sat in the empty lecture room and realised how alone I was. That was the turning point of my life! 

 There was little time for pleasure, and I had to work particularly hard. I then realised that I would need more effort to get by. 

My parents provided a small car as there was no bus transport at night, and the College was miles away from home. I drove this little car until it wore out. In the end, it used about as much engine oil as petrol. 

Whenever possible, I would escape and go walking in the Drakensberg mountains. I often walked alone, sometimes staying at the Himeville Hotel with my study books. The hotel was little more than a wood and iron structure back then, different from the plush luxury hotel at Sani Pass as it is now.

Looking back, I had a strange tendency not to be concerned about the future. I didn't seek status; I unquestionably went with the flow. I just took life as it materialised. 

Despite being within the higher standards at school, I never took anything seriously. I spent most of my time in an old shed in the back of our garden. Uninterrupted, I spent time constructing my electric train layout decorated with paper mulch mountains and tunnels. 

I dabbled with chemicals and mixed explosive concoctions to make fireworks. I did very well making flares of different colours. There was a shop in the city that sold chemicals and laboratory equipment where I could buy all I needed, no questions asked. That was in 1950, before all the regulations that were to come. I made glass distilling equipment to distil essential oils from roses and flowers.

I was very much alone in the shed; no one ever visited or took any notice. I now admit that what I did was dangerous and reckless, and I cannot recall where I gained the knowledge to do it. The same about my school examination preparation; while others were frantically preparing for the final examination and interviewing teaching staff regarding future careers, I was busy in the shed.

I lived with my sister, Molly, and her husband during that period. I was considered somewhat eccentric, being in a world of my own, and left to my own devices, whatever they might be.

The pharmacy's boss and deputy were demanding, but they soon learned I was very used to that behaviour. This opportunity was another divine intervention. The job fitted me; I could cope and be happy doing it. 

I spent the first year in the stock room minding my own business. In those days, a pharmacist compounded almost all medicines and recorded the details in a large prescription book. Gradually I was given odd tasks in the dispensary, like mixing ointments that the pharmacist had prepared and ready for mixing and packing or indexing the prescription book.

Slowly I began to undertake more of the dispensing until  I could do all the dispensing alone. By the end of my apprenticeship, I had the keys to the shop and would open it ready for business in the morning. 

It was a fascinating period before branded products began to take over. I was fortunate to have had the experience; I made many medicinal products, from pills to suppositories.

Finally, my apprenticeship concluded, and I returned to college for full-time study. After a year of study, I became a fully-fledged pharmacist. Interesting to note that the friend who advised me to find an alternative occupation still had a year of study ahead of him. He had elected to do his apprenticeship and then two years of study. I passed the equivalent of the first year while doing my apprenticeship.

Chapter 3

For a period, I continued working in the pharmacy, where I had done my apprenticeship. I was taking a walk during a lunch break when I met Evan. We had attended Pharmacy School together and became pharmacists at the same time. He informed me that he was about to depart for Europe on holiday and work for a spell.

I decided there was no reason I shouldn't do the same. I sought the Union-Castle Mailship office near where I worked and booked a passage on the Athlone Castle Mail Ship. It so happened that we ended up on the same ship and in the same came cabin—it was nothing like the luxury of today, more like a railway coach with bunk beds.

The journey consisted of a three-week cruise from Durban, South Africa, stopping at East London, Port Elizabeth and Capetown. In 1958, flying to the UK was tedious; it included many refuelling stops along the way and took a couple of days. When I returned to SA by plane 18 months later, I found it a monotonous journey flying for hours just above the African Savannah. In the Congo, the plane was surrounded by troops while it received the necessary servicing. By today's standards, it seems so very mundane. Still, it was quite an experience.

To travel by sea and experience the excitement of the farewells as the ship departed added meaning to life. The bonding and emotions expressed between friends and family were often heartfelt. At the same time, all were allowed on board until the ship departed. The period on the ship allowed time to meet many young, inspiring people with diverse objectives; it was the most exciting.

Our journey terminated at Southampton, where we were given a bus to the Overseas Visitors Club in London. Upon arrival at the Club, I found the place teeming with South Africans and young people worldwide. Evan found a convenient room to rent near the Club in Earl's Court. I didn't have much money and was keen to find a job. However, I was persuaded to join a group of eight South Africans to tour Europe.

I was unwell for the last two days of the voyage and the first 2 or 3 days in London. In the meantime, the trip was planned in my absence. The first I knew of it was that I was to go and collect one of the two hired cars. Visits had been made to the AA and a tour route concluded. The route involved going North from Calais in France where we landed in Stockholm in Sweden. From there, back down South through Central Europe via Switzerland, Austria and as far as Sorrento in Southern Italy. We were to return to London via the French Rivera. In all, we travelled 8000 miles in 8 weeks. 

Everybody had prepared themselves for the journey except me. On the way to collect the car, I hurriedly visited an ex-army supply shop and purchased a “less than appropriate” sleeping bag. I had no idea what I was about to encounter and had to put up with it for the rest of the trip.