29 March, 2024, 10:50

News:

30 Nov 2019 We've upgraded the Forum software to the latest update, and new users should now be able to register and sign on again.


Show posts

This section allows you to view all posts made by this member. Note that you can only see posts made in areas you currently have access to.

Messages - David Milner

1
Mbeya / Re: Mbeya School 1955-1959
27 August, 2010, 22:18
I must have been there at around the same time as you and was also in Stanley house.   My memory is poor regarding the years and names of friends there and I was only there for one year.   I do remember the kite flying - bobbins of strong cotton/twine were like gold dust.   I remember being in the Elephant brigade of the scouts, the cow hide bedsteads and the drum beat that was used to call us the meals - I can still play it.   We used to roller skate over the bare ground in steel wheeled skates and search the tunnels in the fir forest.  I used to point my chameleon at the flies on the window of the classrooms and watch its eyes focus on the prey and collect it with its tongue.
2
Mbeya / Re: Mbeya School 1955-1959
02 March, 2010, 18:33
Hi Simon,
Where in Dar did you live?   We lived in both Oyster Bay and Kurasini at various times.  Did you ever get out to Honeymoon or Lighthouse Island or eat somosas and drink ice cold coke in the Corner Cafe?
David
3
Mbeya / Re: Mbeya School 1955-1959
27 February, 2010, 13:12
Unfortunately my memory of Mbeya is not as good as I would like.   I don't remember any of the staff by name although the German nurse made a lasting impression!   If you have any photographs of the whole school year groups, or each house, from that time, I would be interested in seeing it.
4
Mbeya / Re: Mbeya School 1955-1959
27 February, 2010, 08:37
I believe I was in Stanley house and I may even have started at the school in 1954 not 56.  I was born in March 1947 if that helps with the age gap!  I remember the place you mention where we played with Dinky toys.   We used to cut escarpments into the side of the ditch and pull cars along them with string trying to avoid them falling off.
5
Mbeya / Re: Mbeya School 1955-1959
26 February, 2010, 12:58
OK, I have just found this site and I am at the stage in life when I feel I should try and record some of my early childhood for my kids and future grandchildren to learn about.  I am amazed by Anne's recall of events and detail at Mbeya some of which rings a bell but much does not.   I cannot even remember the names of friends or staff and, if anyone remembers me, please get in touch. I remember some details which may bring a smile of recognition to the faces of other colonial kids reading this.   they are:-
*  We lived in Dar and travelled to Mbeya in an old bus.   We whittled propellors out of bits of wood and held them out of the bus window to see them spin in the wind.
*  I had a pet chameleon at the school and I used to point it at flies on the windows and watch as it caught them with its tongue.
*  We pulled Dinky toy cars along little mud roads, that we had made, with string.
*  We caught catfish with string and a bent pin in a stream close to the dormitories.
*  We slept on thin mattresses that were supported with strip of cow hide strung across and wooden bedstead.
*  We had a German nurse who injected a whole line of boys with the same needle one after the other (getting to the front of the queue meant you got the needle when it was still sharp)!    She also demanded that you defecate samples on demand - not easy.
*  I can still tap out the rythm that was beaten onto a huge native drum to announce meal times.
*  I remember passing out with the heat when we attended outdoor church services on Sundays - I have been an atheist ever since.
*  We at unripe peaches that we stole from an orchard next to our dormitories and were promptly ill with stomach ache.
*  We explored the fir tree forests, that surrounded then school, and found various relics from the days that the German occupied the area.   This included an old hand gun.
*  I was also very envious of day boys and girls who could go home at the end of school.
Does this sound familiar to anyone?  It would be great to hear if it does and if you have any photos.
Kwaheri
David Milner