Durban North diamond couple share shining memories
The couple eloped and married in Salt Rock in 1961.
DURBAN North couple Sandy and Robert “Buddy” Day celebrated their diamond wedding anniversary on 1 April. The couple eloped and married in Salt Rock in 1961.
They met in a department store in Johannesburg where Buddy worked as an animator and window dresser and Sandy worked as an artist and ticket writer.
“It was a satellite display for Walt Disney Productions. There was one in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Durban,” said Sandy.
The couple lived in an apartment in Johannesburg after they married. They moved to Durban in 1964 when Buddy was appointed as the display manager of a large department store. They welcomed their first child, Cheryl- Anne in 1962 and their son, Morgan was born in 1965. Buddy changed direction in his career to go into building which he enjoyed for three years before he took on carpentry-creating and expertly carving furniture and wooden sculptures.
“I decided I wanted to do something I could leave standing instead of display work which only stands for a week or two before it’s gone. We bought some stands in La Lucia and built three houses,” said Buddy.
Sandy on the other hand left her mark in the world of fashion design. While her garments were showcased at fashion shows in London and Paris, perhaps her most memorable work was dressing children at Berea orphanage, Wylie House. She hosted the Princesses for a Day campaign, every year on the late Princess Diana’s birthday. Her first fashion show was held at the Beverly Hills Hotel in 1971. Thereafter she held a bigger show at the Oyster Box.
“I was asked to do a fashion show to raise funds for charity. I had 42 garments on display and I sold 40. What was so beautiful was that there was a wedding dress in the display and a little girl at the show came up to me and said she wanted a dress like that when she got married. I was still designing clothing when it was her turn to get married so I did make her wedding dress,” said Sandy.
Since then she has raised more than a million Rand for charity through her fashion shows – a feat that has garnered the attention of former president Nelson Mandela who sent her a letter of thanks in 2001. Buddy also made a notable contribution to charity when he hand carved the woodwork for the putters donated to the Royal Golf Day, a fundraiser for the Reach for a Dream Foundation.
“We raised R80 000 and then Vodacom invited us to lunch and gave us a cheque for R1 million,” said Sandy.
They currently run the La Lucia Antique Fair which they started in 2003. The couple celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with a vowel renewal on a cruise ship. This year, due to Covid-19 they will celebrate their diamond anniversary with a quiet family dinner at their home.
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