Fidler in the Hood: The March hare comes to town

Greetings friends. Another day, another dollar, as the expression goes. The March hare is in town, so maybe, just maybe, the first signs of cooler weather is in the air. An old dear friend used to say that March was the start of the ‘champagne season’, when our incomparable climate brings out the best in South Africa. Throw in the way of life experienced here on the Hibiscus Coast and we have a perfect cocktail. On with the show.

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We had welcome guests from Bedfordshire arrive last week, needing to escape the cold and the floods of an English winter. And this week we had more visitors from that part of the UK. Mark and Tasleema Atkinson hail from St Neots, Huntingdonshire – a small historic town tucked away between Cambridge and Bedford. However, the delights of living in East Anglia, especially in winter, brings naught for one’s comfort and an escape to the sun is much more preferable.

Remember the good old days when banking was a pleasure? Long queues, ‘the cheque is in the post’ and you personally knew your bank manager or the teller at the counter. The personal touch, as they used to say. Now we have electronic banking, we do the business ourselves and the bank charges us for the dubious pleasure. How many of us actually know the name of our local bank manager?

Tasleema Mustan (maiden name), formerly of Durban, got to know her bank manager in the old-fashioned way. Having made an appointment to discuss her own banking issues over a friendly cup of tea, Taz went along to meet the keeper of the keys at Natwest Bank in Bedford. The keeper was Mark Atkinson, who, it turned out, was not as fearsome as Taz imagined. In fact, he turned out to be a really nice guy and the rest is history. Taz’s banking problems were sorted out and Mark’s life changed for the better.

The Atkinsons have now been married for 10 years and both have dramatically changed their careers. After 32 years in banking, Mark became a manager with the National Health System (NHS), looking after the impossible demands of both doctors and the public alike. Taz gave up on the nightmare of teaching at an English school and joined the Fire Service. Fortunately, being in administration she didn’t have to fight fires or run up and down ladders with a bucket of water.

Tasleema’s family ties have always been strong and the call to return (albeit temporarily) to KZN was too much to resist.

The couple decided to take a two-year break, just to escape the UK rat-race. As Mark put it “Making a 180km round trip every day to and from work in the UK traffic, was a nightmare.” Point taken. We sometimes think it’s too far to drive from Uvongo to Shelly Beach! They sold their property in St Neots and have taken a two-year sabbatical, starting in South Africa and hopefully ending in Spain or Portugal. Nice work if you can get it.

Mark is something of a top-notch bowler on the greens and has played for Cambridgeshire in the inter-county championships, for the England Fire Bowls team and in the National championships. He has even got Taz to play bowls. Is there no end to this Englishman’s genius? We have a few top-notch bowling clubs here, Mark, if you want a good game of bowls, think about it.

If Mark has a failing, it’s his fanatical worship of West Ham United, a real Hammers fan. Your scribe just cannot understand anyone worshipping a football team – unless it is Manchester City, of course. Anyway, Mark and Taz, your place in the South African sun is assured down here.

Not that your scribe is one to gloat when it comes to English football, but there are days when it is good to be alive, especially if you are a Manchester City supporter. City beat the Spanish kings of football, Real Madrid and went on to win the old League Cup, known these days as the Carabou Cup. And, of course, the mighty Liverpool came a cropper losing 3-0, repeat 3-0, to Watford, their first defeat of the season.

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