VN October 2020

Vetnuus |Oktober 2020 36 It began on the 1 st of January of the year 1974 of our Lord, this occupation that has had me in its grips these past four-and-a-half decades. It began in Grahamstown in the Eastern Cape, in the times where its streets had no potholes, and it began with Dr Bill Hancock handing me the keys to his home, the surgery alongside, and the practice vehicle, a VW Beetle. He said goodbye and went to Cape Town for a month. First a fellow came in with a bulldog that had swallowed his bait with the hook inside. It responded to good old apomorphine and whoopsed the whole bundle up. Then a farmer phoned in with a calving problem. A truly serious calving problem in many respects. He and I did a Caesar on the cow to remove a swollen rotten calf and the only water within ten miles was filthy, in a half-dry dam at the bottom of the hill. The cow was on the top of the hill. The grumpy farmer muttered about the cost and called me “lad.” My full circle closed a week ago, and guess where I was a day later? Yes, in Grahamstown! Trish and I had fetched our daughter Rebecca and her goods and chattels after her smaller, 4-year circle at Rhodes University, was completed. We broke our trip down to Grahamstown by spending the night at Kei Mouth, which we hadn’t visited before. We took a stroll on reason such a fitting end to this huge adventure which had been given me as a total gift. Back at the flat I settled my account and had final cup of Turkish coffee withmy hostess, Mrs Gigandiou. She had been a real dear and totally interested in my stay, except that she couldn’t speak a word of English. Every time I returned to the flat she tried to question me, getting more and more agitated that I couldn’t understand what she was saying and on several occasions she would end up phoning a friend who would interpret for us. I found that when I came in, the easiest way to answer her queries was to just say “Tour – tour” gesticulating with a wide sweep of arms to include a large part of the city and she would settle for that and end up giving me a small cup of Turkish coffee which consisted of 50% coffee grounds. But I grew to love her and appreciate her very real hospitality. And so in a fitting end to this amazing adventure the next morning the Sahara desert and later the green jungles of Africa floated past under the Boeing 707 as we winged our way back to SA in the daylight. Well, let’s talk about my home-coming next time. v Story THE FULL CIRCLE Story Tod Collins