Colin was born at Vincent Pallotti hospital in Pinelands on the 26th of November 1968. It was a difficult delivery and Dr. Fourie had to use forceps in the process. For days Colin had a reddish mark on his forehead and his head was slightly indented. Having miscarried a boy three years earlier, we were more than overjoyed with this birth and happy to have a baby brother for Nikki.
When he was allowed home after 10 days, Nikki, now 5 years old was with him as often as she could and participated in everything that was done with looking after a baby. Phyllis reported that he was “very hungry” and making good progress. Every afternoon after work I would spend some time next to the cot I had originally crafted for Nikki. This was the family we had wanted!
One afternoon when I came home, Phyllis mentioned that she heard a sound coming from Colin’s chest that she thought sounded like a breathing problem. I listened but could not hear anything abnormal and declared that there was nothing to be worried about.
When she noticed the same thing again a few days later, we took him to the nearest Doctor to our house.
After a short examination he asked, “When did this child last see a specialist?” I was shocked and asked him if he could recommend a child specialist near us. He phoned one in the Wynberg district and said that we could bring Colin as soon as possible for an examination
The four of us got to Wynberg just after lunch and met with the specialist. He asked us to leave Colin with him and return after an hour, so that he could spend time alone with him. We did not enjoy our trip to the shops because we were very worried about our little boy. Eventually, after deciding that he had more than enough time with Colin, we returned to his rooms and awaited his feedback.
Upon entering his rooms with anxious faces, he said that he had found nothing wrong with him and pronounced him, “A clever little boy!” We naturally were very happy with the good news and decided not to make use of the first doctor again. The breathing ‘noise’ was likely associated with his hay fever symptoms.
At that time, Nikki had become an avid reader and had a subscription with CNA for her favourite magazines. We collected them every Friday afternoon. Colin would be in his push-chair and I would wheel him around the shop. He was getting stronger and one afternoon, while we were browsing in the news agent, he stood up in his chair, lost his balance and hit the floor, headfirst. Horrified, I saw it happen. Complete silence and then he convulsed. I picked him up and pressed him tightly against my body and walked out of the shop holding him closely in that position. After a short time, the convulsions stopped and we went back inside. He did not cry, seemed stable enough and went back to sitting in his chair. What a fright we got.
At a very young age, Colin was already crazy about cars and had a collection of toy cars. He went on to amass a substantial set of the Matchbox series. His favourite was a Lamborghini. We joked that before he was able to say “Dada”, or “Mama”, he was able to sound out, “Lam-bor-ghi-ni”. Strangers were very surprised that such a young child could recognise and say the word “Lamborghini.”
Phyllis stayed at home when our children were small. I had made a big, folding playpen to put out on the lawn in the garden so that she and Nikki could keep an eye on him. As a baby, Colin was extremely strong and could pull himself up to a standing position with ease. He walked at about eleven months and loved our cats and dog, Killick.
Two years later… and Michael was born. Colin just loved having a brother he could interact with. He inspected Michael at close quarters and expressed his urgency for him to grow up. Colin kept handing him cars, hoping to ignite the same passion that he had, and I also caught him trying to lift Michael up onto his tricycle, long before Mike was able to walk. When Michael finally could be allowed to sit on the trike, Colin placed his feet on the pedals, urging him to pedal.
I graduated from Stellenbosch university and then we ended up in Welkom in the Orange Free State where we stayed briefly at Hotel 147. Colin started school at Aurora Primary school and Michael went to a nursery school. Both boys did everything together and would ride their bicycles all over the suburb. Always with Colin in the lead and Michael close by. Colin decided everything, where they went, what they did and, in the evenings, he would give a report on what they did each day.
One evening at supper I heard Colin, sitting next to me, having a discussion with Michael. I tried to listen to their conversation but could not make out what they were talking about. I asked him what he had said to Michael and he said that they were speaking in Afrikaans. My reaction was, “But you do not know any Afrikaans?.” Colin replied, “Well, I know that my name in Afrikaans is “Cawlin” and Michael is “Hulle”. “How do you know that”, I asked to which he replied, “When we go play with the Afrikaans children next door they say, “Hier kom Cawlin Hulle.” This became a much-repeated fun memory of that humorous interpretation of the Afrikaans language. To this day we ask each other if “Cawlin-hulle” are coming to visit.
After his third year at Aurora primary school, Colin joined Christian Brothers College in Welkom. As a private school, it had an added advantage in that the Anglo-American company subsidised the school and thus made it possible for me to afford the fees for both boys.
As always, the boys loved going for rides on their bicycles and Colin was always the leader. One afternoon, I received a frantic call that they were in a motorcar accident on the road to the airport. I raced to the place and found both boys uninjured and a very upset woman who claimed of a near accident. Colin told me that he saw the car coming in the distance and told Michael to follow him. He turned to go back but Michael was slow and turned in front of the car and scared the driver of the car. I thanked her for her concern, grateful that both boys were fine.
One Sunday afternoon a car stopped in our driveway and the driver told me that my son had crashed into his car with his bicycle and he wanted me to pay for the damages. Colin arrived and told me that Michael lost his balance when the car overtook them and there was a scratch on the car door so it seemed that I would have to pay for the damages.
That afternoon I remembered that there was a light shower earlier in the day, so I got the boys to show me where it all happened.
We could clearly see the bicycle and car tracks on the sandy gravel road. Colin had been in front and Michael a little behind. Colin heard the car engine and gave way to the left. Michael continued straight and the car went through between them. This was when Michael decided to follow Colin to the left and turned against the side of the car
Next morning I went to see a friend who was the city Public Prosecutor in Welkom. He shared some laws that stated that a motorist was not to overtake a bicycle without hooting first and never to pass to the left of the cyclist. In fact, he advised that we could have laid charges against the motorist. I impressed upon Colin that his role as leader was not to be in front all the time but also to look after his charges.
In high school Colin joined the cricket club and I bought him his own bat and pads etc. He was a bit of an allrounder and played in some matches and was not often ‘out’ as a batsman which is a good sign. Then I noticed that did not show any enthusiasm for the game. He told me that the teachers allowed the boys to pick the teams and they chose their friends to bat or bowl, so he was not given the opportunity to improve.
Chess now became a big part of our lives and we, the boys and Phyllis included, spent much time competing in chess tournaments. Colin played at board no 1 for the Northern Free State team and won many prizes and trophies. Phyllis, as manager of our provincial team drove and toured the country to tournaments in Durban, Port Elizabeth and Cape town amongst others. Colin as captain supported her.
I was particularly proud of him when I heard that in Port Elizabeth, when he had taken the team to the beach, the bus driver would not take the non-white members onto the bus and asked them to leave. Colin then told them all, including the white players, to exit the bus and the team walked home. They were given their own bus for the rest of the tournament.
At Parents evening we went to visit their subject teachers starting with Michael, but they all told us to rather speak to Colin’s teachers which had us a little worried. However, his class teachers did not have anything specific to say against him other than he showed a lack of effort compared to how Michael performed.
Phyllis was a little concerned and wanted to ensure that there were no unforeseen issues and had a specialist evaluate the boys when I was away. He apparently was amazed that the boys were performing so differently. Michael was compared to a nuclear physicist in performance while Colin did not even finish the test on time! Phyllis wanted to ensure that Colin had the best possible support and grounding and even suggested that we consider changing schools, perhaps consider some of the excellent Cape schools.
I wasn’t too worried and did not think that Colin had any kind of learning difficulties. I thought that the main issue was that he had a negative attitude towards some of the teachers, and that was certainly affecting his school work. I had a discussion with him in private and he confided that he had an altercation with the vice principal. He was wrongly accused by the class of something and had been asked to leave the room.
Afterwards the deputy head wanted to cane him and he refused to submit. When he persisted with this action Colin reached for the phone on his desk and said that he was going to call me. He was instantly told to leave the office. No further action followed.
When Colin told me about this incident, I said that I would arrange a private meeting with the headmaster on condition that he came with me and would be part of the discussion. So, one evening we arrived at the school, and I discussed both the sport and school issues with the head. He listened to the concerns we raised, studied Colin’s file and expressed the school’s cooperation and support for us, and that he would attend to the matters we raised.
Phyllis’ main concern was that Colin would not get exemption to go to university, which could be a significant setback. In his final year he asked to discuss his future with me and stated that he would like to do his military service first before deciding on what he wanted to study. I concurred and he decided that he wanted to follow the “School of Catering” course which was an option. We joked that we would buy him a “Wimpy” franchise after completing the course.
Colin happily passed matric with exemption, and we said farewell to him as he boarded the train to Pretoria where he would do his two-year, compulsory military training. He looked happy and confident as we waved him goodbye at the train station. He was popular because he was fluent in English and Afrikaans and later we found out that he captained the Northern Transvaal athletics team.
He was growing up to be very handsome and turned out to be quite popular with the ladies and I was amused to see that there were often a group of girls eyeing him or even following him, when they noticed him in a shopping centre or public place. He was mostly a bit dismissive of all the attention.
One day, about a month later, my secretary told me that my son wanted to talk to me and had called from the military camp in Upington. I wondered what on earth he was doing in an Infantry establishment. I asked her to please get me a senior officer in high command in Pretoria to discuss my problem.
When this officer called me, he explained that they had had an overflow of volunteers and had to send some to the Infantry battalion in Upington. I told him that Colin chose his course long before arriving in Pretoria and because they broke their commitment Colin must be withdrawn and placed in Cape Town in the Navy. He said it would take a few days for them to arrange the change, as he first had to get permission from the general.
That Sunday evening Colin phoned me and said he had two options for changing and asked what I thought about him joining the Dog unit or the State President’s Guard. My reply was that he never fired a gun in his life, and an SP guard was required to get 80% as a marksman so the dog school may be the better option to consider.
Later in the week he phoned to tell me that he had decided to go with the SP Guard because he would spend two months a year in Cape Town when Parliament was in session and also that his family background had been cleared for him to guard the President. I had to ask the secretary to let Pretoria know that Colin was no longer going to go to the navy.
The State President’s guards spend six months at the northern border which was fair enough. I had stipulated that he was not to do duties in any of the country’s townships. Colin passed his marksmanship and had the right height etc., needed for the job. His home base was in Pretoria where he was given all his different uniforms, military and marching instruction.
On his free weekends, he would fly from Pretoria to the Welkom airport where we would collect him and from where he could board a flight back to Pretoria. This worked well except for one Sunday afternoon when a thunderstorm prediction had the plane leave early and I had to take him all the way to Pretoria by car. It was great to have a strong, healthy, smart and confident Colin visiting us ever so often. He had become a leader amongst his peers.
We heard from him how, when they were on their way to an SP parade, they were not allowed to sit in the bus in case they crease their uniforms. They were also not allowed to be seen with shopping bags, or to eat when in uniform etc. The interesting quirks of being an SP guard!
Phyllis had bought Colin a car which enabled him to spend weekends at our home in Simon’s Town when parliment was in session. One weekend he had a car full of friends heading for our home. Earlier that morning a robbery of computers had taken place in Fish Hoek. The police were contacted and a person gave a description of a car that had been seen leaving the area. The police gave chase and Colin’s car looked suspicious to them, so they followed his car.
Colin, unaware of being followed by the cops, decided to take his friend to the scenic outlook on Redhill mountain above Simon’s Town. The sudden detour confirmed in the minds of the police that they were trying to evade the police. They were apprehended and the car was searched. Colin remonstrated with them and explained they were members of the SP guard. They took his ID document and phoned the unit for confirmation.
“Colin David Price Meyer” was indicated clearly in his ID book. The policeman asked if a ‘Colin Price’ was an SP guard and of course they denied the existence of such a person, so the group of friends were all taken to the Simon’s Town Police station for interrogation. Colin was very upset with them and insisted that he be allowed to call me in Welkom. As I was known to the station commander, they were subsequently all released without apology.
When we came to Simon’s Town again, I took Colin with me into the charge office at the Police station and together with Colin, got the chief to apologise for their poor performance. Colin’s conduct throughout was very mature and made us proud of our son.
One July holiday when we were also in Cape Town, there was an anniversary parade for the State President’s Guard on the main parade in Cape Town. I took my camera and movie camera and joined the press photographers on their walk about and took many pictures of Colin marching.
As mentioned earlier, the State President’s Guard had to do a six-month tour of our northern border. This included monitoring an electric fence close to the Limpopo River. Colin said that sometimes animals wanted to go drink water and were killed or stunned by the high voltage in the fence that was erected to stop illegal entries into the country. They often had to shoot animals to end their suffering.
Nikki was getting married and wanted her brother to attend the wedding in Welkom. I phoned military high command in Pretoria and put my case to someone who did not think it would be possible. I got a call from a senior official who wanted to know “what was in it for the army, if they arranged this?”. I asked him if they wanted a piece of wedding cake? He said they would not even know where to find Colin, deployed somewhere below the Namibian border. I said that if they could find him, I would fly him out of Pietersburg (now Polokwane) and they only had to get him to the airport.
Colin was on patrol one evening when a helicopter flew overhead, looking for him. He was flown to Pietersburg airport and attended the wedding before flying back. What a happy occasion especially for Nikki who wanted her brother to attend the ceremony.
Overall, he claimed to have enjoyed his stint at the border.
Once he was done with the army we had to look at his future. He said he was thinking of architecture, but I pointed out that I had never seen him draw anything or show any interest in anything vaguely artistic, such as poetry, so did not give this direction any serious thought. What I did say, was that I would go with him to Cape Town University and have a session with a subject guidance counsellor to discuss the different courses available.
Once I had established an opening, the three of us were able to sit opposite a counsellor who asked Colin some leading questions about his ideas and experiences. After some discussion it became clear that building-related courses would be of interest to him. A three-year BSC course with the option that in the third year a student can either continue with the course or branch off and become a Quantity Surveyor, seemed a worthwhile path to pursue.
Colin was happy with this plan, so I immediately asked for him to be enrolled. That was the good news but when the student list was consulted there was a ten-student waiting list ahead of him. I explained that we were living in Welkom and asked to be telephonically informed as soon as their courses were finalised. In chatting to the counsellor I mentioned that Colin served in the State President’s guard, and he told me that he himself was an SP guard some years previously.
We left, hopeful in that it seemed that Colin had found his future direction of studies but a little daunted by the long waiting list that first had to be cleared. We returned to Welkom after the January holidays and continued as usual. When after two weeks we still had not heard anything from UCT, we felt it was time to look at our second choice of Stellenbosch or even the Free State Universities where I had studied and could be more certain of his acceptance. Michael in the meantime had passed Matric with distinctions and was going to do Actuarial studies. Both universities could accommodate both the boys’ courses, but UCT was closer to our home and would remain our first choice.
Then early one Sunday morning my phone rang and the voice on the other side wanted to know if Colin still wanted to do the BSC programme at UCT. “Yes,” I almost shouted, he definitely wanted it! What a relief for all of us and he was also able to find digs at “Marquard Hall.”
With both boys at UCT and Phyllis and I preparing to leave Welkom, the time flew by very quickly and before long we were attending their graduation ceremonies. Both boys were in demand and soon found places of employment. Colin changed his work place a few times. There was something that did not quite satisfy him in the businesses he was working for and he was looking for an organisation with the right fit.
One Saturday while we were at a Cheese Festival, Colin came to me and asked me what I thought of an offer he had to go into a partnership with another QS. I immediately said, “Go for it because you will never be rich working for other people.” He accepted the offer and seemed very happy working in a shared business.
Not so many months later we got the horrible news that his managing partner had died of a heart attack and the business venture would thus likely collapse. I suggested that Colin ask his ex-partner’s wife if it would be possible to take over any willing existing clients, buy the office furniture and take over rental for the building and perhaps see if he could find a new partner to support him in their own business.
Colin went ahead and pulled together as much as he could from his late partner’s organisation and then got Craig, a UCT classmate to form their new company, “Meyer-Summersgill”. They found premises in Cape Town in Pepper Street and I remember helping to dismantle prefab walls and doors to help them get their business going.
I have always had faith in Colin. He is hard-working and innovative in his chosen profession and has a great future ahead of him. At that stage of his life, I thought that now all he needs, is to meet the right woman, get married and raise a family that I’m sure will adore him.
