Our Family moved back to Cape Town in the middle of 1970 from the Eastern Cape , I was 8 years old, we went to meet the new Uncle who had recently married my dads sister Elaine who he met on a cruise to Rio De Janeiro. I have a picture that I took with my first Kodak Instamatic - of all of the kids standing with my folks and Mick and Elaine. It shows him with crutches so was after he had been kicked by his horse. Probably boxing day 1970.
The words - "go play in the traffic" - were I am sure said in jest......
How cool was this guy to a young lad who already knew he would be an engineer, Mick had a ride on lawn mower - probably the first Snapper in South Africa, he kept horses at his home, and he had Dolphins in at least one of his 5 swimming pools. The most humorous signs were posted at his pool, and for little monsters like us, the "Don't pee in the pool, we don't swim in your toilet..".. was the best. Porta pools featured in our family too and our first swimming pool at home was a Porta Pool.
Mick loved dogs and I remember the corgi's from 1970 and generations of Golden Retrievers from Race onwards, I enjoyed the puppy stage of quite a few of them - Dougal was a special friend as I knew him all his life, I remember friendly cat and unfriendly cat, the Tabby brothers, who in later life reversed personalities. As a kid you never knew who was who, so it was safer just not to stroke them.
But most of all - after his leg finally mended, Mick started to walk every day, and this is where I really got to know my uncle Mick, I walked many many miles over the next 40 years when visiting, from the hills of Constantia, to the beaches of Betty's Bay, along the rolling Farm fields of Nansadden, the forests of Harkerville, to the banks of the Bitou River and beaches of Plett. Every day rain or shine, after a nap, the dogs were summoned and Mick went on a walk, those who wished to join ... did, he didn't care as he was going to walk no matter what. Usually 30-60 minutes depending on the location, and we talked , sometimes lots, sometimes not, but the time was always enjoyable and I was taught many things during those walks, from fauna and flora to life lessons.Mick owned the greatest cars too, The first 5 Series BMW in the 1970's, a V8 Range Rover in 80's, Yellow Beach Buggy, 4.2 Liter CJ7 Jeep, Landcruiser etc. He also had a 4 wheeler ATV long before they were popular, it was called Bluebelll and he managed to get it registered as a farm tractor, so that we could drive on the roads without a helmet, it was not as fast as the modern ATV's but it was tremendous fun around the farm and in the local forests.
It was late in my teenage years that Mick and I clicked, and he became a mentor of mine over time , a self made man that a young impressionable kid could look up to, we spent many a night talking about life, later it was over a bottle of wine or three. Betty's Bay was my home away from home, my place to escape to for solitude, and company while I was trying to find myself as a young man. In fact it was after he and Elaine split up that we really spent some time together, at first my dad would take me along on weekends as he needed to get away, and later I went on my own after being invited to stay. The Wooden shack on the rocks was an awesome room for me and the occasional friends that visited with me. I studied for my matric exams there, saw wild otters many a night through the picture windows and was lulled to sleep with the windows wet with spray of Atlantic waves crashing on the rocks below. I was staying there for a week or two studying when he brought Peta down for the first time with her two border collies. We got on extremely well from that first time, and later the next year Mick married Peta, and she always made me feel welcome. We enjoyed time in the kitchen as well and also just "time"together. I was always comfortable in their company.
Every time I visited I was given a list of things to repair (which I enjoyed doing) , and a "broken" Coleman Tilley Lantern became one of many projects, but one that still brings a smile each year , as it stills burns on our family camping holidays 35 years later. The Majors' Brass telescope from Betty's Bay was given to me too, and still is used occasionally as my son has the same fascination with "things" . Many a night was spent at the Snooker Table, in Bettys Bay in the attic originally and then in the specially built snooker rooms Mick built for the table, on Nansaddan, as well as Moon River, but I never did get very good and Mick always beat me.
The Yellow Beach Buggy from Early Betty's Bay days (Daisy or Buttercup - cant remember) became the tool for our terrorist nights in Bettys Bay, first removing Apartheid Era Non White Beach Signs, then later spray painting them Yellow as the authorities got clever and bolted them to Steel posts. They soon gave up and just left them painted over. I also learned to use a chain saw at the Bettys Bay Hack cutting down black wattle trees, and dug up a bunch of invasive alien plants, I also helped drill a few holes in one tree grown in a garden , that the owner refused to eliminate.
Cray Fishing from the Zodiac in the Bettys Bay was exciting and only done in calm seas, but collecting fresh Muscles off the rocks was always easy at low tide, a pleasure we carried over to Plett as well.
The great trek to Plett was soon after I was allowed to drive the Range Rover, and I brought it up to the new Farm becoming one of the first guests in the old original 2 room farm house. Mick must have really had a picture in his mind as the place was very very basic and rustic. My army years saw me hitching between Grahamstown and Cape Town a number of times - Plett was along the way of course, Mick and Peta welcomed me there every time even when given little notice. I enjoyed many a Sunday Evening Dinner in the Kitchen which was always Micks privilege - as on Sundays he cooked - usually Bacon and Eggs with fresh mushrooms , the most wonderful forest and field Mushrooms , hand picked on our afternoon walk. He helped me identify which ones were edible and which were not.
The other chuckle that still makes me smile , was that girl friends had to be vetted by Mick, and many prospects were invited to "the Farm" to be presented. There was one that I was besotted with, that he told me openly he did not like...... but Thurl - who later became my wife was welcomed warmly.
I watched Mick's Farm dream unfold as one wild field after another was transformed into pasture and happy Herefords grew fat on the sweet grasses and clovers planted in the wake of tree removal and bulldozers piling up trash and bush, I remember the story of Mick asking a local Sawmill to quote to remove one stand of old trees, expecting to have to pay to clear them, he was pleasantly surprised when they offered him money for the lumber, the trees were A 1 grade telephone pole material, AND they did all the work too. The house grew too, becoming the most incredible ranch home with indoor and outdoor living, cool in summer and warm in winter. Many of my visits to Nansaddan in the early days were working holidays, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Later on my life became busy with Career and eventually family life and it was tough to steal away for more than a week at a time. It was while visiting Nansaddan one trip that I was reacquainted with Wendy at one of the social evenings, who was the mother of one of my grade 1 friends back in Fort Beaufort in 1969, and knew my folks well. The Whites, Jeremy and Wendy , had moved across the road from Mick and Peta. Mick was never satisfied with the farm and was always making improvements from Stud Hereford Beef , the farm evolved in later years into a Citrus Farm with hectare after hectare being planted under soft peelers (like Mineolas), and fully irrigated, as the farm was blessed with the most incredible underground water supply. Mick also established a few new dams on the farm and they later held a good catch of Bass, I soon learned that the Months with "er" : September - December - were bass fishing months in South Africa, as they hit anything that came near them.
Mick in his favorite place - looking out over the river
My career with Siemens Medical took me around the world in time and after working in Germany in 1989 , I had accumulated 6 weeks of overtime and my company asked me to take it as vacation instead, I called Mick and after catching up with all my news from Europe, he suggested I come to Plett and run the farm allowing them to take a needed holiday, I learned a bunch more about Cattle Farming over the next few weeks, with the help of the staff. I enjoyed working side by side with them and they were tickled that "the young boss" would be digging ditches with them, I think they probably were happy when Mick came back and the old boss took the reins again, as their work went back to a leisurely pace. Talking of Staff , Mick always had the best staff working for him, because he treated them right and also paid them what he thought they were worth , irrespective of local custom. This did upset locals in Plett, but it worked well with good quality labor. In the early days in Cape Town - Gloria took care of the household and later Selina became a part of the family once they got to Plett, each time I visited I was greeted with warmth as one of the family by these members of the staff.
Many will remember Micks dislike of talking Politics, but he did believe in equality, and did his thing for the liberal cause, his way and quietly. I can only remember one chat about Politics and that was about the school riots of 1977 when I was in High School , and we were not being told the whole truth about the reasons, and I asked him and we had a quiet chat just the two of us.
Mick always had a boat of some sort , in Bettys Bay it was the Zodiac, and in Plett quite a few different boats were owned, but the Pontoon Boat was one of the most fun, as it could be brought up to Moon River on the tide. Of Course Mick also owned a very Large boat at one time, the sister boat to the John Benn, when he had the Black Velvet Oyster Company, it was the processing boat and getting it into place under the railway bridge on spring low tide nearly sent Mick to hospital, as he tried to push a 2 ton boat off the pilings with his legs. Of course the delicacy of Oysters was a part of visiting Plett during the years he owned the company. Oysters were delivered in a box lined with moss and each person given a mitt and a shucking knife, and you ate what you shucked. I was visiting one Easter when Mick walked in and said he had sold the company - he had been made an offer he could not turn down. All good things come to an end, I am sure it ended up a good investment for Mick
I was taught a love for good things through Mick, really good wine (as well as a few bottles of plonk) , as well as great food. We spent so many a meal in different pubs or restaurants, but a braai was always an option too, from Whisky Creek up the Keurbooms, to the Yacht club, or Perlemoen at the Hangklip Hotel in the Early Years.
Moon River the last home on the Bitou River is a fabulous home, walking out the living room onto an expansive deck right on the waters edge, with the most wonderful view over the tidal flats. Well that calm tidal water also hides a dark side , and Mick was flooded out twice over the years, making the local TV news because he refused to be evacuated by helicopter because they would not take the dogs. The water flooded the lower floor each time and Mick retreated upstairs and waited it out. I'm sure with a bottle of white wine. The name of the home on the Bitou of course hints at Micks love of Frank Sinatra's music, and with roots in Wales, Mick could certainly sing, and with enough wine and the right company, he would entertain with his voice.
Mick getting to know my Son Dylan in 2005
A love of "twitching" meant that binoculars were always at hand and Mick knew all the local birds and on our walks could point them out and also identify them from their song, and while not quite as passionate as he was, I have always shown an interest in the local birds where I end up, because of this. I remember helping float logs across the Bitou so that the Fish Eagles would have a place to roost, these "trees" became a focal point when sitting out on the deck at Moon River, and the Fish Eagles certainly used them.
Sadly in the later years , as happens to all of us who live far away, my life became far too busy and my times in Plett were few. I did occasionally steal an extra day away from a customer visit to George and spend an afternoon or an evening in Plett. Once married it was even more difficult , but it was far too important to me to visit and I made the time when we had holidays , so when my daughter was born in 1997, Plett was the first beach trip she got, we drove down from Johannesburg and stayed in the annex - Mick was worried screaming baby might keep him awake - LOL , he was so funny with her, and of course she was an angel the whole trip.
"met" her in Fort Beaufort in 1969 as a Sub A (Grade 1) school kid. Our family would spend time on the White's farm Loraine, where the local tennis club played on weekends. Kids ran wild and swam in the river, got into trouble etc.
My last time to visit was in October 2009, when I came home for my dads 70th birthday in Sedgefield, I took an afternoon and drove across for a wonderful time catching up. While the internet did help some, and Mick did get an email address it was not the same as the letters Mick used to write many years ago.
I will miss my uncle Mick, who taught me so much about life, and I am sure he is in a better place.
Rick Cockcroft
Greensboro NC
January 2010
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