Kirdup’s imaginative ideas

We made autocollages about our senior citizens today using a programme called Microsoft Autocollage. Here is mine.

We used the wizard writer to write messages today.

Here is a video Mrs Beal made with three of the senior citizens in it. I am also in this video so I am including it in my blog.

Today was a fun day because our senior citizens from the project we did earlier this year, came to visit us again. It was wonderful to see them all. You can read about my senior citizen, Rod, at the bottom of this page.

Hello. We have been creating introductory messages using extranormal.com. Please click at the bottom of the picture to listen to mine.

You won’t believe this! I interviewed two senior citizens in this project. First I interviewed Heli who is German. Then she became ill so I interviewed Rod who is a grandparent of one of my best friends, Cailtin,. I will write about both of the senior citizens. When you have read about my project, please fill in the comment box and tell me about a senior citizen or grandparent that you know. Thanks

Well, to start with we designed invitations to a special tea for senior citizens. Here is mine.

Then a couple of us went with Mrs Beal to the NG Home for the elderly next to our school to hand out the invitations. We also gave out invitations to our grandparents.

On the day of the tea my class had a wonderful baking session. We did this for five weeks just before the senior citizens arrived each week.

The first person I interviewed was Heli who was from the NG Home for the elderly. This is what I found out about my Senior Citizen, Heli.

Heli as a small child:
Hello my name is Heli Rohleder. In my family we had 1 child, that’s me. I lived in Sun Valley for a while. My father was a manager for a company in Namibia. I was a Globe trotter and moved from Sunvally to Namibia to Germany! We used to climb trees a lot before I went to school. We did not play with any toys.

Heli’s Primary School Days
At school we had no modern technology like computers and other things. I got to school by foot, there were no cars then but there were ox wagons. At school we did subjects like old Greek and Roman history, English and Maths.. We wrote in German because at that time I was in Namibia. There was no computers in my days. When a child was naughty at school they got a hiding and got sent home. We also got a lot of homework. On the playground we played skipping games and football. We did not wear any uniform. I did not have a cell phone, they were not invented yet. In my spare time I would play outside. In the evenings my family played board games together.

Heli as a teenager
As a teenager I lived in Germany. We did not wear any school uniform. Still the cell phone was not invented. There was no modern technology. There were no computers, no calculators. No, my school did not have any extra murals. We would normally play outside in our spare time and in the evenings we played games together. We communicated with friends by visiting each other. I went on my first date when I was in university. During the war we went to the cinema a lot. We called if the bioscope. A perfect date would’ve been when you were holding hands with a boy and doing things together in a group. I loved listening to dance music and bands music. When I went to see a film I liked to watch a love story. At home my mother used hoe recipes. We never ate at restaurants. We only had a servant once a week in Germany. I met my husband on a farm in Namibia.

Does Heli have any interesting information about her own grandparents?
My grandfather was a medical doctor in the district. He was once of the first people to get a car. But usually he travelled by horse when he went to see a sick patient, because he said a horse was more reliable.

What advice can Heli give to help us in our lives?
We must hold on to our principles that we have been taught.

Any herbs and remedies that was popular when your senior citizen was a child?
We used to inhale peppermint herbs with hot water when we had a cold. We usd tea tree oil for our skin and for healing wounds.

Any other interesting stories you could tell us?
I remember very clearly once we went hunting on a farm and we set out our tents to sleep. While we were sleeping some wild dogs came and sniffed at our feet. We were very, very scared.

I also remember the war bombs. I was very afraid.

When we came to Germany from Namibia school children always looked back and did something special. I drank some ink!

After interviewing Heli, I interviewed Rod.

By the way, Rod was also at the Senior Citizen’s tea.

This is what I found out about Rod.

Rod as a small child
Hi, my name is Rod. I grew up in Durban and remember living with my Gran and mother. My father served in the army during World War 2 and my dad later worked as a clerk on the S.A.R, my mom stayed at home. Many people did what would be called basic jobs today like baking, mechanics, store clerks and shop assistants. I was very ill as a child with asthma and remember playing with Mechanno sets, my teddy and reading comics. I enjoyed taking train trips to the South Coast from Johannesburg.

Rod’s school days
I went to Primrose East, Germiston and later Boksburg High School. I had to catch a train or bus or even walk to get to school. Schools were very basic and the boys and girls had separate playgrounds. We got homework in all our subjects (English, History, Geography, Arithmetic and Science). I played in the school band and played cricket, marbles and tops. Naughty children were dealt with very severely and disciplined by caning and detention.

Rod as a teenager
I had many hobbies and interests as a teenager. I collected comics and Dinky cars and Britain solders. I even built up an old car and made 8mm movies. We used to listen to the radio and I enjoyed Elvis, jazz and classical music. I liked to watch MGM Musicals, Biblical epics and cartoons. We didn’t have cell phones in those days and my friends and I contacted each other by personal contact. I went on my first date when I was 18 or 19 (there’s no such thing as a perfect date) and we used to go to movies or parents house. I met my wife at a church youth camp.

How has South Africa changed since you were young?
South Africa has changed drastically ,in most cases for the worst. There is more crime today, violence and the moral standards have dropped to a great degree..

Do you have any interesting information about your own grandparents?
My grandmother was a wonderful mentor. I never knew my grandfather but I had a wonderful godfather. I am from Welsh, Scottish, and Irish descent. I never knew my Campbell grandparents.

What advice can you give to help us in our lives?
The best advice that I can give is to always be truthful, honest and faithful. Live a life honouring to God.

Any herbs and remedies that were popular when you were a child?
Old remedies included castor oil, Vicks, Borstol and honey.

Any other interesting stories you could tell us?
As a young teenager, I spent many happy hours playing on the mine dumps in the Transvaal (Gauteng), flying kites and playing “klei lat”.

Rod is a writer and he has written a book about puppets that he made. I wrote about his new book that he is working on.

MR. FLIPPIT!
In my new book , I am writing about “The Wonderful World of Mr Flippit”. It’s about the adventures of a most wonderful mechanical toy, which is both clockwork, steam and electric. Mr Flippit has a wonderful friend called Clockit, who spends all his time trying to keep Mr Flippit on time, as he is always late. Mr. Flippit has another two other friends called Mr.Coppit and Dogit. The book has 52 stories about their wonderful adventures in the Land of It, because all the toys have a It at the end of their name .

Rod also enjoyed learning to blog. I helped him with this.

It was wonderful interviewing Rod. He loved his little keepsake booklet that I gave him at the end of the project.

Everyone was sad to say goodbye. I know the senor citizens will look at our blogs.