Why Dowerglen Ex4

LIVING IN DOWERGLEN EX4

My name is not important for this writing, but suffice it to say that I was born in abject poverty in the north of England, just before Hilter began dropping bombs on us every night. We lived in a compact house by todays terminology, one room upstairs to sleep five children and parents, one room downstairs that served as kitchen, living room dining and bathroom, The toilet was outside and was shared by four families. NO lock on the door, which is where I learnt to sing. My father was away for 5 years fighting Germans, so life was very hard, particularly for my mother.

On completion of my qualification from Technical College as draughtsman having studied 4 nights per week after work for 5 years, I was filled with a burning desire to look for better life for my wife and small son. So I paid our 10 pounds passage and we set sail for Australia, and after two years, returned to the UK. My dreams still unfulfilled and with the freezing rain pounding down horizontally we decided that there must be more to life than this. So in 1982 we arrived in Johannesburg and brought out home in Dowerglen Ext 4.

I have lived in many houses, in different areas, council houses with grass 3 feet high, old rusting cars on bricks, flats with neighbors thumping their wives, loud music until the early hours, barking dogs all night, you name it, I have seen it. Nowadays I drive home from work, put my disc to the boom that allows me entry into our secure suburb, and as it opens I wave to the smartly uniformed guard with a shiny black face who greets me with a huge grin. I drive along Juniper, a well-kept park on the right thanks to some wonderful and generous people who live in the area.

When that boom goes down behind me, I enter into another world, a place of beautiful houses, lovely people, gorgeous gardens, a place of safety from people who would rob and harm me, a place my wife and I can take a stroll at any time of day or night, greet children riding bicycles or sitting in the park just chatting and laughing together. Is there a better place to live and how has this been made possible?

Well, when we moved here in 2000, there were no booms or security. I remember we had about 3 hijackings per week. Then the residents were called to a meeting at the Sports bar, and the road closure was born, all thanks to Norman and Ingrid Preston, Johnny Dagastino, Eric Gibson of Pam Golding and others whose names I do not remember. I for one am o glad that they chose to live here instead of some other suburb as they strive keep this area secure, and to ‘weld’ us all into a happy family community