My dear sister, Beth was born just 15 months after me . She was  Grannie Murrison's fifth child.  Looking at old photos, it seems not to have taken too long before she grew big enough to look like my twin!  We had one thing which made us very different, though - our hair!  While we were both happy with our very blond hair-colour, she hated her curly mop, & I bemoaned my straight silk!  We used to wish we could do a swop!   ( I presume we would only have  been "hair aware" at ages 4 plus, or older! )

Another memory of childhood with Beth (remembering this was the frugal war years) was how much fun we had with toys which kids today might reject!  We had a small box containing a tiny PLASTIC village.  (NB - PLASTIC was invented around then ! )  Beth & I spent many happy hours in the garden - with this handful of plastic - setting up the village - in "forests" & with " rivers" aplenty - thanks to a dribbling hosepipe!  Those were the days - little money, but carefree kids!!  Having said that, our parents were as generous as they could be - so we had some very lovely bicycles & tricycles which were treasured! Some of these were obtained  primarily with Duncan in mind, as he had one weak leg from polio at 9 months old, & needed to have exercise regularly.

This story of Beth's childhood illustrates the communication between the two of us. Only after we moved away to NZ - & therefore we only rarely saw one another -  have I realized what a unique way we had!  I still cannot really understand HOW we did it !!      For example :
Beth & I shared a bed, at some stage when we were kids.   .After lights-out, at bedtime, we would hold hands - so we could continue  "chatting" (in the old sense of the word!) until we fell asleep !   I wish I could remember HOW ?  Beth did not learn sign language, so we must have made up our own version. I just know we did communicate. just by hand contact!   As an example -    I remember, one night  I heard a fluttering sound in the darkness of our room, &  assuming it was a moth, I cruelly decided to scare Beth !    I "told" her  "A huge cockroach is flying around our room!" Then we both screamed & jumped out of bed to turn on the light....&,  low & behold,  there WAS a cockroach - a HUGE Durban Special... & it had landed on the wall above our headboard! (How big brother Robbie came to the rescue is another story ) but - I am amazed now, NOT  then - that Beth understood what I was saying, in darkness!!

Our  communication, in daylight, was also a source of much fun for us both at times!   We would go to social events, as teenagers, & even if we were sitting far enough away from each other, for me not to be able to hear a person at a similar distance,  we would be able to 'tell' each other who we thought was the coolest boy in the room !  This was done with just a raised eyebrow, or a flick of a finger.or??  Amazing! 
I was slightly nervous, the 1st time we met again after many years apart - would we remember  how we communicated? I needn't have worried - we simply fell into our old way of talking together. Of course, as adults, we no longer spoke in the dark of night! But, we still could communicate - at a distance:-)
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Beth started her schooling as a pupil in a private school set up by, initially, about 5 families ( 2 of whom were wealthy) & all did not want their children shipped off to boarding school in Johannesburg!  Our parents somehow managed to contribute to this venture.  A teacher was recruited from Britain (?), & so a deaf school was started in Durban. The emphasis was on lip-reading (not sign language) & on modulating the voice..
I think Beth's lifestyle changed dramatically after that, as she  became close to her school friends, & other posh people, & one family were North Coast sugar farmers, who had a beach house too, so off she went for the holidays!  They were lovely people, so our parents rather reluctantly allowed her to go - often.     I am pleased to say their friendships lasted many years.  Her closest friend,  Heather, died some years ago.

Beth began her working life as a draughtswoman at the Durban Corporation.  After some time she hated it !  So she then worked on getting a Wireman's License, after which she joined the Govt.Telephone Department,  wiring  'boards' at the telephone exchange. She loved this job! She also was highly valued there. Her boss said he found deaf people concentrated better than most hearing people. Added to that, she was popular, full of fun - & beautiful !
She wanted a car!  She asked me to teach her to drive. I remembered my abject nervousness when I learnt - with Nils, so I expected her to be even MORE nervous!   But - not a bit of it! She was cool, calm & collected, & very soon had her licence - then bought her 1st car! -Wow.

When she met Weitz Botes, he had a motorbike.    I'm not sure what she felt about it, then -  but later, when they were ''serious'' about each other, she gave (or lent?) him her car, as she didn't like him riding the motorbike; & anyway, she said, she wanted another model ! Which she went ahead & bought!  THAT was the Beth I knew!!

I richly value my years with my lovely sister!    And, all the photos Uncle Nils has sent will tell the stories - of precious times, with all of us together. How I enjoyed them!   So, so special !   What a privilege to be with siblings - even into old age!  And, just as important, to have the joy of catching up with the younger crowd - & THEIR children!   It is what life is all about.

Mona, Debbie & Mark - you were raised by a spirited, kind, brave lady - who  lived her life  with dignity & honour.. You can be proud to call her Mom!
I pray you will all carry good memories, of both your parents, for all of your lives, & that you will tell your children the positive stories of the lives of their dear grandparents.