The Mirror would love to offer a 'Hatches, Matches and Despatches' section, as was done once upon a time in reputable rags across the world. It was Annetta Holmes who suggested it. Annetta is an ex Zimbo but keeps us all very much in the forefront of her heart.
So if you would like to advise the world of births, deaths and marriages, please send an email to Magskriel@mac.com.
Says Annetta -
As I reached marriageable age, what fun it was to pore over the 'Matched' section of The Chronicle.
Seeing the names of my school friends, proudly update their status from Oneness. Ringing out their futures.
Hours invested, friends consulted and mothers rallied to decide:
How many column inches, typesetting bold or not, will the heading be one or two lines above the print !
Of course, we the girls wanted a quarter page. Such flamboyance was frowned upon by our conservative elders, whose narrowed eyes chided "Let another praise you, and not your own mouth; a stranger, and not your own lips."
Once consensus was reached by Team Daughter, the ad was placed, we purpled with impatience and then OH! The day arrived. Our names in print.
Dads, who were mainly excluded from the process, due to their total 'What's all the fuss about,' were presented with the invoice.
A moment of silence before eyebrows shot up and a 'for a tiny little entry on practically the back page' escaped incredulous lips.
Sighs wafted around the room, a slight clenching of jaws and knowing looks exchanged.
All females present understood training wheels.
Dads failed to observe, yet. Their financial resistance was being ever so slightly erased.
Moving mindset, and their wallets, into position for the BIG EVENT.
How I wonder, the many homes across the globe, occupied with Jacaranda-loving women, clearing out their cupboards to come across a yellowed block of newsprint.
Lovingly clipped from The Chronicle and stored away in their cloud of yesterdays.
Please contribute to our Hatches, Matches and despatches. Even wedding anniversaries can be included. We were present at a fiftieth wedding anniversary recently in Cape Town, that of Angelo and Jane Stipinovich!
WATCH DOG