Our initial supply order which we had sent from Cape Town was gradually used up, and when I re-ordered flour I forgot that we had originally ordered 100 lbs and was still thinking with a �town� mind, and I was astonished to find that 5 lbs didn�t go very far when everything, including the daily bread, was made at home. I thought Arthur�s bread, which he made in a huge circular pot, was disgustingly sour, but the men didn�t seem to mind.

I found suppers difficult to organise, and I�d say despairingly to Arthur: �But what would you do for the Nkos�s supper if I were not here?� - and he would look at me helplessly, and I�d say: �Oh, well, open a tin of sardines.� Pat liked sardines, and they were easily and cheaply obtainable even at little wayside native stores.

Pat spoke Xhosa with most of his staff, many of whom had been to Johannesburg to work on the mines, but he gave up trying to teach me Xhosa as I could not do the right clicks. So gradually I learnt chilapalapa, and my first phrase was �bwesaro bath� as I visualised the words phonetically. On this call Arthur brought the very big galvanised iron bath tub into our bedroom, then fetched from the outside fire two petrol tins of boiling water which he poured into the tub, he added one petrol tin of cold water, and left another cold one for the bather to help himself. I surprised Pat and Arthur by asking for cold water only for my bath - in Melsetter in winter - but I didn�t stick to this for long, as it�s impossible to have a quick immersion in a tub!

I went round with Pat all the time, loving the beautiful setting and the magnificent views. A week or so after we had arrived, we left for Salisbury. Travel was slow, particularly with the pickup which was still giving trouble after Duly�s had serviced it a month before. We spent a night with Neta Margesson at Mudema at Cashel - it was about now that Vere got a job as a Cattle Inspector and Neta carried on the struggle with the farm, and we regularly stayed at Mudema on our way to and from Umtali. Reggie was at boarding school, and Michael was at home being taught by Neta. In Umtali I saw Dr Rail, whose name had been given me by Dad, thinking at that time that our baby would be born in Umtali.

In Salisbury we stayed with Uncle Jack and Aunt Ethel. Jack wasn�t enthusiastic about Pat�s plans for farming in Melsetter, but I only realised his deep knowledge of the problems when I was researching for �The Story of Melsetter� - and we certainly didn�t listen to him seriously. In Cape Town, winters start in May, so most of my clothes were winter ones, and I sweltered in Salisbury�s heat on 1st June.

On our way home we attended a house sale in Umtali, conducted by Johnny Holland. His wife Joan was so kind to me, and we sat and chatted while the auction went on and I enquired anxiously of her whether Pat had a reasonable acquisition every time we heard some article knocked down to him, and she assured me he had acquired some bargains - two big wardrobes, a washstand, and other much-needed furniture. In town we bought some basic linen, as I had found that Pat had so far bought for the farm only one dozen pillowcases and sheets and towels for his own use, and we had to use the �guest� linen which we had brought from Cape Town.