January/February 2018

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Gladys Gallivants
Disaster Averted
My camera used to be an extension of my right arm,
always ready to get that perfect shot. On a plane from
Winkhoek returning to Johannesburg late afternoon
in the 1970s, I was all geared up to take a view of the
skyline with setting sun behind the Hillbrow Tower as
locals called it. Officially it is the JG Strijdom Tower,
height 269 m and the tallest structure in the Southern
Hemisphere until 1978. It is owned by Telkom, South
Africa’s telecommunications company.
Seat belt already fastened, shutter speed sorted, I was
poised . Click. “ Great, I have accomplished that task,”
I commented to the traveller beside me as I smugly
settled back in the seat and mentally ticked off my
photographic to do list.
Many rolls of film on South West Africa - now Namibia
safely packed in the hold. I was looking forward to
arranging my photographs and reliving a wonderful tour
of the area.
Then we were seeing the same view again, that’s
strange! I took another fantastic shot. The plane passed
the same way a third time, I began to wonder...
Next moment, a young steward ran down the aisle, lay
face down, pulled up a square of carpet and looked
through the glass window. He seemed to be checking
on something. “They are not
folding out,” he whispered
to his colleague. But some
passengers had heard. The
wheels on the fuselage just
below us were not working !
That was enough for my fellow
passenger. She called for a
brown bag and proceeded to fill it. We appeared to be
having a problem.
“This is your captain speaking,” a voice boomed out
through the loudspeaker, “Please keep your seat belts
fastened. Our landing has been delayed. We will be
circling the airport again.” He did not add, again and
again.
Eventually we did land safely, if rather overdue, with a
fanfare of fire engines and emergency vehicles rushing
to meet the plane at the far end of the runway. The
passengers gave the pilot a round of applause – relief, I
am sure.
A bus took us back to the terminal much later but all
in one piece. This was not quite the happy ending to
a spectacular holiday in Namibia, more on that land of
scenic contrasts another time.
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21 Albert Drive
Burgess Hill, RH15 9TN
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Hastings
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TN34 3DY
BN26 6AQ
BN25 1LT
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01424 43 99 11 01323 484 060 01323 491 616
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