BoereworsExpress Sep 2021

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where Yvonne spent a year at Rhodes University, before returning
to the UK.
On a Swedish holiday in the late 1940s, she took her first passenger
flights. She eventually got a flight attendant job with Scottish
Airlines and then with the British Overseas Airways Corporation. In
1952 she took her first flying lesson. After four months she received
her private pilot’s licence, and in 1958 a commercial licence.
She married Eric Pope, a flying instructor, in 1953. He died of a
cerebral haemorrhage the day after the birth of their second son,
Chris, in 1955. Yvonne worked in Exeter as an instructor, before
training as an air traffic controller with the Ministry of Aviation at
Hurn Airport, Bournemouth. She become one of the two first
British female flight controllers. In 1966 she began her flying career
with Morton Air Services. On 14 Feb 1970, she became Britain’s
first female jet airline pilot, as co-pilot on a Dan-Air De Havilland
Comet 4 to Las Palmas. In 1974 she captained an Avro 748 flying
Gatwick-Bristol-Beauvais-Gatwick with the first all-female crew.
She retired in 1980.
In 1966 she met Miguel Sintes in Menorca and they were married in
1970. After her retirement, they settled on the island. Miguel died in
1999 and Yvonne moved back to the UK.
Her son John died last year. She is survived by her other son Chris,
a granddaughter, Samantha, and grandson, Lewis, and two greatgrandchildren.
Her autobiography, Trailblazer in Flight, was
published in 2013.
Reinette Wilhelmina Uys born 1929 in Uitenhage, the daughter of
David Schalk Weidemann and Maryna Adriana McKay. She died
on 25 Jan 2021 in Youngstown. Ohio. She had 11 siblings, Estelle
van Jaarsveldt is her only surviving sibling. Her father worked for
SA Railways in Uitenhage. She married Johannes M. Uys in 1952,
and they moved to the US in 1955. They lived first in Boston and
Pittsburgh. In 1960, they moved to Youngstown, where, except for
five years in Chicago. They had four children. Johannes worked in
the steel industry. They raised their family in Boardman Township
and spent their later years on the North Side of Youngstown.
Reinette was active in the Youngstown community and was a
member of the board of directors of Stambaugh Auditorium. She
was a runnerand won her age group in the Youngstown Peace Race.
She was a member of Youngstown Country Club, where she
enjoyed tennis and swimming. Reinette did volunteer work at Park
Vista retirement home, as well as with Planned Parenthood, where
she was chair of the Mahoning Valley Chapter.
Her son, David, died in 1978. She is survived by her children, Eric
Uys, J. Peter Brinker Uys of Atlanta, and Tina and Peter Bedell of
Chicago; her grandchildren, David and Caroline; and beloved
family friend, Charles T. Wingo of Atlanta, as well as 32 nieces and
nephews and their children in South Africa, England, Scotland,
Wales, Australia, the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Oman, New
Zealand and Zimbabwe.
John Parkin born 1958, died on 23 Aug 2021. He had long battled
cancer. After training as a photographer in the South African Air
Force, he worked for the Sunday Express newspaper in
Johannesburg, and in the mid-1980s began taking photos for The
Associated Press. He was known for helping other journalists out of
difficult situations. He moved to the UK in 1995, where he covered
news events, including the funeral of Princess Diana, and used his
expertise in information technology to work as a video journalist.
He is survived by two daughters, Emily and Francesca, and a
grandson, Isaac.
Nelia Scheeres (24) born 1997 the daughter of Dr Jan Jacobus
(Jaco) Scheeres and Madine. She died on 16 Aug 2021 in a collision
with a truck near Tralee, Co Kerry, Ireland, while driving home for
lunch during her first day of an 18-week internship. She was a
medical student starting her third year at the University of
Limerick's Medical School and lived in Castletroy, Limerick and
Barrie, Ontario, Canada. She graduated from St. Joan of Arc
Catholic High School in Barrie in 2015. She studied biomedical
science from 2015 to 2019 at the University of Guelph, where she
received a bachelor of science with honours. In 2019, she started a
four-year programme at the the University of Limerick.
She is survived by her parents, her twin brother Ian, and her sister,
Christie who is also a medical student at the University of Limerick,
as well as her grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, extended
relatives in South Africa, Holland and the US.
DID YOU KNOW?
Recently released data from the UK’s Home Office for 2020:
A total of 125,173 work visas were approved by December 2020.
Of these, 4,012 were granted to South Africans.
506,644 visitor visas were approved by December 2020. Of these,
17,288 were granted to South Africans.
There were 40,255 family visas granted. Of these, 1,497 were
granted to South Africans.
Data from the UK’s Office for National Statistics, as of March
2021:
South Africa has an estimated 229,000 people currently living in the
UK, with over 53,000 in London alone. It is the ninth country with
the largest overseas population in the UK. India (847,000), Poland
(746,000) and Pakistan (519,000) are the top three.
The London borough of Wandsworth is the borough with the
highest number of South Africans (estimated 6,000), while Merton
reported approximately 3,000 and Lambeth, Kingston and
Richmond each reported around 2,000.
There are around 13 South African shops in south west London
alone, selling a variety of South African groceries and food.
Beyoncé Knowles-Carter became the first Black woman to wear the
iconic Tiffany Diamond. It's been worn by four women so far: the
first was Mary Whitehouse (wife of American diplomat Edwin
Sheldon Whitehouse) in 1957; in 1961 it was re-set in Jean
Schlumberger’s Ribbon Rosette necklace, worn by Audrey Hepburn
in publicity photos for the film Breakfast at Tiffany’s; the stone was
reset for Tiffany's 175th anniversary and later worn by Lady Gaga
to the 91st annual Academy Awards; Beyoncé in 2021.
The Tiffany Diamond is one of the world’s largest and finest yellow
diamonds. Discovered in the Kimberley diamond mines in 1877, the
287.42-carat rough stone was acquired the following year by
founder Charles Lewis Tiffany for $18,000. The rough stone was
taken to Paris, where Tiffany’s chief gemologist, Dr. George
Frederick Kunz, supervised the cutting of the diamond into a
cushion-shape brilliant weighing 128.54 carats with 82 facets (24
more facets than the traditional 58-facet brilliant cut). The Tiffany
Diamond was the highlight of Tiffany’s exhibits at the 1893
World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago and the 1939–40
World’s Fair in New York City. Later appearances included the
2006 “Bejewelled by Tiffany” exhibition at Somerset House in
London, and an exhibition at the Smithsonian’s National Museum
of Natural History. In one of its rare appearances in Tiffany’s Fifth
Avenue windows, the diamond was placed in the hands of a gold
wire angel for a holiday display by Tiffany window designer Gene
Moore.
Boerewors Express was first published in May 1998 as an e-mail newsletter. In
September 1999, it became a print newletter. In July 2004 it moved to an online
blog until September 2013, after which it lay dormant. It's finally back as an online
newsletter now and looking to grow bigger than before.
This is not your usual South African expat publication - no politics, hate, or country
bashing - this newsletter is to discover, connect, inspire and grow South African
expat communities, Here we share the stories of the South African diaspora.
Boerewors Express - The South African Expat Newsletter
DISCOVER • CONNECT • INSPIRE • GROW
© Copyright 2021 All rights reserved.
Email: BoereworsXpress@gmail.com
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Boerewors Express ● September 2021 11