"I have moved but stayed" is the first thought that springs to mind.
My town have had a name change, and I needed to contact a friend in Mpumalaga(previously Eastern Transvaal) he used to live in Nelspruit, now Mbombela. I phoned his usual number and found that his secretary is still the same one , she bares the news that he is in Kruger National Park and would be back the following day. I requested that she ask him to phone me in Polokwane. She responded with a very uncertain sound in her voice. "Where in the world would that be", my reply furthered the confusion.
"it is between Mokopane and Makhado in Limpopo" I replied helpfully
I could hear that there is an uncertain silence, and her next question gave me the impression that she thought that I may have lost it!
" now where on heavens earth is that, and are you sure you are okay"
I thought that I would have to help her understand where I am and decided to explain what the route would be should you travel by car.
" well I explained, when you depart from Tswane northwards you would pass Bela-Bela and Modimole, and once you have passed through the Toll gates you would continue strait past Mokopane and that you would find Polokwane the next town, you should however take care because if you drive past Polowane you would be heading to Makhado to and eventually to Musina"
She immediately responded with
"Wow stop right there and please start from the beginning, and if I may I would like to ask the questions please"
Well I am patient and agreed to this request, I mean she needed clarity. What followed was quite comical.
"Sir" she asked " Were is Makhado"
I replied "between Polokwane and Musina" trying to be helpful
" this Musina where would that be" she asked
I assisted with " between Makhado and Harare"
Suddenly a light went on for her " do you live in Zimbabwe sir?"
"No I live in Polokwane in Limpopo in South Africa" I replied hoping that it would help her.
The following silence was an indication the she needed to gather her thoughts. This was followed with an hopeful question "Where would I find Tswane" hoping that she would hear a familiar name on the other end of the scale.
"that is easy, you would find it between Egoli and Bela Bela" was my honest reply. she stopped to ask "are you talking about the Town sir" and before I could answer she let me have the next question. "you are not perhaps Whackhead Simpson or Leon Shuster??" both well known pranksters here in South Africa.
I knew then that her confusion was far greater that I anticipated.
I needed to defuse the situation, and explained that the name changes for the name changes may be the reason for her confusion.
"Oh but please before you go may I have the old and new names for the Town that you have mentioned" she said.
and being so helpful I obliged with
"Egoli was Johannesburg , Pretoria changed to Tswane, Bela Bela was Warmbad before its name was changed". I continued by explaining that "Nylstroom changed to Modimole", she caught on and responded by saying that "Mokopane has to be Potgietersrus, and then Polokwane would have been Pietersburg! ". "Yes" was my reply and "Louis Trichardt is Makhado and Messiena changed to Musina".
She finally understood and promised that she would make sure that my friend would call me in Polokwane
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| This is an extract from Total's road atlas showing the old and new Town or City names |
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