Friday afternoon.. For some reason my father always came home early on a Friday.
We all washed and dressed in ‘town’ clothes, then waited for him. We went to town to get books from the library and food, groceries for the week,I don’t know why we got so excited for we invariably ended up fighting in the back of the car! My two brothers would push me into a little bundle in the corner.. I tried to ‘escape’ by looking at everything we passed on our way, trying to read all the signs.
Our last was at the greengrocer owned by Portuguese immigrant. The shop was in a centre across the road from the Jungle oats factory. There was a fish and chip shop, hairdresser,corner cafe/bakery and a butcher as well as a chemist. Right at the end of the row of shops,at the exit of the parking space, there was a petrol station.
Every time we stopped there the siren a the milling company company would go off, indicating the end of a shift At the Milling company. Soon the factory workers would come across the road to get some provisions for the weekend on their way home. They were a distraction and I watched them as they wandered into the shops. All of them wore blue overalls and they were all black.
By this time my parents would be in the greengrocer’s,choosing vegetables and fruit with great care. We ( kids) remained in the car.I knew the shop would be tidy with it’s colourful wares displayed on sloping wooden shelves.l could see my parents and some other white customers in the shop.they were taking, even sampling some of the stock as they chose their purchases.There were three Portuguese people working in the store: one at the scales, weighing the produce, one at the cash register and another sweeping the floor or carefully unpacking note stock onto the shelves.
Some factory workers also entered the shop, but stood waiting in a group, not choosing what they wanted.It puzzled me.I saw the man unpacking the stock,going to the back,bringing overripe bananas. He weighed it and gave it to the blacks.every time a white customer approached the scales or wanted to pay,the blacks made way for them.This was so unfair! Dread thisformed a cold hollow in my tummy..
I looked at the other shops.As far as I could see the same, thing was happening there! Some shops even had separate entrances for blacks and whites! Nobody seemed to be bothered by this, they were obviously used to the system.. Why did it upset me so much?