When I was about 1 year old my mother needed to go out and asked Oupa to look after me. He decided it would be nice to take me for an outing, a ride in his car. In those days there were no safety belts and of course no baby seats. So I sat on the front seat as Oupa drove and I suppose he told me about the places we passed.

Apparently he wasn’t a very good driver and at one stage he had to suddenly swerve and the car door on my side opened, I fell out, he righted the car, the door shut and Oupa carried on driving unaware that his grandson was no longer in the car.

I can imagine the reactions when he returned home without Anthony, with no idea where I was and what had happened. I was told that a passer-by took the crying baby to the nearest police station. My hysterical mother reported my disappearance to the police and I was fortunately restored to my family.

They say my mother didn’t speak to Oupa, her father in law, for 2 years after this.