PFP personalities

I have unearthed some more drawings from my time spent as a PFP organiser in East London between 1981 and 1984.

We organised and attended numerous public meetings. I can't recognise who this speaker is, but this must have been a PFP meeting during an election in the early 1980s.

Finally I have found the only drawing I did of an ageing Bunny Stevens, who was regional chairman of the PFP in the Border for many years and a former Selborne Primary headmaster. I think this was done when we attended a regional AGM at the Hexagon Hotel in Queenstown.

Another drawing from that meeting, though I can't recall who this character was.

With Grahamstown falling in the Border region, the PFP attracted a fair smattering of very learned Rhodes University academics. I can't say this was one of them, but he certainly has an air of erudition about him.

Many of our supporters were also enlightened and intelligent farmers from the area, such as our only MP, Errol Moorcroft. This guy looks familiar but I can't recall his name. Among the stalwarts from the farming areas was Dougie Trollip, father of the present DA parliamentary leader, Athol, and Bin Goddard.

This is a younger member, whose name eludes me.

My brother Ian for a time went out with Carmen Demarez, if that's how you spell he surname. She seemed to have accompanied us on this trip.

Definitely one of our hinterland, farming community members, but quite who I can't recall.

Many of the old stalwarts were women, who often eschewed leadership roles, but worked very hard for the cause.

I think we're back in the PFP office in Devereux Avenue, East London, and one of our volunteers is enjoying a cuppa. The yellow canvass card makes a nice contrast to the blue ink.

Another of our volunteers, her hand "punched" through, as this was a canvass card for polling district 1127, which if I recall correctly was in the East London City constituency, possibly the Quigney.

As mentioned earlier, for a time we had a very short woman called Madge working as secretary. This is a none-too-flattering view of her.

In something of a coup, for a time the PFP had Dr Marius Barnard as an MP. This is his world famous brother, Dr Chris Barnard, who performed the world's first heart transplant. It was drawn from a photograph.

There was a joke doing the rounds when this man was the only English-speaker in the Nat government. How does the minister of finance get his money? Like any other Horwood. This was Owen, again done from a photo.

On one occasion we made a whistle-stop visit to Cape Town for a PFP Youth conference, driving all the way from East London and back in a couple of days. This I recall as being my late brother Alistair's left hand, in a glove, holding the steering wheel of his Fiat.

En route I recall doing this quick sketch of a vintage car somewhere on the Garden Route.