Folks,
This was my contribution to the souvenir for the 50th anniversary celebration
of the 'new' clubhouse of the Dar-es-salaam Institute which was celebrated on
31st December, 2009.
Mervyn
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My parents, Dick and Tina Lobo, were the last couple to have their wedding
reception in the old G.I. building. They got married on 26th October, 1957 and
the old building got knocked down a week later. What makes this date more
memorable is that another couple, also Diogo and T. Lobo got married on the
same day, at the same church and had their reception at the G.I. too. Diogo and
Thecla Lobo's reception was from lunch time onwards and my folks had theirs in
the evening.
I was taken to the new club house on its opening day. That's the day, I am
told, I learnt to both walk and run as I explored every corner of the new
building. Ever since, the club has been a magical place to me. I clearly
remember Santa dancing on the roof of the club, in the early 1960s, before he
came down to the tennis court and distributed the presents that our parents had
bought. There used to be over 600 kids, waiting patiently, in three lines, for
Santa to give them their Xmas presents.
The social event of the 1960s was the Sunday evening tombola. While our parents
played in the hall, we kids got to play and fight with each other on the sunken
floor and behind the band-stage. As we grew older, the pass time was for the
"town boys" to fill an empty potato chip plastic packet with sand and throw it
high in the air so that the sand fell on the heads of the "Upanga boys." A few
years later, the game to play was "four poles," on the band-stage.
During the late sixties and early seventies, the St. Vincent de Paul Society
would organise a Whist Drive around Christmas time. While too young to play
cards at the time, I do clearly remember some of the best chutney sandwiches in
the world. That and some super hamper prizes, of which my parents won one or
two.
My most memorable D.I. moment of the 1970s is the Saturday evening when I went
to the club and saw Mother Theresa sitting on one of the chairs in the office.
She had just got permission to open her orphanage and was waiting to give a
fund raising speech in the club. Around the same time, the 2nd Dar-es-Salaam
Boy Scouts - The Arch-Bishops Own - sent Santa down to the sunken floor on a
thick sisal rope that stretched from the roof, above the "round-about," to the
sunken floor. George Remedious was Santa that year and he slowly floated down
on the sling attached to the rope. After that, my sisters, and others, believed
that Santa lived on the roof of the club.
The eighties were the years when my generation enjoyed ourselves the most. We
worked till 12.00 noon on Saturday and then headed straight to the club. As
relative beginners, we only got to play knock-out darts in the bar for the few
minutes before the "pombe, pombe" i.e. hard core dart players arrived. Many a
Saturday afternoon ended with a sing song near the "round-about." Snooker,
table-tennis and cards also attracted a lot of members' interest then.
What I will never forget is the annual Marrieds v/s Singles festivals. They
still go on but like any ol' hand, I will claim that those of the 1980s were
the best. Particularly delightful to watch was the nation-ball and tug-of-war
competitions. People who you would never think of as being fast movers,
suddenly became so.
When I left Dar in the 1990s, my main social activity in the D.I. was playing
lardis. If anything, that is when I got some idea on what excellent memories
most of the card players had.
The D.I. remains the best club house I have been too, both physically and in
the quality of its members. It is also where I had some of my most memorable
moments. It will always remain a magical place for me as I am sure it does for
most of you.
Mervyn Lobo
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