My vreugdes en frustrasies

WPChallenge

Number 29 – Going up! Going down!

Discover Challenge: Numbers

The last few years of my corporate life before blessed retirement I worked in a Johannesburg high rise building with 29 floors, all very modern and lah-di-dah. We had banks of elevators (referred to as lifts in South Africa) serving different common floors, and used by dozens of workers going up and down every single minute of the day. Stepping into the lobby you had to select the desired floor number from the wall panel whereupon the number of your elevator would flash on the screen.

We then queued up in front of the appointed elevator and waited for the doors to open. Once inside the elevator, a preppy computerised voice would inform us of our progress by announcing each floor. With so many people riding up and down, the elevator, without fail, stopped on every floor. Guess on which floor I worked!

This challenge reminded me of an old song by Jeremy Taylor, a retired English folk singer and songwriter who has spent much of his life in South Africa. He never hesitated to address social problems in society through his song lyrics, but always in such a way that his followers took no offense and were encouraged to laugh at themselves. In South Africa he was best known for the iconic song Ag pleez Deddy, but his elevator song (in the video below) was always my personal favourite.

Download this song on your iPhone and next time you get into an elevator, you can hum the tune under your breath; riding up 29 floors will become a pleasure – guaranteed!

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23 Comments

  1. sommer so vroeg-vroeg, waar ek veronderstel is om my e-posse te lees, koggel jou blog my en sit ‘n glimlag op my gesig, gelukkig vir my is ek sommer nog altyd vas op die grondvlak wat my werksaamhede betref.

  2. Wonder of die trappe nie vinniger sou wees nie! Dit klink na ‘n dagreis!

    • Comment by post author

      Daai trappe! Ons het gereeld “fire drills” gehad en eers gaan daai vreeslike sirene af, dan kom die luidsprekers aan om die “fire marshalls” uit te roep. Dan vlieg almal (sonder skoene) teen daai trappe af tot op die veilige bymekaarkompunt. Dit het my lam gelaat vir ‘n dag lank.

  3. Kostelik!

  4. Oh no, what a time-consuming trip using the elevator in those days. Kan onthou in OK en CTC winkels in Pta met die ou wat knoppies vir jou druk en vir jou vra waarheen jy wil gaan

    • Comment by post author

      Ja, en wat van die traliehek wat hy oop en toe gestoot het met so ‘n klingelgeluid soos ‘n tros kettings. Dan skud en hik die wa so ‘n slag voordat hy koers kry. Daar is nog van hulle in die ouer geboue, maar die meeste is darem al vervang.

      • Ha ha, ja. Mens kon ook partykeer deur die skreef tussen deur en vloer kyk en doer diep onder sien. In vandag se tyd sou dit baie scary gewees het.

        • Comment by post author

          Dis nog steeds scary in die nuwe hysbakke ook, veral as die mense dit so volpak. Dink net – daardie metaalbak hang aan staaltoue wat op en af getrek word deur “pullies”. Wanneer glip een van hulle los? Nee, ek klim liewer trappies wanneer ek kan.

        • Stem nogal saam. Ek raak ook benoud so tussen n klomp mense en dan nog in n klein spasie wat beweeg ook! Trappe is beslis veiliger. Ek sal selfs eerder trappe klim as om roltrappe te gebruik- netso grillerig vir my!

  5. Blog Andrew

    A very entertaining post 🙂

  6. Well I guess all jobs have their ups and downs! 🙂

  7. Heel leuk, ik ken de artiest niet , hij geeft een prachtige voorstelling.
    Een mooie mimiek 😄