My name is Miles Sharpe.
Born in Pretoria in 1951.
Schooling at Robert Hicks and then Clapham High.

Started work as an apprentice tool maker at the railway workshops in Koedoespoort. Even helped to make tires for trains. Now I can hear it "tires for trains, this guy's a nut." Find out for yourself. Cannot remember why, but left after 2 years and went to Datsun Nissan in the same field. I was too naughty, so after about 2 years they asked me to leave. Joined Telcom. Or the then dept. of Posts and Telecommunications. Helped built the telex exchange in Pretoria. Learned a lot about cabling and soldering.

After 2 years I got transfered to Durban to be near to Mom and Dad who were in Amanzimtoti. Worked in the telex workshop for about two years and asked for a transfer to their garage and spend about 2 years working on the vehicles used by telcom. In this period in Durban I joined the Warnerdoon surf life saving club and spent weekends lifesaving there and in my leave spending a month or so life saving at Amanzimtoti. During this period I met a pretty girl on a blind date and we saw each other daily and the relationship got quite serious very quickly. Of course the lifesaving was the first thing that was stopped. Too many nice girls on the beach you know.

At work I was asked if I would like to erect buildings for telephone exchanges on the south coast. So off I went and between myself and another team we built most of the prefab exchange buildings down the coast.
The relationship with my favourite blind date kept going strong and I spent many hours on my Honda 500/4 travelling to and fro.
A few years later we got married and she came and lived with me onsite in the caravan. Somehow she fell pregnant. (still trying to work out why) and we had just bought her first preggy dress when one night things started happening. Rushed from Port Edward to Port Shepstone hospital and asked a nurse for help. She says "whats the problem" I said "my wife is having a baby". She says "thats no problem" I say "ok. But she is only due in 3 months time" She says " You have got a problem!" Anyway after many hours of back rubbing and all those things. Ian was born Two months and three weeks early.

The Doc said to me " just don't think about you having a child as his chances are not good at all" They didn't know Ian. He was a fighter from day one. I remember the nurses getting his drips and goodies setup and turning him onto his back, and within five minutes the drips were out and he was back on his tummy. They had a nurse at the incubator 24/7 as his lungs had not developed yet and if he gave one little squeal he stopped breathing and the nurse had to grab him and whack his bottom to get him breathing again. It was a very tough three months to go through till we could take him home to the caravan. But one of us had to watch him constantly. Same breathing thing. Anyway, he made it, and is a big boy of thirty-something now.

After 7 years out in the caravan we bought a house in Doonside and tried to settle down and I went back to the telex workshops. Settling down didn't work. We ended up getting divorced and life as a single guy started all over.