Behind the Scenes

Churches, prisons & Cars

i Everybody,

As we plough through the winter months and getting up in the dark to go shoot in faraway dorpies gets harder and harder, here’s a quick summary of what’s been happening Just Off the Highway.

First and most wonderfully, the restoration of the faithful Toyota has been completed and she looks magnificent! Old Skool Customs did her proud. You can watch part 2 of the process on YouTube (Episode 60).

ALWAYS SURPRISING FREE STATE

ere’s a view of a Free State farmhouse lawn as the morning dew reveals dozens of spider webs on the lawns.

I was distracted by the days shoot, but I must have stored the webs and hyper-awareness of spiders in the back of my mind, so as I stepped into a thoughtfully decorated guest bathroom and saw the following:

OLD SKOOL CAR RESTORATION

y 1972 Toyota Corona has been a key element in making Just Off the Highway happen. This wonderful vehicle has carried me faithfully, although not very speedily, for nearly 60 episodes and over 30 additional episodes for members only.

But over the years, paint fades, rust forms, rivets loosen and strange noises begin to emanate from the exhaust. (And that’s only my condition! I’ll get back to talking about the car in a moment.)

JOURNALS AND OTHER MERCHANDISE

ou’ve found our exclusive, branded “Just Off the Highway” journals. I’m so glad you’ve followed the trail this far!

Enjoying the stories? I get so many of them from conversations with fascinating people who share their family histories, personal journeys or half-remembered myths and urban-legends. These storytellers take me through a landscape that’s alive with adventure, and unique insights.

Building Johannesburg on MIX 93.8 FM

t was always a great experience to spend time in the MIX 93.8 FM studio with Graham Alexander on his show, “Building Johannesburg”.

"THE GHOST OF DE DEUR" episode 54

switch off the Corona’s engine and kill the lights. The legend of the headless biker of De Deur demands a moonless night, so it’s almost completely dark.

Corné, the videographer is fiddling with the settings on his camera. He’s switched to low- light mode (infra-red) and he has to clamber into the back seat where he perches on top of a tripod, drone and various sharp and uncomfortable bits of gear, trying to create some distance between me and the lens, so he can focus. The image is either non-existent or totally washed out when it catches a passing car’s headlights.

"Dear Alice..." pitstop episode 06

"Dear Alice..." An account of a Flying Boat journey from Southhampton to Johannesburg

What follows is the full text of the letter written by Jack Hunt to his wife Alice about his journey by B.O.A.C. Flying Boat (Severn) from Southhampton to Johannesburg in 1948. It is a vivid snapshot of life at that time. It is personal, authentic, and of its time, using the language and descriptions of the day. It begins with a short note from Jack’s daughter, Janice, who transcribed his handwriting. Once again, thank you to Janice Kelly and Ian Hunt for sharing their family history to help capture a colourful period of South African history. – Al Prodgers

I have typed this as written and spelt by Daddy as I wanted it to be an exact copy. There are two words that we just could not make out and are marked (?). There are 3370 words in the letter! Fantastic when you think he had only arrived at the hotel at lunch time. Janice Kelly

The old brixton cemetery episode 35

Arrived here to look for the grave of three of Daisy De Melker’s poisoning victims, her first husband, William Alfred Cowle, her second, Robert Sproat, and her son, Rhodes Cowle. The ever thrifty Daisy had buried them all together in one family plot.

Unfortunately, cemetery records have been lost or destroyed and finding the right grave was going to be a daunting task. The security guard was as helpful as he could be, pointing out roughly where graves of the same period are located, for example, burials from the 1920’s in one area, 1930’s in the next, etc. So Corné and I began to search, up and down the rows…

We went on for hours and, as the sun began to set, we knew we would have to give up. I had a rough idea of what the little headstone looked like from an old photo I found on the internet, but it was small and unremarkable. Easy to miss. I remember thinking, “Well, we’re never going to find it unless it wants to be found.” As I squinted into the sunset, I saw it. Easily thirty or more metres away. I just knew it was the right one. You are welcome to scoff, but at that moment, it was as though it said, “Here we are.” We only had a few minutes left to shoot. If you revisit the episode, you’ll see the light is evocative, the shadows are long and as we told the story, the quiet of the surroundings and the reality of what had happened to these people, felt very real.

Majuba Mountain episode 31

I wasn’t prepared for Majuba. The tale of the famous Boer victory over British forces in 1881 is so deep in the fabric of South African storytelling that it’s difficult to look through the haze of myth and encounter the real battlefield where men gave their lives.

But first, there’s the slog to the top. Although I’d done my research on the battle, words like “steep” and “lack of cover” take on a whole new meaning when you’re walking the ground as opposed to reading them in a book.

Also, we had been warned by the owner of the property (It’s on private land, so visitors need permission to visit.) that there was a thunderstorm on the way. Getting caught in a thunderstorm up there could be deadly. Corné and I had a tiny window of time and light to get up, shoot the scene and get down safely.

If you revisit the episode, the sweaty urgency of the climb is authentic. After the first part of the climb, there’s a wide, flat “step” before a second, much steeper climb. The British were at the very top, firing down onto the step at the Boers who were trying to cross without anywhere to shelter.

Legend has it that the Boer fighters invented the concept of fire and movement on that very day. Now, fire and movement is a foundation of any modern infantry advance. Part of the force fires at the enemy to keep their heads sown, while the other part moves through the danger zone.

As we crossed that open ground, it didn’t take too much imagination to feel how exposed and vulnerable they must have been. Distant thunder added to the effect. And at that moment, I realised what an honour and pleasure it is to make “Just off the Highway”. I had the privilege of walking this battlefield, and the responsibility to try to communicate the experience to the viewers. It made the drive and the climb and the whole process, worthwhile.