One of the staff at T Bags said that she knew a boy called James (aged 8), whose grand father had been in the packaging business, and had been responsible for bringing the bread clip to South Africa many years ago.
We arranged for James, to come to T Bags to give a presentation to all the staff.
This was his story:
“My grandfather was born in Ireland around 1930.
After leaving school, he was very ill. He had something called rheumatic fever.
He was sent to Africa because of its warm weather, and he was supposed to go to live with his uncle in Kenya.
He got to Cape Town and liked it there.
When he asked about travelling to Kenya by rail, he learned that it would take several weeks. So he didn’t go to Kenya, and stayed in Cape Town instead.
He got married and started his own business called Packaging and Industrial Equipment.
He was mad about packaging and was always coming up with new ideas. On a visit to Europe, he found a new plastic clip and so he brought it into South Africa for people to use it here.
So that’s why we have the clip we’re collecting to raise money for a wheelchair.
My grandpa died when I was three, but I remember him very well. He loved to tell stories about the old days.”
