Читать книгу Elita and her life with F.W. de Klerk - M Meiring - Страница 12

The house Tony bought was typical of his extraordinary character. It was a manor house, a beautiful, historic home, parts of which dated back to the sixteenth century and the reign of Henry VIII. Called Stud House on account of the royal stables nearby, it lay in the exclusive confines of Hampton Court Park and possessed large reception rooms, eight bedrooms, a glass conservatory and extensive gardens.

The Georgiadises did not know at the time that the house had connections with South Africa: it had once belonged to Lady Sarah Wilson, daughter of the Duke of Marlborough and aunt of Winston Churchill. Her husband, Lieutenant-Colonel Gordon Wilson, was aide-de-camp to Colonel Baden-Powell during the Anglo-Boer War and in 1909, when she was living at Stud House, Lady Sarah wrote a book, South African Memories, recounting her adventures during that war. She met many of the leading figures of the day, including Cecil John Rhodes, whom she visited at Groote Schuur.

In London, Elita made a concentrated effort to improve her English. Elita has never been afraid to display ignorance on a subject or to ask penetrating questions. She employed a “teacher” who was able to improve her social as well as her language skills. “We had history lessons as well and in a way she taught me how to be a good hostess, because she taught me to read up on the background of whoever would be coming to dinner.”

So when the Georgiadises had German guests, their hostess was prepared. She knew that Germany was a federation and that the United States had a two-party system. Luckily, she admits, she was never in situation where she had to criticise or defend a political system of any kind!

She also remembered one of her mother’s rules for conversation. “By all means inquire after your table companion’s children, but first find out if he is actually married and does have children.” With her love of art, she would sometimes talk about painters and paintings and would quickly take note if the subject sparked no interest in her companion.

She also learned little tricks to evoke a response in people. Over time the Georgiadises were able to establish warm relations with Margaret Thatcher, but Elita initially felt that the Iron Lady preferred the company of men and hardly noticed other women. Her breakthrough came at a reception when she spontaneously said to the older woman, “You look lovely in that dress.”

Not perhaps what one should say to a politician of such stature, it was also not in Elita’s nature to make such a personal remark, but the formidable Margaret Thatcher immediately softened and a closer bond developed between the two women. “We even got to the stage where we could discuss world affairs”, laughs Elita.

Little Clio Georgiadis was born in April 1972, shortly after the move to Stud House. Tony quickly saw to it that staff were appointed, including a Portuguese couple, Alice and José. In spite of the excitement of a new baby and a new house and trying to establish a foothold in a new country, something worried Elita, something that she could not quite pin down.

From a casual remark made by Lady Crawford she suddenly realised that Katingo, who was the daughter of shipping magnate Nicos Pateras, seemed to feel much more at ease in the Georgiadis family that she did. Why, wondered Elita, does Katingo seem so at home and I do not?

Then, thanks to her sharp perceptions, she realised that the reason might be that she had brought no dowry with her. Katingo would definitely not have come empty-handed into the family. Rightly or wrongly, George Lanaras had a good laugh at his daughter’s “discovery”. He immediately acknowledged that the Lanarases were very thoughtless, even caddish in this regard. It was an extremely important and sensitive issue for Elita, but he continued to chuckle about it, He did however immediately transfer a considerable sum of money to her account.

There was something else that niggled. Alice, Elita’s housekeeper, agreed. In this peaceful, quintessentially English landscape of roses and lawns and the clip-clop of horses’ hooves they missed the constant roar of traffic.

This paradise is too quiet, the two women said to each other. Neither would ever feel completely at home in England.