Story Chapter 45 ~ Suzy Duncan

I've blogged this photo before me and my school friends around Christmas 1990. Me in the front and my friend Suzy Duncan in the blue.

Around the time of my 5 birthday we moved from Albany Street to Leith street- just up the road and around the corner. Our Landlords were Laurel and Mabel Grundy. They lived diagonally over the back fence from the house we were renting. Most weekends their Granddaughters Suzy and Lisa would come and stay- or at least visit. As we were in the heart of the student flat zone I was the only kid in my neighbourhood for the vast majority of the time we lived there. With one really hot exception- my first crush Tom Mountjoy. There's a lot of potential for being merciless teased by your parents when you like a boy with a name like that. But I digress.

Suzy was my very best friend out of school. And after her Mum died she spent practically every weekend at the Grundy's house. I really want to take the time to write down as many of the stories I can remember from our growing up together. But there's so much to tell.....

Her Nana was born in their Hyde Street home and lived there all her life. She lived through the depression and wars. She hoarded tinned food. She always had dinner on the table at 5pm. It was cooked on a coal range which burned almost continuously.

They had two sons, Laurence lived in America and when he came to visit gave us each $6 American dollars which was pretty exciting especially given the exchange rate back then.

The other son, Brian, lived in Dunedin, drove a Taxi for a while and then brought a Baked Potato 'cart' which he set up in the Octagon. Best baked potatoes ever. He was married to Betty- stinky mean cow! They had two kids Brendan and Megan and quite often came for Sunday dinner- always a roast. Or if it was someone's birthday they brought KFC for Sunday lunch.

Their daughter, Karen, was Suzy's mum. She died in a light plane crash- I'm guessing Suzy was about 7 or 8 at the time. We were discussing this one day in the presence of her little sister Lisa (aged maybe 4 or 5 at the time). Lisa got quite irate and upset and said their mum had died because she got very sick. We confidently insisted that no she'd been in a crash. At which point Lisa went to verify this information with her Nana. An extremely short time later we both got a HUGE telling off and I got sent home. I didn't really get it- we were just telling her the truth.

I think the Grass skirts came from Uncle Laurence- don't we look flash!

The other time we got in some fairly serious trouble was when we took ourselves up to the Sunday service at Knox Church and then onto Sunday school. After we went home and told her Nana all about it. She was absolutely mortified- because our clothing was far from any ones idea of 'Sunday best'. 

A lot of the stuff we did was fairly mundane. Sitting on the side fence of my house with our skipping ropes strung around the top bar- riding imaginary horses. Slumber parties, watching (or not in Suzy's case) the Sunday Horror's if it was holidays or a long weekend. Just generally hanging out and playing.

Suzy with my kitten, Mouse. And my friend Tracey with my cat Tiger.

But when we got a little older and were allowed to get out in the world and explore we got into some serious mischief.  The house was in the heart of the university student flat area and both the university and the river Leith were just down the road.

We spent weekends building huts and forts along the river. Collecting plums and pears from a couple of trees. Attempting to fish, rafting down on inner tubes and breaking into the Kindergarten so we could play with all the cool stuff (we tidied up afterwards). 

We also used the university itself as a playground. The Burns Building was easy to weekend access and we would play amongst the seats in the vast lecture theatres. We could but the slide projectors on and draw on the black boards. They had those rolling ones- where you can write a message and then roll it around till it's hidden.... until some unsuspecting lecturer goes to use it on Monday morning. :-) The fifth floor of the burns building had a photocopier which was our unofficial supply of drawing paper.

The Hocken Building was also relatively easy access- it involved laying in wait for someone to come into work on the weekend- which happened fairly regularly and then when they'd left the door to close and lock slowly on it's own we'd run up and intercept it before it did. Wait for the sound of the elevator doors closing and then check to see what floor they had gone to. Then if it was safe head up to seven. The child psychologists had a playroom totally set up with the most awesome toys and a one way glass window for observation. We had the best time with the toys- and we only ever got caught once. And we didn't even get into trouble.

One time on a Friday night they had a Barn Dance for Orientation week and me and Suzy spent some time helping out by collecting and refilling the empty beer jugs- because as to be expected at these things the bar was really busy. I think we were maybe 8 or 9 years old.

Me and Suzy waiting for a train with my grandfather

- it was probably a railway picnic or something.

We used to like to play imaginary games too. We brought cute little torches from the dairy on the corner and went all over the university pretending we were Charlie's Angels. We played famous five when Brendan and Megan were over and made Lisa be Timmy the dog.

We didn't attend the same primary school- Suzy went to the more advance North East Valley Primary- where they had BOYFRIENDS in standard 4!!!! But we did go to High school together and I'm happy to say remained friends until we went our separate ways for University.

I used to talk endlessly at school about all the things "Me & Suzy Duncan" did on the weekend. It was a super cool friendship and I missed her terribly during the week. Only to be reunited again every Friday night.

♥