There was nothing l liked more than telling stories ,when l was growing up you had to be seen to be doing something almost every time.lf you were not sweeping the homestead then you were washing the dishes or cooking,just to keep away from being punished for being idle.Our parents always shouted “an idle mind is a devil’s factory “every time you seemed to pass the time lazily,but nevertheless we knew the best time to tell stories uninterrupted was during the weekend when we went to the river to do our laundry.
Everyone piled their laundry until the weekend when washing would take place,at the riverside you would be forgiven to think it was a school day.Children from the neighborhood would meet at the riverside,we would tell jokes and stories as we waited for our laundry to dry.
Every time l looked at all the beautiful display with clothes spread all over l wanted to keep the memory over and over .l would have liked to take photos but alas ! a camera in those days was a luxury preserve for the village photographer.Hewas a man who was sure of himself,he never wore any other shoes a part from big brown boots and never ironed his clothes.What struck me most was his arrogance,he had little respect for anyone,not even the authority figures in our village.You should have seen him reprimand our village’s most respected man,the headmaster during a photo session just because he didn’t smile broad enough,or when our much loved veterinary officer kept clutching his brown bag in either hands. Mr photo man would make strange noises that would make you think of a bee trapped in a bottle if you didn’t obey his orders.No one dared to argue because if you did then the photo shoot would be cancelled at once.
How l wished l could take photos of the beautiful display of color at the riverside during our washing days but l had no money to pay him besides it would have been an insult to this intelligence.
I was so determined to keep the washing scene with me and so l learned to file everything l saw but this was done in my mind hence the THE WASHING DAY painting.
