Sarah Britten resident reflects on Sandton’s then, now, and tomorrow
Buccleuch resident Sarah Britten shares her unique experiences from growing up in Sandton.
Bryanston-raised Buccleauch resident Sarah Britten (49) recalls growing up in Sandton during the years of apartheid where all the children wore brown corduroy everything.
Children’s television programming in English was on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays; while most parents across Sandton were glued to Dallas on Tuesdays after 8pm.
“It was wonderfully ordinary, now that I think about it,” Britten reflected, painting vivid pictures of being a Bryanston primary school learner in 1986. “I was in Standard 4 (Grade 6) at Bryanston Primary and got laughed at when I told my class that Zulu would be an official language one day.”
Britten feels it’s important to acknowledge how South Africans who were born before 1994 experienced our collective past, as – back then – race determined every aspect of people’s lives.
“I was very proud that Sandton chose to ignore the Group Areas Act, and my grandparents in Bryanston had black neighbours in 1987,” said Britten, remembering how different the years have been for non-white South Africans, and the factors which led her to eloping with her husband nine years later. “While I was a kid drawing endless horses in my sketchpads, my now husband was involved with Azapo and ended up leaving the country to avoid the security police.”
Times have thankfully changed, and South Africa’s sordid past is now nearing the stages of being nothing but a slight echo in the memory of all who survived those days.
In the present, Britten works as a brand strategist. In-between, she paints artworks using lipstick (see related article). She spends her free time bird watching – admiring the birds in her community, situated near the Modderfontein Nature Reserve.
The chances at self-definition and creating meaning for herself through her work, art and hobbies are motivating factors which influence Britten’s positive outlook on the future becoming.
“The world is a very interesting place,” Britten said, sharing her reasons for revisting her hobby of writing fiction as a remedy to doomscrolling on social media. “The huge increase in interest in AI (artificial intelligence) has reminded me that human creativity is precious; [meaning] be flexible, open to new experiences, and willing to find new ways to approach a problem. Keep your options open. That means being truly present when it matters.”
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