'I had a red coat and I stuffed the pockets and sleeves with the cash and proceeded to the office to pay for the vehicle.'

'I had a red coat and I stuffed the pockets and sleeves with the cash and proceeded to the office to pay for the vehicle.'

Rosemary remembers buying a car in Francistown, Botswana.

Rosemary McCloskey

Trinity College Dublin

1995

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Rosemary McCloskey

Work and Employment

Life Story

Gabarone, Botswana

1990's

I bought a Nissan Hi-rider truck in Francistown. I got money transferred from home for this. When I went to get a cheque or bank draft to pay for the truck, Barclay's bank wanted to charge me quite an amount for this, and so I requested that they would supply me with ten thousand Pula in cash. That took a while to get, but since I was only going a few doors up the street to complete the transaction, I deemed it inadvisable to spend that amount on the draft. I had a red coat and I stuffed the pockets and sleeves with the cash and proceeded to the office to pay for the vehicle. The girl asked me about terms, and I said that I only did cash, and so would she please count all the money, which I removed from the coat, to ensure it was the correct amount, and that is how I paid for the truck. I felt like queen of the road in driving along in that big white truck, and monarch of all I surveyed. Romuald was very pleased when he saw it land in Bulawayo, but since it was not insured for him to drive, my petrol bills did not increase as they might have done had he had access to it.

Irish Research Council for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)