KNYSNA NEWS - Three months after photographer Ian Fleming and his wife Glenda came to Knysna they fell in love with the Garden Route, bought their house and invested 20 years' savings and devotion into what is now simply a shell in Knysna Heights.
Fleming waivers between laughter and tears, as is the reaction of most people who have lost their homes. He is left wearing the clothes he had on the day of the fire, something borrowed and is wearing shoes supplied from a church donation centre.
Crazy things he says are, "I can't believe I wasted R600 on stocking up firewood for winter."
Fleming tells me he is a "braai nut" and had seven different kinds of braai objects, from roasters to smokers and even a special little braai he made for his grandson Jack.
He is annoyed to have lost a rotisserie he has been working on for ages, which now roasts a chicken silently.
The family saved up to finish the deck of their house 10 days ago at great cost – and they had to save for years to finish the deck.
They also created a flatlet for a Malawian couple who lived on the property.
This couple has lost their beloved cat Mia who they are still putting food out for in the hope she may wander onto the gravesite she once knew as home.
The 30 very valuable and special old koi fish in his pond are dead and he surveys what is a total ruin.
"I called this house Garden of Eden because it was so beautiful and what meant the most to me was living in a forest. We saw the loeries every day, the monkeys were a nuisance, but we enjoyed them. When people visited we had many offers to buy. I moved here because of my deep love for nature and this is what we created here with our home in the forest, which is estimated to have been 150 years old."
Glenda Fleming had been creating handmade greeting cards for years and they are all gone, including the templates.
Photographic business in danger
The family business in Gray Street, called Fleming Photographic, is intact but Fleming says, "I can't imagine what people will want photographed or framed now because this is a luxury. We haven't got a spare penny to put into the business."
So what now and where to for this family?
"Why live in Armageddon or the aftermath of a nuclear attack?" said Fleming when asked if he would consider rebuilding on this site, which is, or was, 25 Campbell Road. "My dogs are in Port Elizabeth with my son so I am going to him for now… And then I really don't know," he says.
Gaile and Klaus Schmitz down the road from Fleming are in a similar situation. They had no time to retrieve anything before the fire swallowed their lives, except Gaile did grab some undies.
This couple has lived in this house for 20 years of the 22 spent in Knysna.
Gaile is very philosophical when she says, "Life goes on," and believes that with the "incredible spirit Knysna has, we will only survive this if we rebuild".
In the meantime Klaus, who is known for his cheese at the Wild Oats market and at the courtyard at Metelerkamps, will continue supplying cheese they source locally.
It is estimated that at least 196 of the homes that burnt in Knysna were in the Knysna Heights area, but this has still to be confirmed.
Just one of the many cars that look like this in and around Knysna now.
The rubble that signified a magnificent home and life before the fires.
ARTICLE & PHOTOS: ELAINE KING, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD EDITOR
'We bring you the latest Knysna, Garden Route news'
