Welcome to 'The duPs' - The website of Paul and Margaret du Plessis - Margaret a former Medical Social Worker, Paul a physician.
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They served with The Salvation Army in Zambia, the United Kingdom, India, and their homeland of South Africa. They retired to live in Bromley, in southeast London. Margaret passed away in 2019.
Their children, Catherine and Andre, and the wider family have always meant a lot to them. Placing Paul’s poems and other information on a website has been a family request for some years. Grandson, David, took on the project and became the website architect.
Please enjoy reading Paul's poems which reflect something of their life experiences.
Margaret has researched the life of Louisa Mary Tucker, the first wife of pioneer Indian missionary, Frederick Tucker.
Please use the menu on the left and the search function in the top right to navigate through the site.
Here is Paul's most recent poem:
The Hotel
- Details
- Written July 2024
Bumping into Zimmers and scooters
While the woods hit the jack,
As nostalgia glances round looking for a past
Recreated with a decor and design that once was,
While she smiles sweetly at the up-to-date waitress
Just to say thank you.
Familiar faces, but names forgotten,
Not knowing left from right in a maze of corridors,
Surrounded by relics of conflict still evident.
While a MacMillan drum overpowers silence
Saying it's a good investment for an unknown future
Which doesn't matter now
Because we're living for today.
I wake up in this geriatric paradise,
The insurance broker's nightmare.
Where dentures chatter and hearing aids hum,
Until suddenly I realise I'm one of them,
And I'm here,
Unconcerned about tomorrow,
Enjoying today with a new-found persona.
Sinah Warren Hotel in Hayling Island.
July 2024