Daredevil gran aims to inspire others

31/07/2015 Old girlf of Pretoria High School for Girls, Georgina Harwood, (100yrs) with her daughter Sue Homer after addressing the girls about her time at the school and also about her experiences both of skydiving and cagediving with sharks. Picture: Phill Magakoe

31/07/2015 Old girlf of Pretoria High School for Girls, Georgina Harwood, (100yrs) with her daughter Sue Homer after addressing the girls about her time at the school and also about her experiences both of skydiving and cagediving with sharks. Picture: Phill Magakoe

Published Aug 1, 2015

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Pretoria - Gogo Georgina Harwood, who made history when she skydived to mark her 100th birthday in March, returned to her alma mater, Pretoria High School for Girls, on Friday to talk about her daredevil plunge and motivate the pupils there.

 

Dressed in a floral blouse and red pants with only her grey curly locks giving away her advanced age, Harwood made a surprise appearance at the assembly just after 7.30am.

“Good morning everyone,” she said, much to the delight of the girls, who responded with great enthusiasm.

There, in front of them, stood the legendary “old girl” of the school, who had done it all – from tandem jumping to shark cage diving. The lively centenarian told how her son, an experienced army parachutist, originally challenged her to skydive for her 90th birthday.

“Ma… You are going to jump out of that airplane; you are going to tandem jump,” Harwood quoted her son. “I told him that I will only skydive when I turn 100. Unknown to him, all that was part of a carefully hatched bigger plan on my part to shy away from the challenge. I did not think I would live long enough to reach a century.

“But, to my surprise, there I was turning 100. Unfortunately, I had to keep my word and skydive… And the rest, as they say, is history.”

Harwood now lives in a Cape Town retirement village. She arrived at the school with three generations of the Harwood women – her daughter, granddaughter and her great-granddaughter, who sat among the pupils and teachers during her speech.

On the podium, the oldest and wisest of the Harwood women was full of good humour and great wisdom, as she delivered her speech from the top of her head, without any notes. She displayed impressive sharpness and quick-thinking skills that would make many younger family members and others green with envy.

Unity is something that is the key for the Harwood family, so much so that, even when she marked her 100th birthday on that historic day in Cape Town, they skydived with her.

Her daughter, Sue Homer, said 12 other family members went along to tandem jump with her so they could share the moment and experience with her.

“After all, she had strictly told us that she did not want gifts at all, because she had everything she needed. So we jumped with her and in the process managed to raise R30 000 for the sea rescue organisation,” said the 68-year old.

The youngest member of the Harwood family, Daniella McGuire, 13, said: “I was nervous at first but after jumping I realised that the feeling was the best ever.

“I was happy to have jumped with my great-grandmother. She has no fear and her heart is still working just fine. Since that day, her fearless spirit has inspired me to do so much in life as well.”

Daniella, now in her last year at primary school, said she would be attending Pretoria High School for Girls to keep up the tradition and retrace her great-grandmother’s steps. “Granny told me, ‘you know, this school will be the best for you’,” she added.

Homer described the matriarch, who has lived a life full of activity, joy, excitement and fearlessness, as being “always busy”.

“My mother is always busy... I have to make an appointment with her to see her. She regularly visits her friends, bakes cake for everyone close to her, plays croquet and still does every house chore,” said Homer.

Harwood then spoke of her shark-cage dive, which she said she did to raise extra money “for the sea rescue people”.

“I was dared to dive in a shark cage, and then R5 000 would be added onto the money I had previously raised. R5 000 is a lot, so I did it. The shark dive was not nearly as pleasant as the tandem jump, because they encouraged the sharks to come near me by throwing in food for them. It was a daunting experience, but both experiences were satisfying for me, because I raised money to buy life jackets for the sea rescue team.”

Harwood motivated the young girls to constantly challenge themselves and never stop learning.

“I wish you all well – and keep on learning,” she said.

When all was said and done, she blew a kiss to the schoolgirls and, holding on to her walking stick, made her way to her seat at the front of the hall.

Pretoria News Weekend

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