SA CABBIE IN LONDON

Mary de Villiers (46) is the only South African in London with the prestigious Hackney Carriage badge on her Black Cab in London. Mary, from Somerset West, got the badge on 05 May and is now one of the 22 000 self-employed Black Cab drivers. She's been living in London for 25 years, where she previously worked as an interior designer. Mary was born in Beaufort West and moved to Somerset West with her parents, Ray and Eileen, when she was four years old. She attended Hoërskool Hottentots-Holland, matriculating in 1981. She studied for three years to get the Black Cab badge, while battling through the deaths of two sisters (cancer), three family members and a dear employee.