november-2010

PHOTOS © ELIZABETH RULL, STEVE SCHOFIELD
JULIE BOND, 59
THE GRANDMOTHER
Two years ago, Julie Bond’s idea of a
perfect holiday was the drive from her
home in Surrey to her comfortable
caravan in Pembrokeshire. She’d enjoyed
a coach trip through Europe in her teens
and had visited Paris in the 80s, but
Bond says that while she liked the idea
of travelling further afi eld, her work as
a teacher meant she was always stuck
with the more expensive holiday travel
times. When her son moved with his
wife and young son to Geneva, though,
she boarded a plane for the fi rst time and
quickly became a frequent fl yer with us.
Bond recalls her fi rst ever fl ight out of
London Gatwick: “I was worried about
my ears and nervous as I fi rst got on the
plane, but then I loved it… I remember
being fascinated by the clouds. I sat by
the window and took lots of photos – the
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composition of clouds reminded me of a
Monet painting. It was beautiful.” Even
going to the airport isn’t an arduous
experience for her. “I love the peoplewatching
in the terminal,” she says.
Her grandson Alex is now three, and
Bond has visited every few months,
taking boat trips across Lake Geneva
and making the most of the Swiss
countryside. But her next fl ight will be to
Amsterdam, where her son, daughter-inlaw
and Alex have now moved. She says
she sees enormous changes in him every
time she goes, but he recognises her and
enjoys his presents from grandma. “I
take over books, children’s clothes and
I even had to take a buggy one time.”
And these days the fl ights aren’t just
family related. Bond has a surprise up
her sleeve for her husband, who she will
be taking to Italy early next year, and a
trip to Barcelona is also in the pipeline.
“I’ve defi nitely got a taste for fl ying now."
15 TH BIRTHDAY ISSUE | TRAVELLER | 43