Another Twist in The Tale

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John and I decided that day that sometime in the future we would try and participate in a fire walking ceremony. So every fire walking we visited we watched the walkers, we asked them to lift up their legs so we could see their feet, were they wearing protective gear on their soles or not. The answers was always no protection what so ever. 61
SON NO. 3 PAUL WAS BORN IN JOSEPH FRASER NURSING HOME IN 1968 Derek and I had been apart now for five months, this was caused by having to sell our business in England and because the Israeli 6 day war broke out whilst we were in the Suez Canal and our lifestyles were dramatically different. The first indication of this was whilst I was still on board the Rondo in Colombo Harbour. Derek managed to get aboard even before the yellow quarantine flag had been lowered. He remarked on my teeth not being as white as before and I explained that our voyage instead of taking 3 weeks had taken 6, as we had been travelling in a War Zone – a very scary time. To relieve the pressure we had endless parties to take our minds off the position we were in. Our favourite drink was calvados which turned my teeth from being white to purple and also my mouth! So I said to Derek I am right out of toothpaste, so he said “I will send my driver for some”. He had very quickly become used to drivers, servants and a privileged way of life. Derek worked for the Tourist Board and as soon as visitors were allowed on board I was welcomed by beautiful bouquets of exotic flowers and it wasn’t long before I also enjoyed the ex-‐pat lifestyle. We lived in an “upstairs bungalow” – a lovely apartment in Elibank Road, Colombo. Garage at ground level, flight of stairs up to front door. Inside huge living room with sweeping staircase up to bedrooms and bathrooms. Servants’ quarters were off the living room, through the kitchen. They had their own rooms and bathroom. We were very fortunate to have Tamil servants Emily, Anthony and Michael, who stayed with us the whole time we were there and were extraordinarily helpful, polite and especially Emily, who was a real brick because she had worked in a Maternity Unit and was wonderful with babies. Between them they did all the housework, cooking, washing etc. A lovely family and we were very fond of them. Having a lovely home and plenty of help we decided to have “our little girl” after two boys. We duly signed into the Joseph Fraser Nursing Home – this was a hospital for ex-‐pats only. I remember we had to fill in a questionnaire – one of the questions being “how long have you been married?”. This was nearly 50 years ago!! Because of problems I had to have a Caesarean, so whilst waiting for the op, Derek and I were deciding on names. I wanted Nicola Paula or Nicolas Paul, but Derek said Nicolas could be shortened to Nickers and he didn’t like that! The time came for the op and it was in a different building, so I was put on a trolley – nurse holding an umbrella over my head as the sun was so hot and strong and Derek trailing behind and I was pushed along this very bumpy path – I remember saying to Derek with so many bumps the baby would soon be jumping out and I wouldn’t need the op. The next thing I knew was waking in my hospital room with Derek saying we had another son. “Our little girl” was a beautiful eight and a half pound baby boy, Paul – and we couldn’t have been happier. The hospital was quite small. I was the only patient in the Maternity Unit – with 38 staff! Everything was highly polished and hanging baskets of orchids were everywhere – quite the loveliest place for a birth. 62
Page 2 and 3:
PREFACE My name is Derek, I w
Page 4 and 5:
INDEX PAGE 7 My Life Experienc
Page 6 and 7:
MY LIFE EXPERIENCES BY DEREK R
Page 8 and 9:
I remember very clearly as a
Page 10 and 11: DOODLE BUGS During the blitz o
Page 12 and 13: OUR MARRIAGE Valerie and I wer
Page 14 and 15: THE RECEPTION Our reception was
Page 16 and 17: VISITING THE BOSS WHO OWNED TH
Page 18 and 19: DAILY GRIND TO GET TO LONDON
Page 20 and 21: LITTLEWOODS FOOTBALL POOLS In t
Page 22 and 23: The boss was a very old schoo
Page 24 and 25: Half way through the party Ala
Page 26 and 27: ut I was bursting with laughte
Page 28 and 29: HORLEY ROUND TABLE - 1960’S
Page 30 and 31: OUR PET ALSATIAN NAMED VANDYKE
Page 32 and 33: SON NO. 1 PETER WAS BORN KING
Page 34 and 35: ‘Choose which pile you want
Page 36 and 37: Over a cup of tea we sat dow
Page 38 and 39: THE NEXT STAGE OF THE STORY W
Page 40 and 41: Once the summer holiday period
Page 42 and 43: my spoons to take samples of
Page 44 and 45: ‘THE OVEN’ BAKERY, SELSEY,
Page 46 and 47: that if ever a vacancy arrived
Page 48 and 49: WE PURCHASED A DETACHED 3 BEDR
Page 50 and 51: All the family went to London
Page 52 and 53: will be etc. Your job Mr Rich
Page 54 and 55: However you were compensated by
Page 56 and 57: I soon found out that every m
Page 58 and 59: “now I want your help, we c
Page 62 and 63: The culture in Sri Lanka is v
Page 64 and 65: There were 4 meat hooks on th
Page 66 and 67: got another girlfriend by the
Page 68 and 69: Just to remind you these guest
Page 70 and 71: The mentality of some of the
Page 72 and 73: We went to bed by about midni
Page 74 and 75: traffic lights you can't see t
Page 76 and 77: Little did I know, through Chi
Page 78 and 79: After approx 3 weeks of not s
Page 80 and 81: I should have mentioned this e
Page 82 and 83: My Trip To Italy My trip to
Page 84 and 85: 'You' I soon found out was my
Page 86 and 87: very strange, why wasn't I sta
Page 88 and 89: DAR ES SALAAM During my remain
Page 90 and 91: The background of my work in
Page 92 and 93: Me, my wife & young family Pe
Page 94 and 95: BREAKFAST MENU This never chang
Page 96 and 97: lunch I said to Mr Nazunda I
Page 98 and 99: now be imprisoned and as you
Page 100 and 101: I’m laughing now because I’
Page 102 and 103: We settled in and Peter and J
Page 104 and 105: ROBBERY AT OUR BEACH BUNGALOW
Page 106 and 107: THE ROBBERY -‐ PART 2 Afte
Page 108 and 109: HAPANA LALA Oh yes I must tel
Page 110 and 111:
MY WIFE, VALERIE, RETURNS TO D
Page 112 and 113:
family in an upmarket area in
Page 114 and 115:
3. 1 table spoon full of whisk
Page 116 and 117:
THE DAB CHICK STORY After seei
Page 118 and 119:
DOG BITES LANDLORD! One late a
Page 120 and 121:
RATS IN THE CURTAINS One day
Page 122 and 123:
LEAVING DAR FOR PASTURES NEW I
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Another Twist in The Tale

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