Another Twist in The Tale

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.
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