Evergreen

120 EVERGREEN Autumn
An English lady driving barefoot
prompted admiration in some countries,
astonishment in others!
(continued)
we stopped outside a bar crammed
with men watching football on a
flickering black-and-white television.
My father and I ventured nervously
in; our mixture of schoolboy French
and war-movie German, which
got us through most situations,
failed to extract any meaningful
directions. Indeed it stimulated chaos
as different men offered different
ways to the hotel. We had to walk
out and find our own way, leaving
an arm-waving argument between
barman and customers as the football
was ignored and the various routes
furiously debated.
By 1972 we thought we should
tour our native country of England;
amazingly blessed with good weather
almost all the way. The following
year found us in the South of France:
the glamour of the Riviera and the
elegance of Nice. In 1974 we sailed
for Denmark: more seasickness on
the voyage to Esbjerg, then into our
red Ford Cortina Mk. III to cross the
flatlands and bridges to Copenhagen,
which seemed a stylish, fun-loving
city.
Our last family motoring holiday
came in 1975 when we toured
Scotland in a Hillman Avenger. But I
had already fallen in love and wanted
to spend my holidays with my
girlfriend while she took a summer
job in Kent. By this time my mother
was growing tired of the heat and
dust and the long hauls to foreign
hotels of dubious quality, there was
also illness in the family, so the car
tours came to an end. But over 10
glorious summers we had seen the
fascinating sights of Europe in a most
exciting and satisfying way.
If I give the impression that these
holidays were jolly jaunts packed
with excitement, amusing incidents,
the occasional hardship and a few
hair-raising escapades, that’s true
enough. But for me they were also
intensely spiritual experiences which
have inspired me throughout my
life. In those years, the trips abroad
seemed the most important things I
was doing. Winter months would be
spent on intense planning with my
father, the latest maps spread across
the dining table: more absorbing
than any homework offered by