| Before
joining the bus company I had earned about
eight pounds a week. Now my basic for forty
hours was twelve pounds eight shillings. Most
of the duties were more than forty hours and
there was overtime available if someone went
sick or was on holiday. Of course my parents
wanted a bigger share of my income even though
I was often not around for meals and got little
more than a bed in a an unheated room to sleep
in for my money. But I still had cash left
over and decided to spend some of it on a
holiday |
 |
| My
parents' reaction of course was hostile "Don't
you think we would like a holiday abroad?".
Mine was "With the money you're earning
and the money you're getting from me for nothing,
who the heck's stopping you?". They never
did go abroad and didn't complain when any
of my brothers did. |
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| Like
our duties, holidays were on a rota. We had
two weeks each year. My first holiday was
in May 1968. I had travelled all over Britain
with my parents but had never been abroad.
In the 1960s there were strict exchange controls,
the amount of money you could spend abroad
was very limited. I found a holiday to Luzern
in Switzerland which appealed to me. It included
train travel, hotel with full board and a
discount ticket for the lake steamers and
mountain railways. |
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 |
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| The journey
up to London was one I had made
countless times and the boat train
to Folkestone was straightforward.
The ferries in those days were
run by the railways and this one
carried passengers and railway
wagons, but not cars and trucks. |
|
| The ferries
had first and second class sections
which were completely separate,
with seating out on deck. And
the same kind of catering as on
British Railways. Even though
the ferry I caught was run by
the French railways, the sandwiches
were definitely British. |
|
| Anyway, I
found a seat on the deck and watched
the white cliffs vanish. |
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