Pennies in the Grass by Doreen Holt

Author:Doreen Holt [Holt, Doreen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Memoirs Publishing
Published: 2014-01-15T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

VOYAGE TO CANADA

I heard the warning blast from the funnel of the ship, followed by a voice announcing that all visitors must leave. We said our last tearful goodbyes, trying to hold back the tide of emotions we felt, the smiles painted stiffly on each face as we hugged and held each other, before they left. We stood at the rail, watching the figures on the dock below, getting smaller and smaller, standing in the cold November wind, still waving. In the background the familiar and much loved landmarks I had known all of my life, gradually fading out of sight.

With my two young children, Christopher, who was five, and nine-year-old Janice, I was on board the Empress of Canada, sailing up the River Mersey out of Liverpool to a country called Canada, about which I knew very little, other than that it was far away, a land of ice and snow - I’d seen a movie called Rose Marie, set in the Canadian Rockies, starring Nelson Eddie and Jeanette McDonald.

I remembered too that Canadian soldiers were liked and respected, as I was growing up in World War II. That was the extent of my knowledge of Canada at the time. I hadn’t wanted to go. I prayed every night that something - anything - would stop me, but the days and weeks passed. The house and furniture were gone, and God wasn’t listening to my prayers.

It seemed to have happened so suddenly. In the space of a few months our lives had been turned upside down. It all began when my brother Roy, who had roamed around the States and up to Canada, deciding to settle in Vancouver on the west coast, with his wife and baby daughter, came home to England for a visit early in 1963. He painted a glowing picture of life in his new surroundings. The streets were paved with gold, if you were willing to work hard. That wasn’t a problem; the men in our family were all industrious and had reasonable jobs. All had strived to provide homes and raise children. Like most working class people in those days, I was completely content with my lot and so, I thought, was my husband. He had spent time in Canada long before I met him in 1950 and he never talked about it and certainly never expressed a desire to return. Then at forty years old, he had become enthused as we all listened to my brother telling us how good his life was there.

“Even the garbage man drives a car” he said. That was the yardstick, since ‘bin men’ or ‘dustmen’ as they are called in England, were at the bottom of the working-class pile, so for them to have a car to drive - something we couldn’t afford - really impressed the men in the family.

Plans were made for Stan and my sister’s husband John to go first, with the promise of temporary jobs in the window factory where my brother worked.

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