Uncle John Comes For A Holiday

Uncle John Comes For A Holiday

Mum's brother - my Uncle John - left England in 1969 with his wife Marguerite and son Johnny, to start a new life in Australia.

Bearing in mind that central heating in the 1960s wasn't as efficient as it is today, and that before they returned to England in 1961, Uncle John and his family had spent many years in East Africa, life in the UK must have felt pretty chilly.

My grandma, Alice Woods, and Uncle John
Dar-es-Salaam, 1950

The thought of going back to somewhere straddling the Tropic of Capricorn was probably an attractive proposition, and so in December 1969, they set sail from England, and landed in Australia in January, 1970.

In all the time they had lived in Australia, neither Uncle John, his wife Marguerite, nor their son Johnny, had ever made a return trip to see family in the UK, and it was clear they never would make the journey back home; so in 2001, we all went out on a holiday in Queensland - including Mum, who was nearly 82 at the time, and she thoroughly enjoyed herself. It was the first (and probably the only) time Mum visited Australia, but she can still remember aspects of the trip, that made a really good impression on her, like the day we went up to Kuranda by cable car, and down again by train!

In 2009, Mum was still fairly mobile - she had pain with her hip, and then with her knee, but she was still getting around, still using the low stool, (instead of a Zimmer frame), to help her. However, it was already 8 years since our holiday in Brisbane, and Mum was now nearly 90.

Apart from that one occasion, when a GP on a house call had chanced to see Mum getting out of the car and stomping off down the road, and had asked me, "How long has your mother been suffering from dementia?" nothing had ever been mentioned about any form of mental problem. However, Mum was beginning to display mood swings and unreasonable behaviour and arguments; if you were having a discussion, you couldn't disagree with something she said, without incurring her wrath.

On our weekly calls to Uncle John, and without going into too many details on the phone, I tried to give him some indication of Mum's health. We were very aware of time ticking on. Also, by then Uncle John had been widowed for 6 years; every time we spoke, we always said how much we would love to see him again, and how welcome he would be, if he ever decided to come back "home" for a holiday.

Something we said must have clicked for Uncle John, because he began to talk about how he "wouldn't mind" coming back to England again, to see how things had changed. We kept explaining, we had plenty of room for him to stay with us for as long as he liked; he would always be welcome, and we would love to have him with us.

At last, he made up his mind to make the long journey; we had many conversations on the phone, and he said, he would come in the summer.  I hoped he would stay for the whole of the summer season, but he said, "I'll come for a month - if that will be o.k?"

That was very o.k.  I understood he was a bit worried that perhaps our enthusiasm to have him visit might wane if he outstayed his welcome; but what Uncle John didn't remember, was that I remembered how good and kind he had been to Mum and me when we lived in East Africa, and what a terrific father figure he had always been for me. I was sure he hadn't changed over the years, and I was really looking forward to having him stay with us.

First, we had to sort the problem of Uncle John's passport having expired. It was quicker for me to obtain a copy of his birth certificate, and send it out to him, so that he could apply for a new passport; once he had that safely, the time flew and, before we knew it, Uncle John was in the air and on his way.

We drove to Heathrow to meet him, and I remember it seemed an interminable wait for him to emerge at the arrivals gate. I got quite concerned, and checked with the airline that his name was actually on the passenger list!

He must have been one of the last passengers off the plane but at last he came into view, pushing a trolley with his luggage on it; the eagle had landed!

He looked very spry, and as we all had a great hug, the years fell away; I was just so happy to see him. Back in the car, on the way home we talked non-stop. It was going to be a good month.