This time tomorrow check in for our flight to Munich opens and if I have my way we will be there. We are flying with easy jet so seating will be allocated at the desk and as Steve likes to try and get an exit seat, because of his long legs, it makes sense to be early. Steve would prefer to arrive at the last minute, but to have any chance of a bit of space for those long legs and to keep me happy we will go in plenty of time! I like the experience of the airport, the buzz and excitement of all those people jetting off somewhere exotic. My first ever flight was to Munich, followed by a coach trip into Austria for a ski holiday with the ski rangers (I mean sea rangers). It was an exciting holiday for a seventeen year old, Gluwine, hot chocolate and fondue evenings. The skiing was the hardest part, I remember spending most of my time in a heap at the bottom of the slope. Why then did I recently agree with Maggie that next year we would relive the experience! I must have had a moment of madness, (like the time I agreed to go to the IOW pop festival). It's well over thirty years since I took those first tentative steps on to the slopes and I'm even less sporty now and I'm sure my bones are very delicate.
My next foreign trip was a few years later when I accompanied Steve on a trip on the 'Almeria Star'. Steve was the lowly junior engineer and I signed the articles as librarian! The library was a cupboard and I did spend a lot of time scrummaging around for a book that took my fancy. It was on that trip that I was introduced to 'Neville Shute'. The officers and crew were all very friendly and I was fortunate that the 2nd Officer Nigel had his wife Lorraine on board. Lorraine was from New Zealand and she was good fun and we enjoyed each other's company all the way to Melbourne, from there she flew home to Napier.
I enjoyed the trip immensley, it was a lazy one for a wife on board as there were no meals to cook, only a smallish cabin to keep clean, our laundry to do. Long days at sea spent reading by the pool and evenings spent in the officers bar, chatting or playing cards.
Our first port after leaving Calais was Valpariaso in Chile where we spent two days unloading cars. Steve had time off and I remember taking a bus to Santiago. That night along with most of the ships officers we headed up the road into the little shanty town. As we left the the docks there were very small boys who were offering the services of their sister's! One of the Engineers must have got more than he bargained for because when we arrived in Melbourne a couple of weeks later he wasn't allowed off the ship as he had contracted 'The clap' and he had to wait until the medical authriites gave him the all clear! Our evening was spent in a bar/ bothel where the drink was flowing and the air was pungent with cannabis. Our trip continued from the australian coast up the 'Persian Gulf' to Banda Khomeni, where we spent many weeks unloading our cargo of frozen lamb. After five months on the ship I flew home from Melbourne to look forward to the next exciting stage of my life, motherhood..... Lorraine and Nigel are coming to the uk this summer, looking forward to seeing them again after so many years............