The only time I ever visited Newfoundland was when my mother and I flew to England for a lengthy visit with family. This was so long ago that Toronto's airport was still named Malton after a nearby town; you walked out on the runway to climb a staircase to your plane while your friends and relatives stood on the roof of the terminal from which they could wave and shout last minute advice; the planes all had propellors which made the landing at Gander, Newfoundland necessary. Why, my younger readers may be asking themselves? Well, it was because the flights that were slow and took ages required refueling before making the big leap across the Atlantic.
There were several reasons we went at that particular time, one of the main ones being that my mother wanted to attend the wedding of her younger sister - a second marriage that would, hopefully, be a happier one. Back then, even in England, second marriages were rarely celebrated in churches and this one was no different. But after the ceremony at the Registry office they had a wonderful party - one that spilled out of the saloon bar at the local pub onto the lawn. The aunties danced.
Ah, how sweet to remember those bygone days when people could be silly without the risk of hearing the next day that videos of their antics had gone viral on youtube.
"Disbelief in magic can force a poor soul into believing in government and business."
~ Tom Robbins
* faded pictures of fading memories
♡
That last picture is a telling image.
ReplyDeleteOne of those worth a thousand words ones.
DeleteWhat a great couple of pictures. The aunties look like a group I'd like to spend an evening in a pub with.
ReplyDeleteAnd the Titanic resonates; yesterday at the thanksgiving get-together we were all sitting around, 9 or so people, 7 of whom were engrossed with their smart phone and me wondering if a neighborhood bar was open.
Cheers,
Mike
Thanks, Mike. I'd love to do the same.
DeleteI'm so sorry that happened at a special dinner. It's hard to tell if people are bored or addicted, isn't it? There's apparently a word for cell phone users who snub others in a social setting to scroll through their smartphones – phubbing.
In Germany they are called 'smombies' (smartphone-zombies).
DeleteGerman at its best, as is easily to be seen.
Good one, Sean. I think I prefer 'smombies' to 'phubbing' (or 'phubbers').
DeleteI am old enough to have travelled via the old propeller planes from Toronto with refuel stops at Gander AND Iceland or Ireland on the way to Helsinki. And I remember waving from the terminal to family as they walked across the tarmac to the stairs going up to their plane, or being wave to as I boarded. I used to find it thrilling to watch the planes coming and going but not anymore. I suppose I've become jaded by that kind of travel.
ReplyDeleteLove the aunties! Ah, memories. But how jarring that second image!
Plane travel in those days when ocean liners still carried the bulk of passengers was almost a formal affair, wasn't it, Marja-Leena? I remember the special clothes we had to wear for that trip - I even had a little straw hat and a basket purse. :) Back then the airlines were much friendlier than now. I used to love watching the big planes landing and taking off too, but no more.
DeleteI'm happy you liked the aunties. The Titanic image was too good not to use - sad but true.
Love the drawing of the aunties. Then the second image makes me wonder, have you ever drawn a selfie? That might be interesting, to see what you make of yourself.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you like them, Andrew. Nah, no selfies either photographic or graphic. Except for the passport and driver's license I haven't posed for a picture in at least a decade.
DeleteHi Susan,
ReplyDeleteLovely drawing of the aunties which captures the mood wonderfully. Those equally wonderful memories reminds me the older I get the faster time seems to go. I recall vividly scenes like that when undertaking my first flight in a trusty old DC3 whose cruise speed was just 200 mph or 333 km/h and a range limited to 1,500 miles or 2,400 km.
The DC’3s were superseded by the Fokker F27 Friendship turboprop airliner built by the now defunct Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker, which soon gave way to more modern jet aircraft. But a number are still in active service to many of the smaller regional towns. best wishes
Hi Lindsay,
DeleteI saw a numerical calculation of why time speeds up as we age - something about going from having everything be a new experience to having everything repeat. I can't recall what kind of plane we flew on that time but you're very likely right about it being a DC3. It was slow but not as slow as the liners that were still making regular crossings. When I went back to England in the mid-60s ocean liners were still the main way for people to travel to Australia, NZ and a number of other out of the way places. At the time the Australian government offered free travel to young unmarried women who might be interested in living in Oz.
Best wishes
I love Newfoundland and its unpretentious people. Around the bay they know how to party.
ReplyDeleteYes-by
the Ol'Buzzard
Maritimers in general are good at partying, OB. Have you been back recently?
Deleteoh, I was on the Titanic!!! I remember the trip well.....I had just asked the waiter for another drink....and I distinctly remember telling him, "No ice, please."
ReplyDeleteAt least you weren't among the crowd rearranging the deckchairs.
ReplyDeleteI love the dancing aunties. I can't decide which is more cringe inducing. The idea that anything and everything can be recorded and shared or those phony "moments" that are contrived precisely for that reason.
ReplyDeleteGlad you like them, Lisa. Personally, I just avoid all of it.
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