Letter - to David's Mother Mary - From Pennie - London - 23.5.1970

                                                                                                                               c/o Bank of N.S.W.
                                                                                                                               9-15 Sackville Street.
                                                                                                                               London.  U.K.
                                                                                                                               May 1970
Dear Mum-in-law,

     Well I've plucked up the courage and had it done, the photo is a very bad one, too dark but it gives you some idea of what the new Pennie looks like, that's my new red plastic mac we bought in Belgium for £4.  Dave prefers me with short hair and it will be a lot easier to travel with in the next six months.

      Tabitha Taxi was taken down to Southampton yesterday ready for her big sea voyage, she doesn't seem to be worried about it at all, she should like Australia if it's not too hot when she arrives about the end of June, if my memory serves me right.  That's winter back home of course, we'll be in Japan by then and it will be Summer.

     We leave next Wednesday for Denmark so we're pretty busy saying goodbye to all our friends every night is booked up till we go so I've got the job of writing all the letters, we haven't heard from Keith* for ages but he knows when we arrive, and it all depends on how long we can afford to stay in the States.  We've got invites to stay in San Francisco with Louis and Shelia Daugherty and baby Eugene, we met them in Belgrade, they were doing the same thing as us only in a V.W. Combi Van, we went through Hungary and met them again in Austria, we hope they will get to the U.K. before we leave but if not we'll see them in the U.S.A.  Also an invitation to stay with Ted and Penny Charlesworth in Vancouver, we met Ted and Penny in Dubrovnik while we were waiting for Trevor and Mary-Liz.  Ted and Penny and two children (9 & 10) took one year off and have been right round the world, they should be in Australia by now, they were only going to Queensland so we couldn't give them our addresses.

     We didn't meet up with Trevor and Mary-Liz but had a letter not long ago from them from Dubrovnik, they'd arrived three days too late, by that time we were in Sarajevo so now we won't see them till they get back home in a few years or however long they intend to stay over.

     Mrs Waugh is looking after us very well but it is very difficult to be so tied down to someone as far as meals go when we have been our own bosses for so long, she shows us off to everyone, takes us here and there to meet someone who has a cousin who's sister-in-law knows someone who used to live in such and such a place in Australia and so it goes on.  She is very kind and she says she will miss us when we go, and she will poor dear, what with Christine very happy in Perth and Peter about to go back to Australia any minute and no Grandchildren, (her main wish) to fuss over, she will be very quiet. **    Mr Waugh*** hasn't been very well and he looks awful but he's devoted every spare minute of his life to his shop which doesn't even belong to him and never will, you can't expect more.


     Glad you thought Mr Gallagher was a sweetie, so do I, he has the most marvelous soft Irish accent it would put anyone in a trance, parsnips or no parsnips.****

     This was just a short one before we get moving we will send the postcards and letters when we can afford them.

     Love to Dad, Andrew and Julia.   Pennie
P.S.  Dave sends love and says my hair looks beaut.

* Keith is Mary's oldest brother, he married an American girl and they lived in Carmel, California.  We intended to go home when we got to Tokyo but he wrote and told us he'd make it worth our while to come to the States to visit him, we were assuming that meant he would find us some work.

** Christine went back to England after a couple of years, before she became an Australian Citizen, she need an operation on her knees because of an accident she'd had during her teens.  Her engagement broke up before they arrived in Australia.  Peter only made one brief visit to Australia.  Elsie wanted her children to live in Surrey and they weren't game to deny her.  Elsie was well into her 80's before Peter gave her grandchildren.

*** Rupert Waugh died about a year after we left, he worked at 'Bernards', a bacon, sausage and cheese shop up the top of North Street, Guildford.

****  We stayed with the Gallagher's a couple of times in Warwickshire, she was an old school friend of Mary's and they were very welcoming.  Mr was a Dr and was trying hypnotherapy.  I was worried about putting on weight with all this stodgy English food, so he offered to hypnotize me.  He needed to know what food I really didn't like and all I could think of was Grandma Rodd's horrible Parsnips that we had to eat.  Needless to say his hypnotherapy didn't work, maybe because I deliberately hadn't eaten a parsnip for so many years I'd forgotten what they tasted like  :-)

Windsor - Town - 26.5.1970

I couldn't find this same spot on Googlemaps today.
P.S. But Crystal did!  Crystal lives in England and found this London Taxi Blog of mine because she was searching the w.w.w. for anything relating to 'Wollogorang' the sheep station where David and I met (see on right hand side)  Crystal also lived and worked at 'Wollogorang' in the early 60's, it's an amazing thing this Internetty thing isn't it!  Thanks Crystal :-)

 The reason I couldn't find it was probably because the old building on the left has been demolished and replaced by a modern one and the trees have grown of course.  This old building is Burford House.

A couple of lads from Eton College and same spot from Googlemaps below.

On the Thames at Windsor.

Same bridge on Googlemaps as the photo above, I couldn't get to the same spot though.

I couldn't find this spot either....

P.S. Another spot Crystal found for me, she said she'd been to Windsor just recently and recognized the streets...  The sign on this building now says Sir Christopher Wren's House...  Thanks Crystal :-)

But I did find this old Butchers Shop above.   As you can see it's no longer a Butchers but a nice looking Cafe instead.

In Eton College below.

Windsor - Castle - 26.5.1970

Wonderful Windsor Castle.

A postcard of the main gates in 1970 and below, same gates from Googlemaps today.

Just look at those crowds piling in.  When we visited this castle, for the second time in 1978 there were queues to enter, especially to see that wonderful Queen Mary Dolls House, then when we visited in winter 2005 the crowds weren't as heavy as this but the noticeable difference was the guards standing in certain positions around the Castle...  holding automatic shotguns of some sort across their chests.  Oh dear that is so sad as you can see there was hardly anyone there in 1970 below.

Looking over to Eton College.

Windsor - England - 26.5.1970

A day trip to Windsor.  This is Staines.

A protest march in Staines, I have no what they were protesting about and I can't find anything on Wiki either.  That big word on the banner might say 'Student' so maybe it's students striking over something. I did find the below on Wiki so maybe they are striking over the Lino Factory closing.

Staines was the major producer of linoleum, a type of floor covering, after the formation of the Linoleum Manufacturing Company in 1864 by its inventor, Frederick Walton. Linoleum became the main industry of the town and was a major employer in the area up until the 1960s. In 1876 about 220 and in 1911 about 350 people worked in the plant. By 1957 it employed some 300 people and in 1956 the factory produced about 2675 m² of linoleum each week. The term 'Staines Lino' became a worldwide name but the factory was closed around 1970 and is now the site of the Two Rivers shopping centre completed circa 2000. A bronze statue of two lino workers in Staines High Street commemorates the Staines Lino Factory. The Spelthorne Museum in Staines has a display dedicated to the Linoleum Manufacturing Company.

Cows in an English field this time :-)  we've had photos of Cows in several countries so far.

Windsor Railway station.

Windsor Railway station has been totally modernized since 1970, above and below are Grabs I took form Google Maps.

Horsham - The Savages - 24.5.1970

 Farewell to my first work friend in England, still a friend living in the Phillipines... John Savage.  Here he is here with his sister Anne and her first baby who would be turning 42 this year and of course his wonderful Mum.

Sadly John's lovely father dropped dead while gardening earlier this year, John's Mum lived to a ripe old age and I spoke to her at length when we visited in 2006.

Letter - to David's Mother Mary - London - 20.5.1970

117 Farnham Road,

Guildford, Surrey.

20th May 1970

Dear Mum,

     Thanks a lot for your letter - very meaty and newsy, why to 5 Hall Dene Close though?  We've left there long ago.  From now on, all the time until July 12 when we arrive in the USA our address will be c/o Keith at P.O. Box 1556 Carmel (I suppose they have a house too?),  please write to Bank of N.S.W. - they will forward all.  We've been surprisingly, so busy back here in the U.K. - after getting Tabitha all back in shape after her European ordeals we've been to see some of our friends, to London to get our tickets for U.K. East Berlin and Japan - U.S.A. - Sydney:  The Polish and USSR ones are not quite ready, and we can't have the Visas until our bookings are confirmed.*  Went to Ford's factory at Dagenham on Tuesday, very exciting hive of planned bedlam.   Took that ancient British institution, the coach excursion, with a group organized by Mrs. Waugh to Hever Castle in Kent yesterday.  Ann Boleyn was born there and she met Henry VIII there, then William Waldorf Astor bought it filled it with Italian sculpture and some very fine portaits, Titian, Cranach, Gheeraerts etc.  And quite a pleasant trip there, through countryside all green with Spring growth and the blossom.

     Glad you've met the Gallaghers** - they've been wonderful to us, are absolutely fascinating people to be with - they both do so much and talk about such interesting things - Pen is also very fond of Mr. - he has such a soothing accent, hasn't he.

     Sounds like you've been having a real ball lately - openings with the Queen, etc.  - good going!  Who or what is the lessee of Cooma Cottage*** - is somebody going to rent it, live there, keep it up, once restored, etc?

     I hope you get more postcards that you seem to have so far - we sent one from each country at least, two from some.

     We really had a super trip, I think the cards probably convey impressions we gained, but we certainly had a super time for 7 weeks on £100, all included, food, fuel etc., and we have ourselves a rather good copy of a Masterpiece in the Munich Art Gallery (from our dear old lady friend in in Budapest)  it's called "Ruhendes Madchess" (Relaxing or serene, maiden) by Francois Boucher.

     Had a drink with Peter de Wit, ex Controls Company Works Manager (they've closed down in U.K. - I just left at the right time!)  he's Dutch, and filled us in with background detail on lots of things we saw in Holland.

     We leave U.K. Wednesday week, May 27th, for the last time.  So sad, but we're looking forward hugely to our trip.

     Guess what - I have a job for one week, to plug the drain on our finances all these weeks of holiday have created.  I'm a coach driver, for a small family firm in Cranleigh a nearby village. So I'm leaving as I arrived, although on a slightly higher plane.  Much love David

P.S.  Yes please send Roo Belt to Carmel.

*  We had to make a couple of trips to London to visit the USSR Embassy, we were trying to get our Visa's, they wouldn't give us a Visa until we had our Accommodation booked.  So off we'd go to the Russian Intourist to book our Accommodation but they wouldn't book any until we had our Visa from the Embassy.  This went on a couple of times then eventually one of they gave in (I can't remember which)  our Accommodation was booked and we had our Visa's.

**  Mrs G was one of Mary's school friends, they had been very good to us on our visits to Warwickshire and had now moved to Australia.

*** Cooma Cottage was the home of Hamilton Hume, the first Australian born Explorer. Mary bought his home in a derelict state and needed someone to live there to look after it while she negotiated with the National Trust about giving it to them to do up.  They wouldn't take it on, so she replaced the roof for $200,000 then they accepted the Donation and finished doing it up.  It was officially opened to the public in our bicentenary year, 1988.

Guildford - Tabitha Taxi sails to Australia - May 1970

 Farewell to our beloved Tabitha Taxi IV, she is sailing to Australia, on her own, David and I are continuing our travels and we won't see Tabitha for another seven months.  You can see the trunk on her luggage rack it's packed solid with bits and pieces as is a second trunk inside. 

 Also... please note... I've cut my hair!  Yikes!  I've had long hair more than 10 years but the last 7 weeks without regular showers drove me crazy so off it came, all in one go!    This is our Pommy Mum, (A title she wore proudly)  Elsie Waugh saying good bye to Tabitha with me.

 David drove Tabitha down to Southampton Docks for her last glimpse of England before boarding the 'S.S. Orcades' on her big trip Down Under.

Southampton Station waiting for the train back to Guildford.

Antwerpen to Dover - Belgium to England - 2.5.1970

We have no photos of ours to show but I did Grab a few from Google.  Above is our route from Antwerp.  We have no recollection of Brussels, I know we were over Museums, Cathedrals, pretty countrysides, cows and everything else, we had come to the end of our money, we'd only had 8 showers in 7 weeks, we were tired, hungry and ready to be welcomed into the home of our Pommy Family back in Guildford.  We were exhausted so it wasn't a good time to visit Brussels, we have no photos, no memories and no brochures so show.   I do remember that after we left Antwerp we drove back into The Netherlands because Diesel was cheaper than in Belgium and we made it back to the UK on that last fill in Holland.

 One of Today's photos from Google about to leave for Ramsgate, I notice that Ferry's no longer travel from Ostend to Dover as we did back in 1970, they only go to Ramsgate which is north of Dover.

 I know we aren't British but even to Aussies those wonderful White Cliffs of Dover stir something in our hearts :-)

As we were waiting in line to get through Customs we noticed a West German car ahead of us with the Registration number plate FU * CK 123, see example below.  The FU stood for the town of Furth, in Bavaria, the CK 123 were the registration numbers.  We chuckled and wondered how long it was before someone in Britain pointed out what their car was telling people... we would have loved to follow along behind :-)

 A ferry coming into Dover from the Cliffs above.

From Dover to Guildford and the home of our wonderful Pommy Family... the Waughs!

Antwerpen - Belgium - 30.4.1970

 A couple of brochures we kept with the Museums we visited marked inside.

 Museum Mayer van den Bergh is one mans collection, I especially loved Pieter Bruegel the Elder's paintings, fascinating pictures with so much going on you can stand there for ages seeing new things in each one.

 Ruben's House.  I remember feeling very comfortable around the many many paintings of Peter Paul Ruben's well developed women  :-)

 Museum of Plantin-Moretus and Print Room.    Some wonderful old classics in this Museum.

Museum Brouwershuis (Brewers House)   I don't remember this one, beer was David's thing.  This Museum is closed at the moment.

I notice in David's writing that the Museum's we visited were free, I guess they had to be free for us to afford to visit them but now I see you can pay 3 Euros for entry.

Antwerpen - Belgium - 30.4.1970

 A Google Grab of the Koninklijk Museum in Antwerpen.


We'd stopped taking photos by now, we probably ran out of both film and money so we have no photos of our three days in Belgium but we did keep a couple of brochures from the 5 Museums we visited.

 The Koninklijk Museum had a some wonderful Flemish paintings as well as other European artists.

Google Map from Leiben in The Netherlands to Antwerpen in Belgium.

Postcards - Leiden, The Netherlands - 28.4.1970

Leiden, Rapenburg . Universiteitsbiblio theek

Dr M. E. Griffiths, Deakin. A.C.T. 2600          28.4.1970

Hello Dad,

     I thought you'd be reminded of your visit years ago - no doubt the old town is much the same but all around the multi-storey flats are going up.  We took a lovely drive today, from just out of Amsterdam to Zuyderzee down to Leiden via Alkmaar, Harlem and the tulip fields, just beginning to look themselves after a late winter.  Tonight near Rotterdam, Antwerp and Brussels tomorrow. 

     Love P. & D.

Same bridge, buildings and white handle on left, today from Googlemaps.