As Time Goes By: An Eventful Time
...An amusing tale he told was one when his party had to put up at a roadside hotel after their coach had broken down late in the evening, far from their intended destination.
The guests were given drinks, and went to bed. Next morning at breakfast they noticed with great surprise that other guests coming into the dining room were in their ‘birthday suits’ – not a stitch on...
Eileen Perrin presents another chapter in the events of her life and times.
In May 1988 we were holidaying in Italy on Lake Garda, with a backdrop of the Dolomites. We enjoyed a marvellous kaleidoscope of visits to Limone, Verona with its famous amphitheatre where they stage huge productions of operas, Venice, Trento, and Lake Laro south of Riva, surrounded by lush summer meadows full of the most beautiful wildflowers and grasses with wooden chalet homes dotted among them.
At the hotel where we stayed in Garda, Les got talking to an older gentleman who, when the party he was with went off on their sight-seeing, seemed to be left on his own.
All was then revealed, as he told us that he was really a mole - an under-cover ‘spy’ reporting back to the travel company they were with; set to discover what the travellers liked or found distasteful on their holiday. An amusing tale he told was one when his party had to put up at a roadside hotel after their coach had broken down late in the evening, far from their intended destination.
The guests were given drinks, and went to bed. Next morning at breakfast they noticed with great surprise that other guests coming into the dining room were in their ‘birthday suits’ – not a stitch on. They realised they had put in at a Naturist hotel.
Films enjoyed in 1988 were ‘Rain Man’ with Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight, ‘The Last Emperor’ with Peter O’Toole, filmed in the forbidden city of Beijing, and the best musical show was ‘Phantom of the Opera’ starring Michael Crawford.
The Government declared that public houses could stay open all day. The pound note ceased to be legal tender and a pound coin was brought into use. The first Fair Trade label was launched in the Netherlands.
A N.A.S.A. scientist James Hamsen warned Congress of the dangers of global warming.
Les went on a wood-turning course in July at Parnham in Dorset under the auspices of John Makepeace.
In September 1988 my mother Kitty Coan was taken into Southend General hospital, where she died aged 96. She was always my best friend and supported me throughout her life with her warmth, cheerfulness and advice. We missed her at table over Christmas dinner and in the afternoon later, when we remembered her always asking ‘What are we going to play next, Leen?’
In December there was a plane disaster at Lockerbie with 270 dead.
On January 8th 1989 a Boeing 737 crashed on the M1 at the approach to East Midlands airport. Forty four were killed.
On February 20th the I.R.A. bombed a Shropshire barracks, injuring 50 men of the Parachute Regiment.
On April 15th at the F.A. semi-final match at Hillsborough Stadium, Sheffield, between Liverpool and Notts Forest there was a stampede, when 95 football fans were crushed to death, and 300 injured.
Best films of 1989 were ‘Driving Miss Daisy’ with Jessica Tandy, ‘Shirley Valentine’ with Pauline Collins and Tom Conti, and ‘Henry the Fifth’ with Kenneth Branagh and Brian Blessed.
Long-running West End theatre shows included ‘The Mousetrap’ at the St.Martins, which had run since 1952, ‘Cats’ with Elaine Paige, ‘Les Miserables’, ‘Oliver’, Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s ‘Starlight Express’ where all the cast performed on roller skates, and in September the show ‘Miss Saigon’ opened.
Television programmes included ‘Challenge Aneka’ where Aneka Rice went round the country by helicopter searching for treasure, which ran until 1995, ‘Blackadder Goes Forth’ with Tony Robinson, Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry, and ‘Bay Watch’, which had a long-run until May 2001.
In late May and early June 1989 Les and I were holidaying with Saga in Portugal, and for the first week we stayed in a hotel in Estoril. From there we could walk along the promenade to Caiscais or to the lovely Casino Gardens.
Coach trips out included one to Lisbon and to the palace at Sintra.
The second week we moved north to Braga and climbed the hundreds of steps up to the cathedral at the top. We were told that pilgrims who came there ascended the steps on their knees.
From there we visited Ponte de Lima, Geres National Park, and Oporto, at the mouth of the river Douro where we went down into the wine vaults, and saw vast vats of maturing wine. Boats of an ancient style were moored in the river, like those which carried the casks of port and wine down river to the mouth of the Douro from where they sailed to countries all round the Mediterranean.
Friends made during that holiday were Eric and Brenda from Kingston-on-Thames and John from South London and his Dutch wife Celina. John had been a marine in the war and had met Celina when he was stationed in Holland. Eric was in the 14th. Army in Burma and told us how he had rescued a wounded comrade by carrying him through the jungle down to the river Chindwin in the advance to India in 1944 ordered by General Slim, who had in 1942 been appointed General in Command by Admiral Lord Louis Mountbatten of Burma, who said Slim was the greatest general the British Army had.
In November 1989 the Berlin Wall was broken and finally came down, in 1990, after 21 years. About 5 million European visitors made the journey to Berlin to see it all happening. An estimated 80 % of the East German population went through the wall to celebrate with the West Germans, but later most returned home.
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