Lest It Be Forgotten After I Am Gone: The Arrival Of Manhood - 8
...The first thing we could not help but notice was that we were in a room with two single beds. We at once amended that situation by pushing them together but found that when we were close in the centre of our bed, they slowly slid apart again on the marble floor under the weight of our combined bodies, depositing us on the floor. We were able to laugh our heads off about that and soon made do with only one bed. We were so happy...
Raymon Benedyk tells of a heavenly honeymoon in Italy.
All through 1950 and 1951 my happiness grew. Our love was genuine and complete. Every time I looked at her, I could not believe how fortunate I was that this gorgeous intelligent female should find me acceptable as her partner in life. Every time I thought about her my heart would skip a beat and I would almost weep with joy. I promised myself that I would do everything in my power to make her life full of excitement, happiness and gladness.
Elsa and I, almost from the start of our association, never had any secrets from each other. We soon 'discovered' our personal likes and preferences, although we had had no 'carnal knowledge' as such together until our wedding night when we discovered we were both so ignorant that we were unable to consummate our marriage in the accepted sense! There was a great deal of hilarity in trying though.
And so our life together started out when, the morning after our wedding on December 16th 1951, we boarded our train to go to Positano in Italy for our honeymoon. We went via Paris, and overnight train to Rome where we stayed for two nights. During the day we literally walked all over the tourist area exploring all the popular sites of that romantic city and had a marvellous time. On the Thursday morning we left Rome by bus travelling through Naples to Positano where we arrived about four the following morning very tired but extremely happy.
The first thing we could not help but notice was that we were in a room with two single beds. We at once amended that situation by pushing them together but found that when we were close in the centre of our bed, they slowly slid apart again on the marble floor under the weight of our combined bodies, depositing us on the floor. We were able to laugh our heads off about that and soon made do with only one bed. We were so happy.
It was a delightful location on the coast and, from our room, we could see Capri which we arranged to visit, as well as the nearby fishing port of Amalfi with its beautiful cathedral. We were most fortunate in that also staying in the hotel was an American couple on holiday writing for the National Geographic magazine, who had hired a car and were only too pleased to have us accompany them as they toured Pompeii with its magical ruins, then only in the first stages of being excavated, Sorrento, and Piastum with its wonderful Greek temple relics left behind by that civilization.
Positano itself was a very picturesque village, somehow hanging on to the walls of the vertical cliffs overlooking the Bay of Sorrento, at that time of the year almost entirely empty of visitors, and we were made very welcome by the locals, only too pleased to ensure our comfort in the cafes and restaurants. Winston Churchill was a regular visitor, who used the location for many of his paintings, and several other well-known film and stage personalities had homes in the area or were regular visitors in the summer months. We spent Christmas and New Year there and it was very exciting joining in with the local celebrations.
After our two weeks of heaven, it was time to return to reality and we boarded our bus to Rome and our train to London to move into our nice flat where everything was new and shining, carefully chosen by Elsa who seemed to know exactly what was required for each room.
The family business, which during 1950 really blossomed into a successful operation during the Korean War, and which had continued that way during the early months of 1951, was by now slowing down with the end of hostilities. Although we continued to grow, when my father took one of his brothers and a nephew into the business too, it began to take on a rather top-heavy appearance.
During those years, first in 1953 and then in 1955, our two sons Stephen and Jeffrey were born and we were ecstatic. Money began to be a little tight but we managed, and holidays that we took were inclined to be a trifle carefully planned but not unpleasant. We were settling down and we were getting by.
Our social life continued and expanded too. Friendships that we had each known in our single days were now being renewed as we each married and gained families. Some of these friends were of really long standing, and many hours were spent together discussing and sharing baby problems, illnesses and the like. Nevertheless we were 'on track' for a successful and happy future.
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If you wish to make a donation to the Elsa Benedyk Memorial Fund, set up by her friends and colleagues entirely without Raymon’s knowledge to provide funds to support the children's ward of the Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem to commemorate her life of work with children in her nursery schools, it would be most gratefully received. The amount that you give will not be revealed to Raymon. He is not a trustee of the fund. Your cheque, payable to the Fund, should be sent to the fund's Treasurer Mrs I Dokelman, 14 Charville Court, 30/32 Gayton Road, Harrow, Middx HA1 2HT.
