1966 Canada bound…..he wrote

Following is an extract from a email I received from my uncle in Canada. The email was in relation to me telling him about my son Carl giving up his job here in England and heading for Australia on the 7th March 2010 at the age of twenty.  My uncle left England in 1966 Canada bound…..he wrote“………..came to Canada with $60 !! ………3 children and wife still in Colliers Wood, London. My first few days in Toronto, I spent $2 a night for accommodation. I shared a tiny room separated into four sections by a rope and blankets. It was a refuge for strays and waifs. But it was freezing cold outside so this was a roof over my head, and I was thankful. I remember a drunk lifting the corner of the blanket  which separated our living spaces and offering me a swig of his bottle……….I winked at him and said I’ll pass. I spent a couple of hours wondering if the family I had said goodbye to in England, and who warned me I might be doing the wrong thing, were right after all. But tomorrow was another day and  I soon got my ass in gear, and believe it or not within a week I was driving a Buick……….a far cry from the surgical boot of a car I drove in England. That was a 1949 crank start Ford popular which my Boss sold to me for 50 pounds. Man do I have some stories about starting life in a new country. ”

Eventually my uncle sent for his family and they all emigrated and are all still there today. Somehow I think it was much harder then than it is going to be for Carl. That’s not taking anything away from Carl, after all, he has off his own back organised everything that he needs to for his adventure to Australia. Its just with the technology now, Carl will not be isolated on the other side of the world. Email, iChat, Twitter and blogs will keep us in touch almost on a daily basis, albeit a day behind or in front.

I have tried to emphasis to Carl how great it would be if he can keep his blog up to date, so in years to come there is a record of his adventure for all to read. Hopefully for once he will listen to his old man !