Travel Diaries:1970s Palestine, Prologue & Episode 1
On a tree by my window two little birds sit, socially distanced, singing ...nothing. Much like me.
I’m grateful to have missed out on war, and not be condemned to live life behind bars. Finding a meaning to, and a purpose in life can be a challenge at the best of times. Drawn to tragedy, I move through it looking for those glimmers of hope that shine all the brighter against such dross.
Planted before my computer screen it’s time to write, not only to ruminate, If I’m determined to live in the past, it’s time to share. With a hot water bottle stuffed down the front of my pants (US English), and fingerless mitts in place I’m off in my mind to the warmth of Israel/The Occupied West Bank, and the stories in my first travel diary from 1976. I’m typing from the fragile hand written original, with some editing in places. This was the trip that led to a lifetime of wanderings, a way of life only temporarily curtailed by COVID.
Tuesday October 5th 1976
This diary begins on my eighteenth birthday. I’m now back at my parents home and woke up to a cold, rainy day without a care. I’d planned to meet my boyfriend, AJ, during his college lunch break in Poole. We walked in the rain to a local cafe where he surprised me with a bag full of gifts and cards from his family. So unexpected, as I’d been given a copy of Lord Of The Rings by him during a visit to Lymington hospital, where I’d recently spent a few days. I felt like a little child, eager to unwrap the presents. A Chinese hand-painted egg from his brother, a bronze copy of an ancient Danish necklet from his parents, to which he had added a matching bracelet wrapped in a lovely silvery blue-green silk scarf.
Later that evening I drove to Shillingstone to bring Nana back to Bournemouth for a small birthday tea before meeting AJ at the Bournemouth College folk club. I drove him home, thanked his parents and felt very tired, but at peace. Drove home in the early morning hours.
Dad surprised me with £100s that I’ve added to my I’m-about-to-travel fund. A lovely day, made so by the friendliness between AJ and me. I hope we’ll always be friends, and contact with his family can continue whatever events occur. I believe his parents meant what they wrote in their letter to me. I gained so much from my stay with them. They showed me so much, I learned a lot and know I still have more to find out about myself and about life.
Wednesday October 6th 1976
Dinner at The South Western Hotel with my parents, Nan, and AJ. A gold chain from Papa and a new nurse fob watch - that had to be returned for repair. A sign perhaps?* My first legal alcoholic drink along with joining registered voters. No pretence needed to drink now …and slightly less appeal.
*I was due to begin nursing training in May 1977. It didn’t happen.
