In the summer of 1956, when I was ten years old , my Mother and I went to England for 3 months to visit her Parents and her siblings. Mum had not seen them since she came to Canada in 1928, so twenty eight years had passed. We travelled by ship from Montreal to Plymouth, then by train to London. After a few days of getting settled Mum asked me what I would like to see in London. I made a list of the sights I wanted to see as a ten year old boy. Mum grew up in London so she knew the city very well. My list including most of the traditional places like the Tower of London, the Imperial War Museum, and Buckingham Palace.
Mum bought me a London transit map, and we plotted my daily journeys. After the first trip together, Mum said I could now travel on my own, around London. Her words to me were...If you get lost, talk to a Police man, to get directions. Off I went with some coins in my pocket, a bag lunch, the bus and tube map, and a little Brownie pocket camera. I did that for weeks on end. I made friends with some of the staff at the Imperial War Museum, after being there a number of times. They didn't think it was unusual for a ten year old to be knocking around the city, on my own.
Now, 68 years later, I can still navigate ( in my mind ) around downtown London. Mum trusted my good sense, and my ability to read the map, and arrive back at her Mum's house at 5pm for our supper. I was ten. JIMB.
