Homeland Security

Back to school in the UK but would be seeing my parents again in 7 months when they came to the UK on leave in April 1966.

They wouldn't be buying a new car on the forthcoming trip. We had now bought a VW Beetle following the August 1962 catastrophy with the Ford Consul. It would have been bought in Germany during their December 1964 leave.

The flight was always in the morning from Piarco airport Trinidad where the photo was taken, with me in full school uniform. It could be this British "keeping up standards" was to save me from arrest by the US Customs at New York.

Flight with BWIA with a JFK New York airport transfer to a connecting overnight flight with BOAC to London. No baggage, simply a few hours to kill in the transfer lounge. However, on this evening, JFK was shut down because of fog. We were told we would be put up in hotels and luggage had to be collected.

Naturally, that also meant customs. And USA Customs even back in those days were very strict when it came to food and hysterical when "raw" agricultural products were involved, with all their pests and bugs and bacteria. My bag was checked and there materialised a whole big cocoa pod and in a container, the wet sticky innards of a whole cocoa pod!

I stuttered it was for a Geography project at school and I can only assume the  Customs officer was so bewildered by my uniform that he knew it must be OK. He quickly shut the case and held his finger to his lips.

Then ferried in the foggy night by bus to the very heart of New York.  Times Square Hotel, a massive building where I then had to share the room with two other unaccompanied children. All I remember of the night was watching the black & white TV for ages. Trinidad & Tobago had got TV in 1962 and was the training ground for Sir Trevor McDonald, later to be the UK's ITV network news anchorman. And while we did have Bonanza and perhaps even Flipper, we didn't have most of what was available that night. We would normally have all been tucked up long ago at home.

More of the adventure tomorrow but only when I get the written permission I have requested for a copyrighted photo which will enable the story to continue.

I doubt I will find a suitable photo to tell another connected story. My geography teacher at school was a Mr Blunt, one of those teachers who was so enthusiastic about his subject and he inspired me. Geography was always to be one of my favourite topics and thanks to him, I was quite good at it. He lived in the Glastonbury area and I remember a class outing with him there and finishing up at his house. Back then, I seem to remember he and one of his elder sons were very into environmental issues, crafts and local traditions. A very kind man, with a bit of a temper at times, who I always respected as a teacher.