EmmJays Travel Journal

December, 1969

I decided to leave the UK after having spent 3 years there. It was my base for traveling on the continent.

I was very fortunate to have met some very nice people, including room mates who helped with the rent. I worked as a temp to save money for my travels. I worked as an accounting machine operator. In the sixties these were considered computers!

One room mate, an English girl who had met her husband-to-be in London decided that she wanted to be married in Scotland where her Bo was based as a Naval Officer. She asked me to help with the arrangements so we took the midnight train to Glasgow and then we drove to Gourick. We stayed in the house where she was going to live and besides getting the place ship-shape for the wedding, we also had time to tour the area. We took a day trip to Edinburgh which was a lot of fun too. The wedding day finally came and it was fantastic. Even the Mayor of Gourick was invited.

Other room mates included students from Poland who came to learn English, an Australian girl who was only staying for a few months and an English girl who wanted to eventually live in Paris. The Polish girls told me a lot about Poland and both invited me to their homes if I were to ever get to Poland. The English girl, Pat who was from northern England had met a guy who was from North Africa and he wanted her to marry him. He was born in North Africa but lived in Paris. He was Jewish. They never married as far as I know, but they did move to Paris and I assume lived happily ever after.

UK to Canada

I left London for Gatwick International Airport in very bad weather conditions, on December 20^th , 1969. My flight was scheduled to depart at 3pm but due to poor weather it was delayed 12 hours. I arrived in Toronto, Canada at 4am and it was freezing cold. I had an invitation from Judy, whom I had met in Spain, to spend Christmas with her family in Oakville, a suburb of Greater Toronto. The roads were snow covered and the sky was heavily overcast. Judy's parents were really nice.

We took the GO Train into Toronto and walked around the Bloor/Bay area, but I found the cold too much to handle so we ended up indoors in the underground shopping plazas. I thawed out and enjoyed looking at the shops that were beautifully decorated for Christmas. Back on the GO Train to Oakville, we passed by Lake Ontario which looked like an ocean to me. We celebrated Christmas, then Judy and I went to her apartment in Thornhill which she shared with 2 other room mates. I decided I should get a job and help with the rent.

One of Judy's room mates worked at IBM and she told me they were hiring. I applied and was accepted. When I was in the UK I had visited the Canadian Embassy to get my visa and I asked them what the process was for working in Canada. They told me that I had to apply for a job there first then go to Canada immigration for a work visa. Now having my job solidified I phoned Canada Immigration and set up an appointment. The official I met with told me I had been misinformed by the Embassy. I asked the official for guidance and she made a few inquiries and found out that there was several people who had been given this story at the Embassy in London. She determined that I had been misled and we went through the process of getting Landed Immigration status. I was given another appointment in January for a meeting with an immigration officer. On January 6^th, 1970, I was received Landed Immigration status and started work at IBM immediately.

I intended to stay 3 years or so, so I could save enough money to travel through the Americas.