We were pretty sure that my parents would come out to visit us at some stage, perhaps by sea, but with Gill's pregnancy my mother wanted to come out for the birth. In the event, my father decided he wouldn't come so my mother asked Gill's mother if she would like to and, to Mum's surprise, Bea jumped at the idea. It was her first trip outside Europe and we were a little worried about how she would cope but....
....we shouldn't have been. Bea loved it. She was fascinated by the colours, by the exuberance of plants and animals, by the smells and the warmth. She made collections of shells and other odds and ends to take home with her. She kept a diary so she could remember everything.
I think the beauty of the place so overwhelmed her that she couldn't take our warnings about the nasty side of Jamaica seriously. So she insisted on carrying her handbag downtown where, almost inevitably, it was snatched from her. Gill, heavily pregnant, ran after the thief but he got away. Fortunately no important items were in the bag, but Bea did lose her travellers' cheques.
The doctor had calculated that the baby would arrive in early April so we had arranged for them to fly out in mid-March but by the time they arrived we knew that the date was hopelessly wrong and they wouldn't be meeting the new baby, who wasn't expected until late April. On the positive side, it meant that we could take them to all our favourite places, like Long Bay....
....and they could enjoy superb beaches like Boston Bay.
My mother spent some extra time at Long Bay and then the two mothers got away together to the north coast, and we did various touristy things with them like visiting old forts and plantation houses. By the time they left I think they had a much better idea of some of the difficulties we faced living in Kingston, but it was a very happy visit....
....and we were very sorry to see them leave.
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