Читать книгу Class of '79 - Chris Rooke - Страница 13

As the UK is slightly smaller than the US, we arrived at our destination well before we had imagined, at around 5.00 am and before anyone was awake. The main problem was that our destination was my uncle’s house in Leigh-on-Sea and I hadn’t told him that we were coming. I had somehow forgotten to mention to him that he was about to be invaded by 5 sweaty teenagers in an old Mini.

This was a minor oversight brought about by Geoff and I having stayed there two years before when on holiday on our mopeds, and I think that I had perhaps taken their open invitation to return a little too literally.

So, there we were outside my uncle’s house at 5.00 in the morning: what were we to do? We decided that it was far too early to ring the doorbell and wake them up, so we rummaged through the car, found our sleeping bags and stretched out in the front garden. What we didn’t realise was that having five awkward teenagers rummage through their luggage in a Mini on a quiet side street at five in the morning without disturbing anyone was being rather optimistic.

After we had apparently awoken half the street, my aunt forced herself out of bed, and appeared at the front door to rescue us and invite us in. Heaven! Despite the manner of our arrival, we were welcomed with open arms and invited to use the bathroom, whilst a wonderful breakfast was prepared. We spent a great couple of days there being spoilt by my aunt and uncle and entertained by my cousins. I can also report that almost incredibly no major gaffs were committed! We were now officially persona grata! And that was about as good as it got.