Australia, my new home

land to the original farm until the present total of 972 acres was reached. A variety of fruit is grown there, and several cold stores allow the firm to store, mainly apples and pears, until the glut of the harvest is over and better prices can be obtained on the market. We arrived just at the tail end of the strawberry season. David had left a patch for us uncut. What wonderful hospitality!

Father Chandler showed me around the fruit farm and explained everything to me. As I had some farming experience, it was not too difficult to follow the explanations, and I think I was able to ask also some reasonably intelligent questions. Mother doted over our little George, whom she had looked after all on her own for the two or three days Alison and I spent in London. There was a large party arranged to welcome home Alison and to welcome George and me into the family. Every Chandler was present and it must have been a great joy to Father & Mother, to have the whole family together.

But, alas, the quiet and relaxing time in Goldstone had to come to an end. There were a number of customers on the Continent to be visited. Alison, George and I flew to Bremen, where my former boss, Jürgen Siemering, had bought a V.W. for me, which the dealer was willing to buy back after my return. This was a much cheaper way than hiring a car for all that time and distance.

This V.W. took us to Braunschweig, where my parents were eagerly expecting us. It took a while to get used to driving again on the right side of the road, but it was not too difficult. My parents had not met Alison before either, and she was now in the same position as I, before I met her parents. But here again, Alison and George were most warmly welcomed. Mutter was thrilled about her first grandson, and she thoroughly spoilt us all.

When we travelled on small excursions, George was put in the boot of the V.W. behind the back seat. That niche seemed to be just right for him. We also travelled to Göttingen to visit Onkel Werner and Tante Margret, and also other members of Mutter's large family. Language did not seem to be too much of a problem. Alison had learnt some German at evening classes, and she managed very well when I was not present.

After about a couple of weeks I took Alison and George to Hannover airport to go back to Goldstone, while I set out for my European trip. On the way south I dropped in at Bernd and Ingrid's and went together with them to a school re-union of our old Schiller School held at Hameln. It gave me a special pleasure to meet my former English teacher, Frau Vogee, who used to despair of my poor results in English and who had often said: "Tieman, you will never learn English." I had the great satisfaction to remind her in English of her remarks, but she continued in German and said she couldn't remember ever having said that. She actually was quite pleasant, but she refused to talk to me in English. May be she didn't want to expose her own limitations.

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