***
It was 8.00 a.m. on Sunday morning (2nd) and the Hill family and guest Alice were sitting down to a big cooked breakfast. “We don’t have such a breakfast every morning, Alice — only at weekends,” Margaret said to Alice by way of explanation. “We usually attend church on Sunday. The service starts at 10.45 a.m. We go to chapel. We’ll see you both off at the station first,” she continued.
“I’ll have to miss church today,” replied Alice, “but I’ve a good reason,” she said with a sidelong look at Andy.
“Any idea when you will have your next leave, Andy?” asked his father.
“I won’t know until I get down to West Sanby, Dad,” Andy replied. “I’ll let you know as soon as I can. By the way, I want to buy a car, not a new one. If you know of a good one going will you let me know? I think I’ll get a better deal up here than down south.” His father nodded in reply.
It was 10.25 a.m. and they were all at the station. Andy and Alice had put their bags in a compartment and were standing on the platform talking to his parents. The old K1 steam locomotive was connecting to the two carriages for the three mile run to Alnmouth. Two minutes to go and the guard called out “All aboard!”
Margaret hugged Alice, looking a bit teary about it. “You come and visit us, even without Andy,” she said. Alice hugged her back and nodded her head.
Tony shook hands with his son and said, “You take care of yourself. Hope to see you again soon.”
Andy nodded in reply and said, “Will do. Don’t overwork, Dad.” His father smiled and turned to hug Alice goodbye. Margaret hugged her son and Andy kissed her on the cheek. “Look after yourself, Mum. I’ll give you a call during the week and I’ll write.” She smiled at him and nodded her head, feeling too emotional to speak. The young couple boarded the train. There was the sound of the porter slamming compartment doors and a whistle from the guard, then a hiss of steam as the brake was released and the locomotive puffing as it moved out of the station. Andy and Alice leaned out of the window and waved to his parents, the train went round the bend and they were lost to sight.
The young couple had the compartment to themselves and Alice snuggled in to Andy, determined to make the most of their time together. He also was enjoying these moments. Andy felt himself to be fortunate in having someone who wanted to be with him for himself alone and not for any other reason. She was warm and caring, beautiful and intelligent. They also seemed to have similar interests. It all added up to someone special. The moment was broken by Alice asking Andy for his address at RAF West Sanby. He smiled and took a sheet of paper out of his jacket pocket and handed it to her. “Are you reading my mind?” she asked laughingly.
“Well, I already have yours so it seemed you would want to balance it off,” Andy replied. Alice took the paper and put it in her purse. The train pulled into Alnmouth and they crossed over to the southbound platform for the train to Newcastle. They hadn’t long to wait. As the train headed south they saw the changing landscape. Warkworth Castle stood out to the east and then the train was pulling in to Acklington. Not far away was the RAF base equipped with Hawker Hunters. Some young men boarded the train. By their haircuts, Andy guessed that they would be RAF personnel. When the train pulled into Morpeth, Alice squeezed Andy’s arm. It was an evening neither of them would forget easily. There were more stations now as the train neared Newcastle. Alice was holding onto Andy’s arm as though she didn’t want to let go. He felt quite moved by this display of affection by Alice. The train terminated on Platform 10. The London train was sitting at Platform 9. “I’ll come and see you off, Andy,” said Alice. “I’ve got about fifteen minutes to wait for my train.”
“Okay,” said Andy, “Let’s get over the bridge to Platform 9.” They got over quickly and Andy boarded the train while Alice waited on the platform. He found a ‘No Smoking’ compartment with empty seats and put his bag on one of them and returned to Alice. They embraced and kissed. “I’ll telephone when I’m back at the base,” said Andy, “and I’ll be back to see you as soon as I can.” Alice nodded and smiled through moist eyes. She felt really happy but was going to miss this new-found love of hers. Porters were slamming the doors and Andy boarded the train, stayed by the door and dropped the window open so that he could lean out and wave to Alice. The guard blew his whistle and waved his green flag. The locomotive was one of the new Class 40 diesels and there was a roar of power as it started to haul the train out of the station. Alice waved and blew Andy a kiss. He smiled and waved and the train slid away. It passed by the Castle Garth and crossed over the Tyne by the ‘High Level’ bridge built by Robert Stephenson. Below was the Swing Bridge and beyond that the Tyne Bridge, a miniature of the Sydney Harbour Bridge. The train thundered through Gateshead Station, heading south. Andy shut the door window and went and took his seat in the compartment. A middle-aged couple had the window seats and Andy got a book out of his bag and settled down to read. It would be up to three hours to Doncaster. He would go down to the buffet car later to get something to eat.
