On January 8th, 1970 I set out for Brighton station to catch a train to take me to London to visit Australia House. Once I had bought my ticket I walked onto the platform and peered into the carriage windows.' I might as well have a pleasant traveling companion' I thought . Then I spied a good looking young man sitting in the corner of a compartment. So I went into that compartment and sat in the far corner away from him.
Because my boxes had not arrived from Germany I was limited to my best clothes, a light beige fur coat and hat and long beige suede boots.
The journey took 59 minutes and I exchanged a few smiles with the young man but as there were other people there nothing more. There was one stop at East Croydon and a disheveled tramp got in. This made me want to laugh and I struggled to keep my composure. Then we arrived at Victoria station and I still had not spoken to the young man. I imagined he was married and going to London to work.
This is all I can type for now so the rest of the story will come in another post.
