Long Road Back

Book details

Title: Long Road Back
Genre: Real life
Format: Paperback
ISBN: 978-1904976-07-3
Price: £7.99

Synopsis

Long Road Back tells the true story of a young British couple's second attempt to settle in a new country. Their first attempt had ended when the recession spread through the whole of Europe and defeated their attempts to remain in business. But their love for Algarve and the yearning to give it another go never left them. They still had the inclination, so they set off on their second great adventure.

Extract

Algarve Calling

The voice called out Hub’s name on the Tannoy and he immediately hurried over to the campsite office with me fast on his heels - thinking, worrying. What could be the problem? Except for our family, few knew where we were and I waited anxiously as Hub picked up the receiver.

Relief came as a smile softened his face and he said, “Ola Carlos. Bom dia!”

Of course! Carlos and Maria had the number.

Even so, we had been back in England less than a week so this call was a little unexpected. As I watched Hub I saw the smile turn to a frown and he was now speaking in his more fluent English so I guessed the phone had been passed over to Maria. The call lasted about five minutes then Hub thanked the site manager and we walked back to our caravan.

“What’s up?” I asked. “Problem?”

I made tea as Hub told me about his conversation with Maria. It turned out that, on opening up the workshops early that morning, Carlos had discovered there had been a break-in. Old Miguel, who lived close by in his old stone cottage and was manager of the site, had not heard a thing so whoever broke into the place had been very stealthy but, at the same time, had made an awful mess.

The thief had stolen many of the expensive hand tools and quite a few tins of wood varnish.

We were already living on a very tight budget, trying to save whatever we could, and now this. The last thing we needed! Carlos had informed the police, who were now looking into it, but Maria had little faith in their local constabulary and doubted much would be done about it. Carlos wanted to know what to do as the missing tools were important to his work. Should he buy new ones?

Hub told him to go ahead, promising he would send a cheque to cover the cost.

I sat, listened and yearned; yearned for Hub to be in charge once more. But most of all I yearned for a return to the wonderful life-style that Hub, Jamie and I had enjoyed for two and a half years in the beautiful Algarve.

A few days back on English soil and I was very discontented. This wasn’t our home any more.

***

I tried to concentrate and read my newspaper but the words became a blur and failed to sink in. I was day dreaming. I was back in our pretty villa, sitting out on the sun-baked patio in front of the shimmering pool, sipping fresh orange juice and munching crispy buttered toast; enjoying my breakfast in glorious sunshine.

I was grumpy and tired. The long journey from Algarve and all the stress we had before we left was taking its toll. And now we had this bad news from Carlos. I knew we shouldn’t be here. We should be out there, running ‘our’ business.

Three years earlier we had made the big decision to sell up in UK and leave. Hub, after a long career in the London Fire Brigade, had been retired from the service after a serious accident. Although he would miss his exciting career and all the physical activity it involved, his retirement pension gave him, and us, the opportunity to make our dream come true. That dream had been to move away from recession-struck England and travel; to see other countries and maybe start a new life elsewhere.

I had spotted the advertisement that was to change our life – a small carpentry business for sale in Algarve, Portugal. After urging Hub to call the owners, he had soon found himself on a plane to the Algarve. Within twenty four hours he had phoned to say start packing.

A month later we had closed the door of our Kent cottage for the last time and were embarking on a voyage to Europe’s most Westerly tip. The glorious Algarve!

Our journey from Kent to Portugal had taken the best part of four days. The ferry from Plymouth to Santander in North Spain had given us a very rough and stormy ride but, from then on, our journey through the beautiful Basque countryside and our first stopover at the old Castilian capital of Burgos was a lovely tranquil experience.

Then onto the golden city of Salamanca where we witnessed begging in the streets, as well as seeing the glorious buildings of its famous university. As it was still winter, we had shivered our way through central Spain and been completely surprised by seeing black bulls moving slowly around on frost-covered grass. But we continued to the border crossing at Badajos and at last entered Portugal heading for the town of Grandola – the stop-over for our third night. The last leg of our journey was the drive south to our new home in Algarve.

That was the beginning of our residency in the lively town of Lagoa and taking up the reins of our new carpentry business in Algoz- a stay that was to bring hard work, adventure, lots of laughter and happiness.

But our happy times in Portugal were finally brought to an end, not only by the recession that had spread throughout Europe and almost brought our business to a standstill but also by the devastating news that my father-in-law had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

All of which had resulted in our present predicament: our relocation from a beautiful villa in Algarve to a caravan home in the Essex countryside!

I folded my paper and sunk back into the soft sofa.

“I’ll get that cheque off to Carlos when we go in town later,” Hub said. “Could do without the expense but he needs the tools to keep going.”

My voice sounded as miserable as I felt. “We’ll have to get some work soon, won’t we”

“Yeah suppose so.” Hub’s voice echoed my despondency. Then, as if to quickly change the subject, he said, “Would you feel up to a drive down to see Mum and Dad next week? On the way back, we could look in on your Mum.”

I answered in the affirmative. I knew Hub was anxious to see his father because the Alzheimer’s had put his mother through a harrowing time but Hub’s older sister had managed to move closer to their home in Dorset and they had found a place for his dad in a nearby nursing home. That, at least, had taken the pressure off his mother and she could visit him on a daily basis if she wished.

My elderly mother lived in Kent. Although I had kept in touch with her through regular telephone calls and letters, I hadn’t seen her since we left for Algarve so I was eager to visit and catch up on all the family news.

But, although I didn’t mind the journey down to Dorset to my in-laws, I was very apprehensive about what might greet us there. We knew from phone calls to Hub’s mother, and especially his sister, that things were not good. His father was having difficulty remembering members of the family. Sometimes he didn’t even recognise his wife. One day when she was visiting, he asked why his own mother hadn’t been to visit yet she had died many years earlier! When my mother-in-law reminded him, he simply burst into tears.

No, although I wanted to see my in-laws, of whom I was very fond, I sensed it would be an extremely upsetting occasion.

***

At the end of the following week, before we set off to Dorset, Hub made a call to Maria. They had received our cheque, the workshops had been tidied up and Carlos had already replaced some of the hand tools. I had a short chat with Maria which was nice. But when she told me not to worry and said that she missed me, I had to say a hurried ‘Adeus’ (goodbye) before my tears started to flow.

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Long Road Back by Ellie Bowdery

Book details

Synopsis

Extract

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