Travelling Grandmother

Press, Volume CVI, Issue 31151, 30 August 1966, Page 2

Travelling Grandmother

A 77-year-old Christchurch woman, Mrs A. M. Terry, who has just returned home from her fifth world tour, has already booked for a cruise to Fiji next May. But with three grandsons along and many friends to visit, she is not expecting a quiet holiday.

After a trip to England with her daughter, Mrs F. E. Duval, in 1950, Mrs Terry caught the travel bug and has not settled since. “I’ve been to so many places it’s hard for me to remember,” she said yesterday with a laugh. “But it keeps me young.” Alert and energetic, Mrs Terry keeps good health and is always able to enjoy a hectic schedule although she admits to feeling tired occasionally.

Disappointment as well as Interest and knowledge come with travel, she has found. “England is not what it used to be. This last trip I stayed for a fortnight with friends in Liverpool and that’s a grimy city. There are no backyards. The children play in the street.

“All over England, in the cities, it is the same. You can’t tell the men from the women. It’s quite common to see men making up their faces in public.”

The people seemed discon, tented with the Government, and disturbed by the rising cost of living. Food was expensive: rates twice as high as in New Zealand; clothing was cheap only for the young.

Switzerland is Mrs Terry’s favourite country. “It’s so fresh and clean, and Lake Lugano is a wonderful spot. I’ll never forget the casino—carpet inches thick, chandeliers like diamonds, and the dance floor extending along the lake’s edge.” The troubles usually encountered during travelling rarely hindered Mrs Terry. Although she found some customs officials “bumptious,” most were courteous and helpful. When Mrs Duval’s travelling cheques were stolen during a channel crossing, New Zealand House officials in France "couldn’t do enough to help us. “But at most tourist places, it’s just the money they are after. I had to learn to bargain, and insist on getting my change. That’s something I did find trying—changing currencies all the time.

“Most people think that because New Zealanders have the money to travel they must be wealthy—it can get a bit expensive at times, especially when you take people out to dinner.

“Still, I’ve really got itchy feet now. My daughter lived in Hong Kong for 10 years when she was first married, and I had two trips there. I know Great Britain as well as I know New Zealand, and now a cruise round the Islands is my ambition,” Mrs Terry said.

When she is at home, Mrs Terry is kept busy looking after her home, and participating in community and welfare activities with her daughter. Mrs Duval has a large collection of dolls gathered from all parts of the world. She lends the collection to various organisations for fund raising. Supervising the present showing for the Young Men’s Christian Association is helping Mrs Terry to “settle down again, but only for a while.”