Cork to London - a minor's tale!

When I was about 7 or 8 years old, my mum took me on our annual trip to stay with my Auntie Nellie and her family in Cork. I always loved it there and I was still on holiday from school, so when it came time for her to go back to work in London, my mum decided to leave me behind for a few more days.

Came the day for me to leave to go back home and Auntie Nellie took me down to the harbour where the boat that travelled from Cork to Fishguard was berthed. The Innisfallen, as it was called, wasn’t one of these modern passenger/car ferries we have nowadays! It was just an old-fashioned boat with 1st and 3rd class passenger decks. It did take cars, but they had to be hoisted by crane one by one from the quayside into the hold.

Many years later I found out that it got so rough on the Irish Sea one time in the 1930s, that one of the Innisfallen’s sister ships had sunk! I didn’t know this at my age then, but I remember the boat often shook and rocked violently while on the crossing!

Anyway, Auntie Nellie looked around the quayside and then saw a woman she knew, or at least I think she knew her! She asked her if she was travelling on the boat and would she mind looking after me on the journey to London! The woman agreed, although I can’t remember what was said, and so I went with her onto the boat. I had never seen the woman before, but of course I trusted my aunt.

I don’t remember the 11 to 12-hour overnight voyage or getting onto a London-bound train at Fishguard next morning, but I do remember at some point on the long 6 to 7-hour train journey, the woman said goodbye to me and got off at her stop, somewhere in Wales I think!

I travelled the rest of the way to London on my own. When I got to Paddington Station my mum was meant to be waiting for me, but she was notorious for always being late for everything and she wasn’t there when I arrived!

I waited for a bit and then decided to make my own way home! I walked up the long ramp road from the station to the main road and then found the stop for my bus as we had often done in the past. When a number 27 came along, I got on it and paid the fare to my house. The journey takes about 30 to 45 minutes, depending on the traffic.

When the bus got to my house, I got off and knocked on the front door because I didn’t have a key. We lived at the top of the house and the landlady lived on the ground floor and she opened the door to me. A little bit later, having rushed back home from the station in a panic, my mum came frantically into the landlady’s kitchen and found me eating egg and bacon and toast!