Looking back at my list of people I have kept as part of me, it seems that folks who made me change my attitude for the better crop up at the top of the list. Julia was definitely one of them.
Many of you may know that I don't do winter very well. The cold doesn't bother me at all, but the short grey days we usually get from November to March really affect my mood and concentration. This was one of the reasons why Kayla, the kids and I spent 7 Christmases in the sun between 2000 and 2008. Mostly we visited our beloved Florida, but in 2006 we visited Grenada.
Kayla had always wanted to visit the Caribbean, and I have a place recommended to me by a friend that was unlike any "hotel" on the island.
Petit Bacaye is a collection of a half dozen clapboard and palm huts nestled on their own bay in the Caribbean sea. No aircon, no TV,no pool. "Hmm" I thought as I arrived at reception after a LOOONG flight...
Julia Montgomery had waited up for us (it was 2:30 am) with some sandwiches, homemade lemongrass lemonade ( horrible!) and a lovely smile. Julia was obviously very very posh and very very English. Her beautiful cut-glass accent immediately made me feel like a Lenny Henry character and even as a well travelled man I was a bit intimidated. See we working class Midlanders know our place, and it ain't with posh sorts !
I got my first clue that Julia was not as my stereotype might paint when two of the camp dogs decided to have a fight in our path to our hut. Julia promptly grabbed a bowl of water from the garden deck and hurled it on the dogs with laser-guided accuracy !
"Oh they don't mean anything by it" she smiled with an accent the Queen would approve of; "they're just excited you're here!".
We unpacked just what we needed and went to bed soothed by the lullaby of tree frogs, jungle crickets and the rolling waves.
Julia was in her early sixties; zero make up but clearly was a beautiful woman. She dropped by next morning to invite us to a coffee and breakfast at their dining room where we met her partner Peter. In IMPECCABLY accented English they showed huge interest in our plans and showed us the ropes of this usually but incredibly charming resort. To say that my family was enchanted by Petit Bacaye is a massive understatement; the place is as close to my dreams of paradise as makes no odds. The showers in the huts were actually OUTSIDE ( but cleverly private) so you actually shower with a warm breeze upon you and the stars above. Unforgettable.
When we ( and our kids particularly) showed enormous interest in our surroundings, Julia and Peter delighted in teaching about Grenada's wildlife, and Julia loved telling us their history ! The scars of a terrible hurricane the previous year were still visible in the trees nearby, and Julia showed us her private collection of photos and clippings of that sad and dangerous time for them. By now, a week into the holiday I had lost all intimidation of Julia and Peter's poshness, and I took to them just as much as they took to our kids. Peter told me "Your children are the very nicest we ever hosted here, congratulations". Proud doesn't cover it :)
On Christmas eve, Julia arranged for the local church to send a Choir to Petit Bacaye as they did their rounds to sing carols by firelight as the sea rolled up the beach. We were all weeping with joy. None of us will ever forget that night....
For Christmas Day, Julia and Peter went to a posh restaurant for their Christmas dinner leaving we guests the full run of the place including their amazing home. Christmas breakfast in a treehouse....Christmas dinner during a tropical storm...wonderful life experiences.
After Christmas we spent more time with Julia and Peter and they offered stories about themselves... Peter had been a Pig farmer..on a huge scale .. which made us laugh. Then Julia told us that we might have heard of her previous working name - Fiona Richmond, Britain's most famous porn actress during the 1970's....
She told us this story without a flinch, and amazingly we were so disarmed by this lovely woman that we accepted it in just the same way.
A fantastically memorable Christmas made all the better by this wonderful, kind lady. Not only did she remove my stereotypes about "posh" folks, but TORPEDOED my views of folks with unsavoury pasts. Kindness and love really are all that matter.
I truly hope to go back one day.
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