Sue and I had been saving so hard for a house and to pay for the wedding money was more than pinch tight. So going on honeymoon was well out of the question initially.
It so happened that Sue worked up in london and below the office was a travel agents. Now the boss of the agents often asked Sue to type confidentual letters concerning the travel agency so staff didn’t see.
That is the start of it so please bear with me on this
The travel agency boss got to hear of Sue getting married and asked if we had booked a honeymoon. Sue told him we could not afford one so that was out of the question. This was in 1972. well a few days later when Sue did a bit more work for him he asked if it was ok if he arranged for somewhere we could go, obviously Sue again said we honestly could not afford it.
THEN THE BOMBSHELL DROPPED.
He said because of all the work Sue had done for him and nobody knew, he with Sue;s permission, would like to arrange a place we could go. Very awkward for Sue to answer there and without talking to me first. He said he can arrange for both of us to go for 2 weeks to a 5* hotel in Tunisia including flights and expenses.
Sue said that would be nice BUT, he said could she pay £25 for the cost. WATTT? for her? no both of us. To say we were in shock is an understatement.
But it was true we spent our honeymoon in Tunisia in a 5* hotel with its own private beach and our own cabin away from the main building which suited us. Only one problem in march and boiling hot (not for the locals) the underfloor heating was on so to get from one bed to the other (single beds on opposite walls) we had to put shoe on.
During our stay I stupid like ordered a bottle of local wine. Did it taste nice? never tasted camel pee but this must have been pretty close, it was worse than horrible.
I could say about arrival at the airport, the coach journey to the hotel, what happened with a storm to beduins on the open beach or going to the Souk (shopping centre) but it would start to get boring so will finish here.
Needless to say we had a fantastic time we were not expecting
Yes it was total shock Rhian. If you only knew how hard we saved, 5 jobs between us , Never went anywhere for 18 months except parents houses or for walks. Opps went to the cinema once but that was it. In the end I had to ease up under DR’s orders as I was making myself ill.
As I said getting a house, my cousin in law let me buy one of his he was doing up ( he had a building firm and a few properties he rented out). He let us have this 1920s middle of three he was renovating for what it cost him plus the work done as a wedding present. Gauzimping was rife and we could not afford anything.
the stories I have not “yet” mentioned were quite funny but I suppose you don’t want to know
follow up to my first post
So off we flew to Tunisia ,The country had only just opened up to tourism and I suppose Sue and I were among the first to go.
So we landed at the airport and stepped off the plane only to have people rush up on the tarmac trying to sell goods. No controls to stop them and a small boy tried giving me a tray of toy camels and grabbing and pulling Sue. if it wasn’t so funny he would have had a damn good slapping.
Oh Border control? yes kinda of, a couple of border guards sitting in a tent on chairs and with foldup tables. I don’t think they even knew what they we supposed to be doing, no checks as such apart from stamping the passports. So custom cleared and onto the coach ( well more like the local bus loose seats and tatty inside)
So off we go supposedly to the hotel or so we thought but no, must have visited so many small villages first where the bus/coach stopped and the driver opened up the luggage area under the coach and started handing over carpets to the local shops.
eventually we got to the hotel and what a place ,the hotel drive must have been half a mile long with orange and lemon trees either side. so got to the hotel and there must have been 5 or 6 people painting to outside wall with paint so watered down they had to keep doing it over and over all the time we were there.
One other thing I didn’t mention was the beach. The hotel had its own private beach and locals banned but next to it was the public area. Anything happen why I mentioned it? OH YES.
The beduins had decided to pitch their tents for the night right next door with the camels tethered a good few feet away.Maybe the smell was the reason. that night there was a violent storm and the beduins were hopping mad. They had pitched their tents on one sandy hillock and the camels on another, between them was a deep ditch of sea water. I pissed myself laughing.
Oh forgot the Souks what a stink. Urine ,Camal or human ??? running down the gutters but got to the market square and lots of women scrabbling over a huge pile of clothes just dumped on the ground .
What a way to have a memorable honeymoon all for £25
I remember we had less.than a pound between us when we got back to our little house…just one room renovated …I remember being so excited I had FITTED carpets in that room…so funny
