Experience of a couple who migrated to Canada.

When my first husband and I, both teachers in England without any children, learnt that our counterparts in B.C. were earning 21/2 times our salary, we decided to migrate to Canada.

After satisfying the Canadian immigration requirements, both of us applied for jobs, and got them with the Sechelt School district because they were the only school board who would deploy us without any interview.

On a July afternoon in the year 1967, we left our respective schools in Manchester and drove a rental car to Glasgow docks where the Blue Star Line freighter, the Canadian Star, was to leave at 1:30 a.m., arriving in Vancouver some time late in August.

At midnight, somewhere in the wilderness of the southern uplands of Scotland, the engine of the car died. After hiking for a mile or two, my husband found a phone booth and we were helped by a Royal Automobile Club man, who bought us enough gas to reach Glasgow.

With just few minutes to spare, we caught the ship. Our amazing trip was expected to last for almost five weeks. Later in the voyage, there was a change of course to San Juan, Puerto Rico, for an unscheduled stop. One of the crew was taken to a hospital after losing his eye in a fight. The person who attacked him was taken to the British consul, from where he was sent back to England.

I reached there and spent the first night in the hotel closest to the dock near the Rogers sugar refinery- the Waldorf. My marriage deteriorated and I missed my friends. But I never thought of returning to England. Through my inquisitive nature, I gradually discovered that life here had other attractions, not least its wild beauty and relative freedom. Over the years, I found many equally inspiring substitutes for my artistic endeavors.