J S Downs is in her sixties, recently retired, married with

two sons and lives with her husband in North East

Lancashire. This is her first novel but she is currently
working on a sequel. She enjoys walking, socialising with
her many friends and travelling. All of these combine to
generate the ideas for her writing.

Dedication

In memory of John Travis, MBE, FRSA (19342013) who

was my English and drama teacher and a source of
inspiration and encouragement to I and many others.

Copyright J. S. Downs (2015)

The right of J. S. Downs to be identified as author of this work
has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of
the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be
reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any
form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the
publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorized act in relation to this
publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims
for damages.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British
Library.

ISBN 978 1 78455 251 0 (Paperback)

ISBN 978 1 78455 253 4 (Hardback)

www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2015)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.
25 Canada Square
Canary Wharf
London
E14 5LB

Printed and bound in Great Britain

Acknowledgments
Thank you to my husband and family and all my friends
who have listened to me and encouraged me throughout the
last few months.

Sue Barnett, sixty years of age, average height, short cropped

hair coloured a honey blonde, reasonably pleasant face to look
at, a bit pear shaped, but with good legs still. Not bad
considering all things just an ordinary woman.
Born to working-class parents in the early 1950s, the
younger of two children, she had been quite bright at school
but nothing outstanding. She gained a handful of GCEs and
started work at the age of seventeen in the banking industry.
She was always a hard worker and liked to think that she did a
good job. She married her childhood sweetheart Mark in the
late 1960s and they had three children, two boys and the
youngest, a girl, within seven years of being married.
Life progressed in a normal way, in so far as she continued
to work full-time, look after Mark and the children (Peter,
James and Nicola) whilst managing to earn enough to pay
most of the bills so that Mark could be self-employed in the
building trade without the pressure of having to totally support
the family financially. Sue was a good manager of money
her mother had taught her that much and so long as there was
enough to pay the bills and provide food and clothes for the
children, with a bit left over for minor luxuries, Sue was quite
happy. Mark was able to provide for extras, like repairs or
improvements to the house as required. However, there never
seemed to be quite enough to gather any significant savings.
Everything Sue and Mark had was tied up in their home.
The children eventually left school, got jobs and either
married or found partners to live with, and Sue and Mark were

left on their own in a large house in a good part of the town

where she was born in northeast Lancashire. Sue was generally
happy with her life, but the one thing she had missed was
going on holiday. Mark never wanted to go away and always
found some reason not to, so they had never done the package
holiday thing like most of their friends. Sue told herself for
years that it didnt matter and made do with having odd days
out here and there with female friends, or later on in her life,
visiting friends in the south of England. She thought that what
you never had you never missed.
Mark was happy for her to go away on her own as it meant
he wasnt put under any pressure to go with her and he could
stay in his cocoon of security. In fact, he rarely had time off
work, preferring to treat each day the same all year round with
the exception of staying at home on bank holidays, Christmas
etc. When he was at home, his main hobby was restoring old
motorbikes. He had two: a Velocette and a Triumph
Bonneville. They were his pride and joy and he called them his
girls Velo and Bonnie.
Sues urge to travel was awakened at the age of fifty when
she became quite ill and for several years she endured a
catalogue of ill health resulting in several major surgical
procedures along with frequent hospital stays (all of this whilst
still holding down a responsible job at the bank). Once she had
recovered what she deemed to be the majority of her health,
she promised herself that she would take a holiday on her own.
She mentioned this to Mark and the family and they were
encouraging, but they didnt bargain for her announcement that
she was going to take up the offer of a visit with friends living
in Australia, Steve and Grace. They didnt quite believe that
their mother was capable of taking herself off to the other side
of the world even if she was going to be met at the other end.
The trip went well and convinced Sue of what she had been
missing. She decided that she wanted to travel to as many
different places as she could, but obviously she could only do

that within the constraints of her holiday entitlement at work

and her budget.
Now, at the age of sixty, Sue was facing retirement.
Having been given the opportunity of leaving her job with a
lump sum in addition to her pension, she decided that the time
was right to call it a day work wise and try to enjoy some time
doing what she had always wanted. After all, her health wasnt
as good as it once was and the added pressure of work was
having a detrimental effect. Lifes too short, people would
say and she repeated this mantra to herself throughout her last
few months at work. She became disillusioned with the work
culture and the ever increasing demands being put on her,
many of which she considered to be unreasonable and in some
cases without logic. Going to work each day was becoming a
real chore and no longer provided her with the fulfilment and
mental stimulation she had always previously gained. It was,
she thought, time to go.
Her parents and sister had all passed away as had Marks
parents (he was an only child), so apart from their children and
grandchildren they were on their own. But what would she do
with her days? Well, she liked to walk to delay what seemed to
be the inevitable curse of the older generation stiff joints and
to provide her with the fresh air she had missed when working
behind a desk. Sue felt that she did her best thinking when she
walked alone. If she had a problem the solitude provided her
with the space to work things out logically and practically.
She also liked to go visiting friends who lived a little
further afield so she was sure that this would be much more
enjoyable when she could do it at leisure instead of having to
fit it all in at the weekends or in holiday time. She would be
able to keep the garden tidy and enjoy warm sunny days in the
summer, (subject to the English climate that is). She had a
good relationship with her daughter, Nicola and both her
daughters-in-law, Lynne and Emma, so she thought she would
make the most of that and go out for little excursions from

time to time. Peter and his wife, Lynne, had two daughters,
Karen and Rebecca, both in their teens but James and his wife,
Emma, had no children and neither did her youngest child,
Nicola.
Nicola and her partner, Simon, lived and worked in
Manchester. She didnt see them often but she spoke to Nicola
on the phone at least once a week. However, her daughters-inlaw, Lynne and Emma lived locally and she could see them
more often. Jean, one of her closest friends, who lived nearby,
would be able to walk with her and they could go shopping or
take the occasional visit to the theatre something they both
liked to do. Jean was a widow and had lived on her own for
about twenty years, so she enjoyed getting out with Sue when
she wasnt working. She would probably be glad of more
opportunities to walk with Sue. In addition, Sue had a really
close friend, Erin, with whom she had worked a number of
years ago and who now lived in the east Midlands. She was
always asking her to go and stay, so she would be able to do
this more often. Oh yes, thered be plenty to do and she
couldnt wait.

The first few months of retirement were like being on holiday

from work and Sue enjoyed having the odd spending spree on
things to wear and on a few decorating jobs around the house
to tart it up a bit.
After six months her thoughts turned to holidays. She
wanted to see something of the world, go a bit further afield
than Europe, where she had been a couple of times with Jean,
and do something special. After all, what had she actually done
with her life apart from rearing three kids and work bloody
hard? She decided to make a list of places she wanted to visit.
She started to jot down a list in no particular order as a starter
for ten. This included:Canada
America (north) maybe The Grand Canyon, New
England, New York
America (south) Peru, Brazil
Australia The Great Barrier Reef, Melbourne,
Adelaide, Sydney (again but different things)
Hong Kong
New Zealand
South Africa- Garden Route, Diamond mines
She decided that this was a large enough list for now and
of course she could add to it as she thought of other
destinations. Shed need rather a lot of cash to do all this and
she would have to spend her money wisely she knew that
much.
She saw an ad on the TV for a train journey in the
Canadian Rockies The Rocky Mountaineer and decided to

check out the details. She told Mark that she was interested in
doing something like this and he was, as always, encouraging
and upbeat about the idea. If you can afford it Sue, then do it.
Youre only here once so go for it, he said. The rest of the
family were equally positive about it. Therefore, after much
deliberation and research on the internet she finally booked an
eleven day trip to the Canadian Rockies, starting in Calgary,
taking in several locations and ending with a two day train trip
on the Rocky Mountaineer train from Jasper to Vancouver. For
this last phase, she decided to upgrade her ticket to the Gold
Leaf Service which meant she would travel in luxury for the
train journey with a panoramic view of the landscape along the
Thompson and Fraser Rivers.
She couldnt wait she was so excited and told all her
friends most of whom were green with envy. Jean couldnt
afford the cost of the trip so Sue would be travelling alone in a
new continent with no-one familiar to meet her like they did
when she went to Australia. The thought was a bit daunting but
exciting at the same time. She knew that once she reached
Calgary, she would meet other people doing the same sort of
thing and that most of her holiday would be organised for her.
She would, however, have some free days to do her own
thing so there would be an element of adventure as well. She
had made it clear to the travel agent, who helped her to sort out
the package together that she didnt want to be herded about
every day so she was pleased with the itinerary. It was a start
and she would learn from any mistakes for the next trip. She
had to start somewhere and this was going to be it. Look out
Canada, here I come.

The day of her departure arrived it was on a rather cool

Thursday morning in early June at 6.00am that she was
dropped off by her younger son, James, at the airport. She had
said her farewells to Mark the night before as he said he
wouldnt want to be awakened early in the morning. It was a
bit of a struggle getting showered and dressed without making
too much noise, but she managed it. The adventure was about
to start. She was sure her baggage would be over the limit
she hadnt known what to pack. She had been watching the
weather in western Canada on the internet for a couple of
weeks and it was changeable but the forecast and the travel
guides she had read said that June would be reasonably warm,
so she had opted for lighter clothes, the only thing was, there
were a lot of them. She had really enjoyed shopping for them
though! However, in the end she was about five kilos below
the limit. Phew! Thank goodness for that.
Sues nervousness was tinged with excitement and
anticipation of what she was about to experience. After a very
smooth check-in and security check process, she began to relax
a little and set about getting something to eat while she waited
the three hours or so before boarding. This turned into four
hours as a delay was announced just as Sue was settling down
to eat her bacon sandwich. Would this holiday ever start?
Finally, at just before 10.00am Sue seated herself on the
end of the centre aisle of three seats on Row 38, next to a
couple of recently retired teachers from the Midlands, George
and Heather. Having good travelling companions certainly

made the long journey nine hours more bearable. As they

relaxed for the long journey ahead, Sue chatted with Heather
who told her that she and George were also travelling through
the Rockies but they were doing a fly-drive and had chosen
their own itinerary. They compared notes and to everyones
surprise, there was going to be one night when they would be
staying at the same lodge in Jasper. It was agreed they would
meet up for dinner on that night.
Sue couldnt believe the coincidence and she was, she had
to confess, quite pleased that there would be one night when
she would have company for dinner. That was the only aspect
of travelling alone that she found a little sad. Although she was
used to sitting in a restaurant at her lonely table while other
diners seemed to be in twos or in groups, it always made her
envious. She would listen to their laughter and obvious
pleasure at sharing their days experiences whilst she could
only write things down in her journal and try to explain to
Mark when they spoke on the phone how wonderful things
were. He could of course never appreciate it fully when he
hadnt actually been there. She longed one day to be able to go
away with Mark but knew that the chances of that happening
were very slim. He was stubborn when it came to even
discussing the prospect of him going away. Never mind, she
was going to enjoy it whatever happened. Nothing was going
to spoil this adventure and she would look for challenges along
the way.

When the plane arrived at Calgary airport, the temperature was

a pleasant 18 C. Well that was a good start anyway. She could
manage that if that was what was in store for the trip. She said
goodbye to her travelling companions as they went through to
baggage reclaim from the Immigration lounge. She was truly
on her own. She asked a lady in a green uniform where she
could get a bus into the city, but despite her badge saying she
was Here to help, she was unsure and in the end Sue opted
for a waiting taxi outside of the arrivals hall on the concourse.
The first hotel was in the centre of Calgary and quite
modern a twenty-six storey building. Sue stood outside
looking up at the hundreds of windows above her. She gulped
nervously and with a confidence she didnt feel, she strode into
the Reception. Welcome to Calgary, Mam, said a rather
young but pleasant lady on the Reception desk. We have you
down as staying for the one night and we have your room on
the twenty-fourth floor overlooking the river. Here is your key
and the bell boy will take your luggage and show you to your
room. She smiled proudly as she handed over the key card.
Shock horror! This was obstacle number one. Oh, said
Sue, Im not sure I can cope with that. Im not too good with
heights. Do you think you could find me a room a little closer
to the ground?
Looking rather deflated, the desk clerk recovered quickly
and said, No problem, Mam, we can change that for you.
How does the fourth floor sound?

That will be good thank you and Im sorry to be

difficult, replied Sue gratefully. How bloody stupid is that?
she thought to herself. Im offered whats probably one of the
best rooms in the hotel and I turn it down. I must be mad. How
the hell am I going to cope with the helicopter trip over the
mountains tomorrow if I cant manage a room with a view?
Why did I book a trip to a place thats going to be packed with
such experiences? Well, this is not the time to be worrying
about that Susan. Just relax and enjoy it. You wanted a
challenge. Embrace it and just deal with it calmly and
rationally like you used to do with obstacles at work or when
you were facing another daunting bit of surgery. It cant be
worse than any of that! Why am I thinking negative thoughts
all of a sudden? This is a holiday of a lifetime. Get over it
woman and move on!
Finally, having settled herself in the room, or what was
more like a suite of rooms, Sue decided that there was time to
have a little stroll and familiarise herself with the immediate
surroundings of downtown Calgary before having a bath and
changing for dinner. She planned to eat in the hotel tonight.
She wasnt very hungry, having had a couple of what passed
for meals on the plane and really she was more tired than
anything what with the time difference of eight hours and the
long journey.
After a couple of hours of window shopping and strolling
down the very busy streets, Sue returned to the hotel. She had
taken note of where she had started out and the direction she
was walking so that she wouldnt get lost. At this point, she
thought about her friend, Jean, with whom she had spent many
a time wandering around city centres trying not to get lost and
not getting too much direction from her friend. Jean had no
sense of direction whatsoever and relied totally on Sue to
ensure they safely got back to their starting point. They had
gone horribly wrong when on holiday in Rome on their first
day there. They had taken a wrong bus and ended up miles