by MJ Malleck ///
Today’s postcard was sent from London, England to Owen Sound September 15, 1977, almost 45 years ago. It reads:
Many thanks for driving us down to Malton. We got
off in time in a 747 and arrived on time, Heathrow. London is bright and warm to-day.
We are in Hammersmith but there is a free bus into the Bristol so hope to get
into town tomorrow. Love Phil & Charlotte.
Two stamps, purple 5p with Queen Elizabeth’s profile, familiar
to Canadians from our coinage and stamps. Although, in the 70s, our coins show
Queen Elizabeth facing left and wearing a small tiara. The full crown on these
British stamps didn’t appear on our coins until 1990.
And I find that this crown is actually called a diadem. It is
a full circle and what Elizabeth wears for royal portraits. The George IV State
Diadem or the Diamond Diadem, made for his coronation. With roses, thistles,
and shamrocks as symbols of England, Scotland, and Ireland it was designed in
1820 and has 1,333 diamonds. Most distinctive: the four cross-patty’s (a
Christian symbol) and the double band of pearls.
What’s the difference between a crown and a tiara? A tiara is
a type of crown, and it is usually not a full circle and is worn by female
members of the royal family.
So, in 1977 this couple thanked their friend for taking them
down to Malton. They meant the Toronto International Airport, which was
originally called the Malton Airport because the land was acquired from thirteen
farms on Concession 5 and 6 in Malton. The airport was renamed in 1960, but I
guess people still called it “Malton.”
They made it to Hammersmith, a place that is on the main A4
trunk road linked to the M4 motorway and Heathrow Airport. Today it is still a
major transport hub with two Underground stations and a bus station. If you
were driving today, it would take 24 minutes from Hammersmith to Heathrow. Hammersmith
appears in Dickens’ Great Expectations, when Pip goes to live with the Pockets
along the Thames River.
It sounds like the writer would like to go into central London
before heading out to Bristol. On the postcard I can see an advertisement at Piccadilly
Circus for the movie The Graduate, staring Anne Bancroft and Dustin Hoffman. It
was released in 1967 so the photo on this postcard is 10 years old.
The number one song in September in the UK was “Way Down” by
Elvis Presley. Elvis died August 16th that year, one month before
this trip. This last single he released then went to #1 on the American Country
chart and the British Pop chart. It was his 33rd number one hit, and
his first one in six years.
Bristol, UK, is a two-hour drive to the coast via M4. It was
named one of the best cities to live in, in England, in 2017. As a busy port on
the west coast, I find that Bristol fishermen fished the Grand Banks of
Newfoundland since the 16th century and settled in that part of
Canada as well. I’m dismayed to discover that at the height of the slave trade,
from 1700 to 1807 more than 2,000 slave ships carried about 500,000 Africans out
of Bristol harbour to America. In 2020, 84% of the population is white, and 6%
of Bristolians are black.
Bristol was bombed during WWII and much rebuilding was done in
the ‘seventies, including the M4 highway to London. The IRA bombed Bristol in
1974 and again in 1978. On Sunday, December 17th, 1978, the bomb
went off outside of Maggs store. Maggs & Co on Queen’s Road was established
in 1850 as a bed manufacturer, making iron and brass bedsteads. They expanded
into a retailer of furniture and then a department store. They closed in the
1970s (I guess after 1978). No one was killed in the bombing. I wonder if Phil
and Charlotte shopped at Maggs?
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