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    Bonnie From Across the Ocean
    Bonnie From Across the Ocean
    Bonnie From Across the Ocean
    Ebook93 pages1 hour

    Bonnie From Across the Ocean

    By Amelia Marsh

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    About this ebook

    Bonnie lives with her parents and brothers on a coconut plantation, situated on a remote tropical island with no schools, shops or electricity. Home-schooled until they move to the city, Bonnie settles in at a convent school only to be expelled after the first year of high school. She commences her working life at the age of 14 and eventually embarks on a journey to England to the man she is to marry. Welcomed at first but then left alone in a foreign country after an argument escalates, Bonnie luckily finds refuge with strangers. With their help, she begins to take control of her life.

    She studies to become a nurse, making friends with her colleagues, then falls in love and marries a sailor in the Royal Navy. Six children later, their marriage crumbles and Bonnie’s struggles commence again. Will she be able to overcome all these trials and tribulations and emerge stronger than ever or will she fold?

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherAustin Macauley
    Release dateDec 14, 2017
    ISBN9781370605194
    Bonnie From Across the Ocean
    Author

    Amelia Marsh

    Born in Belize, Amelia March travelled to England in 1955. She went on to study nursing and has worked in hospitals, children’s homes and other institutions in both England and in Belize. She married an Englishman and went on to become the mother of six children.

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      Book preview

      Bonnie From Across the Ocean - Amelia Marsh

      Chapter One

      Bacalar Chico

      1945

      Standing on the white sandy beach, hair tousled by the wind, she shaded her eyes from the bright morning sunshine as she searched for a glimpse of her father’s boat. The clear emerald sea was dotted with fishing boats here and there, but there was no sign of the Asphalt with its distinctive red sails which always reminded her of one of her mother’s favourite songs called, Red Sails in the Sunset.

      In the horizon stretched the world’s second greatest barrier reef. She did not quite like the reef for, despite its present calm and beauty, there were times when it could be really rough and scary, especially when sailing through its giant rolling waves which always made her very seasick.

      Closing her eyes tightly, she wished that when she opened them again the boat would suddenly appear; but instead came the sound of her two brothers’ voices calling her name. Turning around she saw them running towards her shouting, Bonnie, Bonnie, come quick! Mama says you have to come inside right now, with emphasis on the now, for they knew that when their mother said now she meant this minute! Together they ran down the beach shouting and laughing playfully to one another, their three pet dogs barking and running alongside them.

      Back home in the kitchen, the table was set ready for breakfast with hot ‘johnny cakes’ Mama had just baked. Her raven-black hair rolled up tightly on top of her head made her look severe.

      Any sign of your father’s boat? she asked.

      No replied Bonnie, "I looked and looked and looked again, and could not see the Asphalt anywhere."

      Well, interrupted her mother in a stern voice, he better get here soon because we’re running out of provisions and should have been here over a week ago.

      There was a sudden knock on the door and Mr Bennet appeared at the same time as his knock – doors were always kept open.

      Good morning, mam, he said, bowing his head in greeting, we’ve run out of rice and my wife and I wondered if you have any to spare?

      Mr Bennet was one of several labourers who lived and worked on the plantation, and like everyone, depended on the main essentials such as rice, beans, sugar, flour and condensed milk to be brought in from the mainland. Mama filled a container with rice and gave it to him saying she hoped her husband would arrive soon.

      Well, with the weather looking good today, I expect he’ll be here very soon, said Mr Bennet.

      It was late afternoon on the following day when, as Bonnie and her brothers played by the seaside, that they saw the Asphalt coming over the waves and started shouting and cheering as it came nearer. The loud blast from a giant conch shell signalled its arrival. Workers and their families all hurried onto the pier where their household requests and provisions would soon be unloaded and distributed amongst them.

      William, his wife Julia and children Bonnie, Billy and Georgie, all lived on the remote island of Bacalar Chico, Ambergris Caye, sixty miles off mainland Belize, in British Honduras, a small colonial country in Central America. Their house, situated in the middle of a large coconut plantation, was a gift to the young couple on their wedding day, from William’s parents.

      At Bacalar Chico there are no shops, schools or electricity, and the only means of transportation was by boat, which relied on the winds and sea currents for speed. Hurricane lanterns were lit at dusk, except on moonlit nights when the moon slowly rose above the reef – a picturesque vision – before spreading its brightness over the entire island. Drinking water came from the rain and was stored in vats. Water from the well was used for bathing and washing clothes. There were no clocks, time was determined by the position of the sun in the sky. The children created their own toys, empty boxes became carts, with cotton reels for wheels. Bottles became dolls for Bonnie, who made their dresses from discarded material or paper which she would fold and cut a hole in the middle to go over the top of the bottle, then tie it with string at the waist/middle. Driftwood and bamboo sticks, washed up on the beach, made excellent play houses. Seashells became plates and seaweed the pretend food of whatever they wanted it to be.

      Seven-year-old Bonnie and younger siblings were taught to read and write by their mother, sitting in little chairs with desks made by their father. Mama did the cooking on the hearth in the kitchen whilst at the same time teaching them in the room attached to the veranda, kept cool by the fresh sea breezes drifting in. However, on occasions the family would go to live in the city where the children were enrolled into a school, but it was never a lasting decision and after a few months, sometimes even less, before they returned home to the plantation, at Bacalar Chico.

      At another time both Bonnie and Billy were enrolled at the school in Xcalak, a small Mexican village across the River, where Julia’s sister Felipa and her husband Paddy lived and owned a bakery. The two children were happy living with them and enjoyed eating freshly baked polveron each morning before going off to school. At school the teacher always brought along her infant child and settle him in a hammock before beginning lessons, then should baby start crying, a pupil would be sent to rock him off to sleep again. Most did not mind and did as they were told. Bonnie enjoyed singing baby to sleep with her favourite song, Cielito Lindo. Until the day when Billy was called upon but, after remaining in his chair and not doing as he was told, he was taken by the arm and led to the hammock. Yet no sooner had the teacher turned her back than he ran outside, climbed over the gate and ran home, refusing to return to school, crying and bawling whenever taken anywhere near school again. Both children were taken back to the plantation by their mother.

      Chapter Two

      Julia decided to have a school-free day, and get on with the housework and tidying up, especially the children’s room filled with all kinds of rubbish. Climbing onto a chair to reach the top shelf of the wardrobe, she accidently knocked a small box to the ground, its contents of photographs scattered over the floor. Among them were her wedding photos; seeing them now was like stepping back in time. William stood smiling with his arm around his new bride, but there was no disguising the sadness on her face.

      Other photographs portrayed her parents, Jorge and Maria Delgado who immigrated to Belize in the early 1900s, where they built their house, on a swampy area on Cemetery Road after manually filling the land themselves. A small shop was later added to the property.

      On Sunday afternoons, Jorge Delgado and his family enjoyed going for walks to the other side of the town, along the foreshore, watching the boats in the harbour before strolling

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