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Lumley Castle Hotel
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Saturday, 21st November 2009

 
JOY OF LIFE ON THE MOVE

By the time you read this, Ian Lloyd and his wife Heather will be in Singapore, celebrating their golden wedding anniversary with friends and family. But it’s just one of the many beautiful spots around the world that this globe-trotting ex-Shields lad has tasted. Home, though, is KwaZulu-Natal, specifically Durban, Africa’s biggest port and a holiday capital. "Two hours out of Durban, up in the Drackensburg Mountains, you can get snow and the scenery is truly magnificent in all seasons," says Ian. "Two hours up the north coast into Zululand, there are game parks and reserves."

There could be no sharper contrast than with Ian’s first 21 years which were spent in Horsley Hill Road in Shields, where he lived on either side of the last war. Later he joined the Merchant Navy. After 10 years, during which he reached the rank of chief engineer, he decided the sea wasn’t for him.In that time he had married Heather, "the girl next door," and they’d had two daughters, Amanda and Fiona. With no job on the horizon in Shields, Ian found work in a shipyard, among other things, in Aden – just in time for the family to catch the start of the five-year state of emergency, as what is now the Yemen, which sought independence from BritainIt was a scary time. "We had a Col Chapman of the Northumberland Fusiliers and Colonel ‘Mad Mike’ Mitchell of the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders trying to keep the peace," says Ian. He had to get out. "The men had been left to fend for themselves after the women and children had been shipped out at 24 hours’ notice. So, after five years, I disappeared without telling anyone." Subsequently, he joined a company that was run by the Corporation of Lloyds and was sent to Antwerp, from where he travelled through Holland, Germany and France, as well as Belgium by car, inspecting ships.  Then he began to be sent further afield, to southern Spain, Gibraltar, North Africa and, eventually, India and South Africa.He found India exciting, with a rich culture but impoverished. South Africa, even further away, also took some getting used to. "I always recall a story about Jan Smut’s airport, Johannesburg, when the pilot told passengers that on landing, they should put their watches back 30 years. He was fired, even though it was true. "I quickly learned that restaurants did not serve alcohol, but you could take your own. On Sunday, everything closed except churches. It was a very religious country and still is today." Eventually his employers decided to open two offices in South Africa. One of them was for Ian. "I had learned at lot about Southern Africa, so I was the obvious choice for promotion, but it possibly helped that my boss, the chief surveyor, was also from South Shields."

He and Heather were sad about leaving Europe, especially Belgium, where Heather had enjoyed giving her time to the Missions to Seamen’s Flying Angel Club, the English church and as a tour guide. The family first settled in Cape Town where they found an English-type cottage in the Constantia Valley. "In my opinion, the Western Cape is the most beautiful part of South Africa, with Cape Town as its centre," says Ian. "The view from the top of Table Mountain is out of this world and to see the mountain with its ‘table cloth’ on is a sight to remember. "In town there is The Waterfront, which is part of Table Bay and is full of restaurants, hotels, museums and shops. You can take a cruise on a sailing ship or motor cruiser around Table Bay or out to sea to view the mountain and the city, which is beautiful at sunset."

After two years in Cape Town the family moved up to Durban. Ian’s ‘area’ was the east and west coasts of Africa, south of the Equator and the islands of Madagascar, Mauritius, Reunion, Comoros, Zanzibar and the Seychelles: "Plus some that are not even on the map," he says. "In the days of the old Nationalist Party, travel in Africa from South Africa was difficult and we needed two passports and the ability to tell convincing lies, which was a bit embarrassing as our company motto was Seek the Truth. "Some of the airlines you had to use were not the best; and spending time in an African jail was not uncommon – very unpleasant, but we survived.

The work involved the salvage, re-floating and safety of ships, as well as rescuing crews from vessels that got stranded. In all he put in 31 years at the job, until he retired. "At retirement, I had hoped to go back to South Shields, but it wasn’t to be. With half of my family in Durban and the other half in Sydney, Australia, it appeared I was going to have to be a commuter. "I have always visited South Shields every second year but now that I am retired it can be two or three times a year. "From the dirty, noisy, industrial town that it was, I now find Shields to be quite lovely."

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