Wedding of Malcolm Archbald SMITH
[Ref. S.1]
| Biography |  |
Photos |
Wedding of Malcolm Archbald SMITH
[Ref. S.1]
| Biography | |
Photos |
Malcolm married Brenda Audrey Parsons at the Parish church in Farnborough in Hampshire on 11 November 1967. The reception was held at the Frimley Hall Hotel on Portsmouth Road in Camberley. That evening, the couple set off on their honeymoon, but just before they departed, Brenda's cousin David arrived having gone to Farnborough in Kent by mistake.
Malcolm and Brenda were to travel to Paris on the Golden Arrow train, however, it did not turn out as expected. None of the trip had been booked as they were short of money and travelling as cheaply as they could. They took the rain to London then crossed to Victoria but the Golden Arrow service turned out to be just an ordinary train. Arriving at Folkestone, they transferred to the overnight ferry where they sat up in the lounge for the crossing, arriving in Boulogne in the early hours of the next morning. The train to Paris was a workmans train and far from comfortable, having cramped seats like a bus so that Malcolm could not even get his legs in. They arrived at Gare du Nord soon after 9am then walked up the road a short way to find the hotel that had been recommended by a friend of Brenda's father. They booked in then crashed out for a sleep. The hotel room was very small and supposedly en-suite, however, that comprised a WC connected directly to the waste downpipe and in a cupboard so small that the door could not be shut when anyone was in there. Malcolm and Brenda realised that they were actually in the wrong hotel so the next day they found the right place and moved over.
The couple spent their time walking around central Paris. They visited the Eiffel Tower but the top level was closed. They went to the Louvre and saw the Mona Lisa. They rode on the metro and also one of the unique Paris buses. They walked along the left bank of the river Seine and looked at the paintings. They also went to Monmartre where they bought a painting as a keepsake. They also took a tour of the city on an opentop sightseeing tour bus. The continental breakfast at the hotel was not really sufficient for the appetites of Malcolm and Brenda so they took lunch each day in a café. One restaurant was memorable for a number of reasons. Firstly, the onion soup has cheese that was like elastic. Malcolm found a hair in his and called the waiter over who just shrugged his shoulders and raised his arms in Gallic fashion. A poodle wandered into the café and lifted it's leg against a potted palm tree. Understanding the menu was also a problem. For desert they ordered ananas thinking it was bananas but, of course, it turned out to be pineapple. The cost of the restaurant meals was depleting their money quite quickly to the point that they ran out before the end of the week. Malcolm rang his father who managed to wire some cash to him to cover the trip home and they set off back on the Thursday after their wedding. Brenda's father was surprised to see her back so soon and asked if she had had an arguement with her husband.
On returning from honeymoon, the couple started their married life in their cottage in Dorset, using the rest of their holiday time to progress the restoration work.
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