The Isle of Ancestors - Lois Daley

The concert over,I thought I would be able to sleep for at least 10 hours,but it was not to be...A note under my door written in extra large letters said "Up Up and Away with you"" Down to the Quay at once the last ferry is awaiting your prescence"

Gathering up my few possessions ,(makes you realise you don't need half the stuff we have) I did hurry down the slope to the quay only to see 9 ferries well out to sea and only one left tied up ...must be mine I surmised

She was a woman of mature years,standing round shouldered ,her breathing was laboured and I was worried she would not have the energy to row across the bay."Must give up the cigarettes" she said from under her brown hooded cloak".Keeping your accounts in order "she said with a laugh..I gasped "Maureen" I said...
"Is that you" "Sure is she said in her raspy voice".....

She was my mentor,friend,teacher,neighbour ,and someone who helped me keep my Mother in her own home until she died.

Maureen has only been gone for 8 years but it seems much longer. She was there for me from age 15 when she took me under her wing and taught me to use a book-keeping machine in the office she managed.She was there when I married,had my children,divorced.When my Father and Mother both died she was there beside me and through it all suffered ill-health...When she was dying I helped her son care for her ,she loved me to brush her hair,rub her back under the shower,do her nails etc etc ..We had such good times as she lay in her bed looking out from her front window....." "Hello Darling Maus" I said (I always called her this) " See you found yourself a job ,no rest for the wicked "I said.She slipped the anchor and we set off with a lot of huffing and puffing, luckily the breeze was behind us, the journey only took 15 minutes..."I'll take a turn if you like" I said.

"No way this is my chariot,the other ferrywomen would kick me out of the union" she quipped.

I knew without asking I would not see her again,as my face grew sad I could feel tears running down my cheeks as she turned the ferry around to return to the island,I burst into sobbing ,wading out into the water wanting to hold her against me.....but I knew already I could not ,I had to be satisfied with a blown kiss that was meant for me to catch......

I sat on the shore and watched the ferry disappear until it was no longer visible as a low cloud enveloped the island.

The path ahead was clearly defined by the apple trees in blossom ,so following them through the grove I came upon a large barn like building ,I thought perhaps it was a storage shed for the fruit after it had been picked ...but on opening the door it was empty except for a large fireplace at the end blazing brightly.

Benches placed around for one to sit on and get warm were very welcome.. I had not noticed that on the edge of the hearth was a stack of firewood being topped up by a shadowy figure,carrying 6 logs in their arms meant this person was pretty strong......As they turned to face me after re fuelling the fire I gasped unable to speak ,and for me to lose my voice is something of a miracle ,never lost for words am I....

The hood pulled back revealed my Father Albert Edward Daley (Bert for short or as Mum called him Alby) ...One question only can be asked (Said the Enchantress) ..I sat on the bench unable to move or stand up.He stood with his back against the fire ..His hair was grey and very thick as I remembered it ,his strong muscle bound arms developed from the hard work as a boilermaker/welder/rivetter.....His round face and always rosy cheeks were there to remind me of how he looked 4 years before he died...I was glad he looked well and with no sign of pain on his face I relaxed.

"Dad" I said "You taught me to keep my head above water financially ,don't get into debt, don't pay things off on the never ,never "'.

"Be true to where you come from and this will sustain you in the future, never lose sight of that struggle makes you strong and although the lesson might be hard fought by, in the end you will most often be proved right." he said

He looked at me and laughed ,"Still giving you sermons , are you still listening ".he quipped......" Can a leopard change its spots" I said, I was always ready for a return answer ......

" I and you must be off" I have others in need of problem solving especially with their bosses who can be B..........Y.. difficult

"Once a union rep always a union rep was Dad....Dad had given me a most treasured gift. The gift of fair play" I needed no more.

What could I give him in return ? my love which he knew he had, my promise to look after Mum ,this was done ...What else could there be.

It came to me in a flash .....Dad always played the mouth-organ for as long as I could remember and he was pretty good......We had Christmas concerts and he always played for all the kids....

I opened my small back-pack ,out my small flute wrapped in the handkerchief ,walked toward his outstretched hand and placed the flute in the palm .He unwrapped it ,put it to his mouth and played a tune...Where was he when I needed a teacher in a hurry.

He stepped foward to hold my hand ,not clasp me to him. Dad was not like this( Mum yes) but not Dad, athough with his grandchildren he was very different as I remember, he was the loving Grandfather more so than the un-emotional Father I knew.

Then he was gone as if disappearing in a puff of smoke. He hadn't changed, no fuss Dad, but at least the face I saw was free of as I have said Pain........I left the large barn like building knowing that what he had passed onto me was a gift not to be lightly used,it would stand me in good stead for many years to come.......

Meandering down the path between the Apple trees in blossom I saw the ferry tied up ,it was a large one this time enough room for 10 ,I guessed

We all sat in silence, my companions and I, until we reached Dawamish just as the dawn was breaking over the eastern horizon ...Perhaps when one has met an ancestor who had long gone before us we are in a state of awe and perhaps shock and happiness all rolled into one...and this makes us speechless ... Such a lot to take in and wonder at such an experience.

I feel I need to soak in a tub of hot bubbly water as I am aching all over ,every nerve in my body is tingling like pins and needles.I need re-juvinating.....