Penniedarling

 Remember this post I put up on this blog on the 24th of March... well that prompted a phone call from my brother Tim suggesting I apologize to him... Mmmmmmmm... Apologize?

Not yet Tim, but I have been investigating ever since! 

I said in that post that my father, seated in the drivers seat of' 'Tabitha' our London Taxi, had gone to the docks to collect 'Tabitha' for us because we were at sea on the Pacific Ocean heading for California. I have a telegram from Mum dated 30th June 1970 saying 'Tabitha has arrived safe and sound'

WELL!  My brother Tim rings me last week saying that it wasn't our Dad who had collected 'Tabitha' it was he and his girlfriend Wendy. (Tim was 22 at this time)

To say I was shocked is an understatement because ever since we'd received that Telegram while we were nearing the International Dateline, informing us that 'Tabitha' had arrived safe and sound after the tremendous storm off the coast of WA... David and I had thought that it had been my Dad who had collected her from the docks in Sydney!  

We're talking 47 years ago here.

So I emailed my brother Nick to get his side of the story and he said he always thought it was Dad who had collected 'Tabitha' but all he really remembers is that he wasn't allowed to go and help collect her because he had to go to School. (Nick would have been 12 at this time)

Now some of you may think, well Pennie and David must have made a mistake, but let me tell you something!

My brother Tim is a trickster well known for his tricks, pranks and so on!  Simple stuff such as stealing a little piece of Charlie's sausage about 8 or 9 years ago which Charlie has never forgotten and there are other incidents.

NOW my big question has to be!  Why hasn't Tim reminded David and I of this very gracious and important deed of his sometime in the past 47 years?? 

So off I go to the Photo Album!

Here are some more photos sent to us while we were living in the USA.

 Dad and Nick with some of Nick's friends and the local Service Station manager enjoying a little look at the engine.
 'Tabitha' being much admired by passers by, that's the Newport Arms on the far left.
 'Tabitha', with Dad driving, being housed in the spare garage of David's family holiday home on Newport Beach.
 Hurray!   our 'Tabitha' safe and sound just waiting for us to return to Australia in 4 1/2 months time.

It's mid November 1970, Pennie and David are home, here's Pennie and Nick at Newport Beach.

 Now here are some more photos...  This is 'Tabitha' at my parents home in Newport, is that Tim on the left hand side?  Hang on... or is it David?   I'm pretty sure it's David.  Or is it?  And I think that's Nick on the bonnet?

 I know that's Nick at the back of 'Tabitha' who are the others?  Wendy and Tim and ??  ??
 Who is this?  and Who belongs to the Volkswagen?   Was it yours Tim?

 Now that's David standing on the running board polishing the roof, who are the other two?

UH! HA!...   Now that is definitely Tim at the front of 'Tabitha', David standing on the running board, his sister Julia beside him and is that his brother Andrew at the rear.

Now Tim Rodd!!  you have a broken arm in this photo!  How could you have driven our London Taxi home from the docks with a broken ARM?

I'm still thinking about the Apology....  :-)

Labels: London Taxi, Tim Rodd