Ann, without an “e“, you are right about Anne of Green Gables being set in PEI., this is where Lucy Maud Montgomery wrote her novels. I have never read any of her books but am familiar with all of the places she writes about as most are located within a twenty minute drive. The play "Anne of Green Gables" has been running each summer for forty years and is a major tourist draw. Japanese are especially interested in her works and come here not only to see the play but to wander around the various haunts she writes about, some even to get married. Reminds me of Muslims going to Mecca the way the Japenese come to PEI, it's something that has to be done at least once in their lifetime.

PE Island lies in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and is about a third the size of Ireland. Population is appx. 140,000 with the majority living close to the two cities, Charlottetown, and Summerside where I live. The main industries are agriculture, fishing, tourism and in later years the aero space sector. Our seasons are different as we have long cold Winters, iffy Springs, short Summers but usually beautiful Falls or Autumn. In winter the island is completly ice bound for two to three months but fortunately we now have a fourteen kilometer bridge that connects us to the mainland ( longest bridge over ice covered waters in the world ). Prior to the bridge being built large ice breaking ferries were used and a crossing could take anywhere between one hour to one day depending on the tides and ice conditions. Our island is one of the windiest spots in Canada with Summerside having the dubious distintion of being second windiest city. Usually when it snows it's not like the Christmas card version, falling softly and fluffy, ours arrives horizontaly and can block roads quickly and as the island's highest elevation is only 100 meters we have little protection from the elements. On the plus side we have beaches that are second to none in Canada and although summers are short we still have the warmest water north of Florida to enjoy. Oh yes! the people who settled the island were made up from three main groups, French Acadian, Scottish and Irish.

How did I come to live on PEIsland? After completing three years at Lisburn Tech.I went to work in Belfast for W R Simson as an apprentice weighing machine mechanic ( yes I worked on the weighbridge inside the gate at Hilden mill in the early 50's ) and stayed there for six years. It was a great job as it allowed me to travel extensively throughout the North of Ireland, a job that I seldom got bored with, always meeting new people and seeing new sights. However,when my friends started courting seriously and some were contemplating marriage I got a touch of wanderlust and decided to emigrate to Canada just to see if the grass was really greener on the other side and at that time it was. That was March1957. I went to Toronto and worked for a few months but not liking my job I quit and joined the Royal Canadian Air Force. I trained as an aero engine tech. and served three years in BC I then decided to give civvy street another go and went to work for Canadair (Bombardier) for a few months but the hours were long and working seven days a week left little time for any social life so I quit and rejoined the RCAF, this time as an airframe tech.. My first posting after re-enlisting was to Summerside in 1961 and that is where I met and eventually married my wife, Pauline, in 1962, a red head of French Acadian ancestory (with a little Irish from Killkenny thrown in ). We stayed in Summerside until 1968 then transferred to Lahr in Germany for a couple of years returning to Greenwood in Nova Scotia in 1970. After six years in Greenwood we returned to Summerside where I finally retired after 28 years of military service. As Pauline’s family were on PEI and by this time we had three daughters we decided to make this our permanant home.

Ann, I hope this gives you an insight into PEI and how I came to be here. You asked me a few weeks ago if I knew you and I never replied.It was as to how I could visualise you flopping around in the bathtub. Answer is no, I never met you but like Lucy Maud Montgomery or Anne I used my imagination and lo and behold there you were, red hair hanging, slippery and wet, a sight to behold.

Jimmy

PS. I will email you some photographs of Anne’s land one of these days.

Jimmy,
By any chance could u have known me (Ann's sister) as I started work in Hilden in the 50's in the Examining Office & was often at the weighbridge near the gate.?
U gave an interesting account of your life & travels, funny how we all worked together once & scattered all over & meet again on the Forum.
Thanks again to Jim Collins.
Pat

Jimmy, thank you for replying. Your description of Prince Edward Island could be taken from one of the Anne of Green Gables novels. How lucky you are to live there.

You should read Anne of Green Gables, it's I suppose a girly book but you would enjoy it and could recognise all those places mentioned in the book.

Matthew and Marilla and Anne. Happy Days from my younger years, although I still enjoy watching the videos which we recorded here some years ago.

Jimmy,

I intended to say I was also at the Tech the same time as you as well. Coincidences r funny things.
Pat

Jimmy,
What an exciting life you seem to have lead from Lisburn to all those places.

You gave so much detail in your posting, I enjoyed reading it very much also Pat's and Lord Downshire's too.

You have described Ann very well, what an imagination you have.

Like Ann, I also love "Anne of Green Gables", as I am sure most girls do/did.

Katie

Tom and I had a lovely couple of days on PEI about five years ago with Tom's sister Margaret and her husband. We were touring the Maritime we visited Halifax , Peggy's Cove, Grand Manan. the highlight for me was PEI as I am also an Anne of Green Gables fan and we visited her former homes and her grave. As Margaret knew I was a fan she took us to a musical of Anne of Green Gables I got so emotional the tears ran down my cheeks ! You are a lucky man to live in such a beautiful island. By the way I also paddled in the sea so I can say I paddled on both sides of the Atlantic.

Jimmy, see what you've started? A fan club. You'll have to tell us more, if you can, about Prince Edward Island (I like calling it by the full name) although it might be hard as you've given a very vivid decription already.

Looking forward to seeing some photos of the island when you get a chance.

Pat
We may have crossed paths but no, I don't remember you. I never knew that Ray Kelly was called Mickey either so maybe it's my memory failing.To bad the boys and girls classes at the Tech. were segragated otherwise we would have had a lot more fun and got to know each other better. The Tech. makes me think of Peggy McQuaid our French teacher and how I wish I had paid more attention and learned the language instead of annoying her as the ability to converse in French is a great assett in Canada. Oh well! things happen.

Ann
I am beginning to doubt your Royal connections. Just last week Prince Edward visited his namesake, Prince Edward Island, to receive an honoury degree and visit with PEI Regiment of which he is Colonel in Chief. I was able to speak to him and I mentioned your name but it seems that he does not know you nor has he ever heard his mother mention you. What gives?
Will post more info on the island at a later date.
Jimmy

Jimmy,
I remember Miss Mc Quaid well, she was a great teacher & a lady, delicate looking, she died quite young I believe. Pity indeed we did'nt continue with the French lessons at Night Tech. too we were not too bad at conversing then. B.Brother is married to a French former teacher, they speak French all the time even in Lisburn,their daughter is a fluent speaker too.

I don't think anyone except our gang ever called Raymond, Mickey, it was a nickname, everyone had one then but I don't know what mine was either except Cheeky-face. He used to get all the Annuals at Christmas & we invaded his house to see them, he got great toys. he was a very quiet calm fellow never remember him fighting r arguing.
Happy days.
Pat

Hi Jimmy, re Prince Edward's visit. Wasn't he lucky to visit the island right enough.

However, you spoke to the wrong prince. Edward wouldn't know me. Prince Charles is the prince who visited my wee house one day, with his wife Camilla. Sure I wrote a wee story about their visit ages ago.

Charles and I are great acquaintances nowadays - I'm even on his Christmas card list. The oul neighbours are all jealous!!

Jimmy, Miss McQuaid taught me at the Tech too but she taught commerce when i was there. I hated it. I attended the Tech in 1955/56

Miss Beck was our French teacher and I loved it. Got a distinction in my Junior for French.

I either absolutely loved a subject or I hated it, that's me to this day. Hot or cold - no in-betweens.

Good Luck. You seem a real nice bloke AND you write well too.

We Techies could show the Grammar school ones a thing or two, mentioning no names!!!!

Ann,
Miss Beck taught me too, she was a real French woman the way she dressed & acted, I remember her subdued plaid skirt & plain jumper, she was very slim, another lady. We did'nt appreciate the chance we had to learn French then, I found it easy too, I regret now I did'nt keep it going, tho when we were in France it seemed to come back easily.
I listen carefully to the French speaking on the Canadian plane to pick up a few familiar words, brings back memories of French classes in the Tech. "Regrets, Iv'e had a few" Oui, Oui. Pat

Pat, Oui's Oui's at this time. I thought that was in the middle of the night.

Pat
If I remember correctly in the junior matriculation exams of 1950 there was only one person out of a class of 20+ boys that passed the French test. His name was Bobby Mills, long since dead. I don't think any board of education would be happy with results like that in this day and age.
Jimmy

Jimmy, just thought you should know this, regarding my Royal connections.

Lisburn Council have decided to erect a plaque at the front of my wee bungalow in honour of Prince Charles' visit earlier in the year.

Something to the effect that "Prince Charles and his wife Camilla visited this dwelling in 2007 and were entertained to tea and ginger biscuits by the lady of the house, Ann".

They have offered to erect a flagpole in the front garden for future visits. When Prince Charles is in residence here, I can run up the Prince of Wales Flag. That'll get all the oul neighbours going.

Jimmy, hubby is after telling me that Simpson's were the agents for Avery Scales. I remember an Avery Scales firm in King Street, Belfast. I used to pass it on my way to work in the newspaper office.

Not a lotta people know that!!

Jimmy, you're great craic, don't you dare go away.

Margaret, I so envy your visit to Prince Edward Island. All those places from the Anne of Green Gables novel.

Imagine that a Lisburn lad, Jimmy, actually lives there.

This forum gets more interesting by the day.

Ann
Tell your hubby he is wrong. W R Simson & Son was located in the old Smithfield Market Square, Avery's was on the opposite side, exactly oposite, two completly different companies. If you passed Simson's each morning up to the year 1957, then I along with some of the other workers would have known your statistics. Usually the first hour of work was checking out the girls as they rushed to work from the Smithfield bus depot.
By the way, this afternoon was spent roaming around Anne's land and I have about 50 photographs, just have to figure out how and which ones to send.
Jimmy
PS. Tell your hubby not to worry as I was once wrong myself.

Jimmy, unfortunately, I passed Averys in King St every morning in 1956,57,58 and 59.

Maybe you would know a fella who worked in Averys called Raymond Irvine, from the Donegall Road in Belfast.

He used to partner a friend of mine in Sammy Osborne's Dance Studio in High Street.

Can't wait to see those photos.

Haven't told hubby yet that he's wrong. I think he's watching football. Will tell him tomorrow.