Perfect Vizion

I still believe in fairy tales - John Flanner

As we stepped off the Boeing 777 and descended the steps on to the concrete runway it was immediately apparent that we were somewhere exotic. The hot gentle breeze upon the face and the fragrant smells that were in the air were an instant reminder, as if we needed one, that this was to be no ordinary holiday. Could it really be that John & Sylvia who for most of their married lives had struggled to raise the money for a week in Blackpool or Torquay with their four children, were now embarking upon a week in the luxurious Cayman Islands and apart from a little pocket money it wasn't costing them a penny? That's right, I t was a 'no strings attached' gift from some friends. To discover how we heard about this gift come with me and eavesdrop on a telephone conversation which took place at our home one evening earlier this year.

Telephone rings and John answers
"Good evening! can I help you?" (Professional telephone manner even at home - I just can't help it!)
"Hello John, this is Carole" - (Carole is a friend from church.)
"How are you doing?"
"Fine thanks, but tell me have you and Sylvia booked a holiday this year?"
"Yes, we are going to Scotland for a week in July - it is something we have wanted to do for years."
"Oh I see; well would you like another holiday?"
"Yes of course - wouldn't we all?"
"No! I'm serious," said Carole, "Paul and I would like you and Sylvia to go to the Cayman Islands to visit Suzanne & James." (daughter and son-in-law who work out there).
"That would be lovely but...."
"We would like to pay for you because Suzanne & James would so much like to see you."
John takes a Sharp intake of breath "I can't believe it."
"Well it's true but the only snag might be that you have to go during the first week in May so will that be convenient?"

Well the rest is history. Having come to terms with the initial shock, told the news in the office and arranged the leave situation it was all systems go. Our knowledge of the Cayman Islands was negligible and so we took to reading travel books and watching a video about the place in order to find out all we could.

There are three small islands which make up the Caymans, they are Little Cayman, Cayman Mac and the largest (which is still not very big) and is where we would be going called Grand Cayman, the capital of which is Georgetown. The Islands are situated in the Caribbean between Jamaica and Cuba. The Caymans are a British colony the currency is the dollar and there is a great deal of wealth.

The climate is most definitely on the tropical side and the temperatures at the time we were going would be around 90 degrees Fahrenheit with a fairly high humidity.

It is true to say that I counted the days down like a little child waiting for Father Christmas. I was so excited.

The day finally arrived for setting off and we took a 4.30am coach to London Gatwick in order to catch the 11am flight to Grand Cayman. It was such a great adventure.

Safely on board the plane for an 11 hour flight (surpassing our previous longest trip by some 7 hours) we were treated to a couple of lovely meals, a free bar service and some good movies. We did have a stop for people to get off at Nassau in the Bahamas and for re-fuelling and then on for just over an hour to land at Grand Cayman.

Having collected our luggage Suzanne & James were there to greet us enthusiastically with hugs all round and then off by car for the 20 minute journey to their flat, which they are renting for the two years they are working out there. The car ride was a mixture of excited conversation catching up on news from home and eyes looking out of the window not wanting to miss any of the scenery, where palm trees were very much in evidence across the flat landscape. Driving took place on the lefthand side of the road, though most of the vehicles were lefthand drive as they were imported from America.

Our hosts lived in a complex called Flowers Apartments consisting of about 30 very spacious two bedroomed flats which were served by an open air swimming pool, that was to be quite a haven for us to escape from the blazing sun during the course of our holiday.

The Cayman Islands are six hours behind our British Summer Time and so after a long trip we were not late out of bed that first night. The air conditioning in the flat was superb, as it was in all of the shops and places of work on the Island, so we had an excellent night's sleep.

Suzanne & James went off to work early next morning to teach law and geography respectively whilst we showered, had breakfast and planned our day. I heard on Radio Cayman that temperatures were expected to be 87 degrees with cloudless skies for several days. Just the job I thought, now the fairy tale could really take shape.

We were told that within a 15 minute walk of the apartments was a tiny beach called Smith's Cove, so we headed for that. What we weren't prepared for was that within minutes we would be dripping with perspiration. We walked down Webster Drive with its sprawling Dallas/Dynasty-like mansions either side of the road with their long sweeping drives up to the impressive entrances. The trees were tall, beautiful and fragrant,with colourful exotic birds, including parrots, nestling in the branches. Pausing to take photographs along the way we eventually arrived at our destination. Cutting our way through the trees and down a short hill which became increasingly sandy we were suddenly confronted with a most breathtaking view of this small cove with its white sandy beach, a handful of people dotted about under the many palm trees and the beautiful Caribbean Sea stretching out calmly before us. The sun was beating down from a clear blue sky causing the sea to reflect a variety of magnificent colours.

We paddled for ages in the warm water, sat around on the sand and took in the idyllic scene. Not for the last time we were to say "Can this really be happening to us?"

Later in the week we visited two more beaches which were much bigger but equally beautiful in their own ways. Rum Point was gorgeous and it was there we took to sun-bathing in a double hammock with the ever-present sound of reggai music playing gently in the background - very romantic! We followed this up with a visit to the most aptly named Seven Mile Beach which gave the impression of what it might be like to be on a desert island. It was about 6pm, the sun was going down and there were not many people around at all as the stunning landscape once again captured the emotions.

Of course no holiday is ever complete, especially for the ladies, without a shopping trip. One morning we went into Georgetown with its many banks and other financial institutions. We discovered that on a daily basis thousands of mainly American and Canadian tourists pour into the gift shops of Georgetown as they come off the luxury cruise liners for a few hours sight-seeing. Jewellery shops are very much in evidence, very very expensive, but all the same diamonds and especially black corral proved very popular with the wealthy tourists. We walked a little and sat a little because it was so excruciatingly hot. Often we would nip into the shops just to enjoy the refreshment of the air conditioning, though we did take in some other kind of refreshment once we had set eyes upon a Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant, after all it was coming up to 12 noon, lunchtime for any self respecting Englishman!

A few surprise happenings took place also, which for me were like icing on the cake so to speak. James had been doing some voluntary work at a radio station called Heaven 97 and as a result I was invited to be interviewed about my life so far, which has been described by some people as being a bit of a roller-coaster ride and I wouldn't argue with that description, having had many highs and lows.

So it was that on radio I was able to tell of my growing up in Birmingham as the eldest of four children, but totally lacking in self confidence. The only thing I was remotely any good at (or so I thought) was football and so I wanted to be a professional footballer. That of course did not materialise, but I maintained my love for the game. At the age of 19 I lost my sight. To begin with I had a bang on the head playing football which left me with blurred vision, but subsequently after I had been registered blind and my brother and sister had lost their sight too within another four years of me, it was diagnosed that we were suffering from a rare hereditary disease of the optic nerve.

Anyway cutting a long story short for the sake of this article, I subsequently at the age of 21 became a practising "born again" Christian and life for me took off and became an exciting adventure.

Following the radio interview I received a phone call asking me if I would go and preach at a church the next evening. Well I did and it turned out to be an amazing experience. It was an all Jamaican Church, we were given a wonderful welcome, the music/singing was vibrant and I really enjoyed preaching there. After the service the men came up and shook my hand but the women came up and showered me with hugs and kisses - Sylvia was most gracious, especially as the Church gave us a very generous gift of $137 (approximately ?100) as a token of their appreciation.

On the Friday evening James saw in the local newspaper that one of their local bars would be showing a live Premiership football game on Saturday morning at 9am - did I want to go? What a silly question! of course I wanted to go and even more so when I learned that the match in question was Aston Villa v Charlton Athletic from Villa Park, Birmingham. So it was that we arose early on Saturday morning to get to the Sportsman's Bar about five miles away. Even at that time of the morning the temperatures were in the 80's and it was strange to arrive at the bar and to see on the big screen that back in Birmingham it was pouring with rain at Villa Park. I felt sad for a fleeting moment because my son Ian would be at the match and getting very wet. Not to worry, we got interested in the game which turned out to be very thrilling though we were the only Villa fans in the bar. We lost the game 3-4 but at least I will always have the memory of where I saw that particular match. As Sylvia said to me, "God really is good to you isn't he?" "Yes" I said, "but I wish he had helped the Villa to win".

Anyone who knows me would realise that no holiday would be complete without me bringing back at least one CD. This was no exception and I purchased a CD which contained a reggai song called Cayman Islands, which was being played in a number of shops as we walked around. The song really captures the laid back atmosphere of the place. One other CD I just had to buy was by a guy called "The Barefoot Man" featuring his big hit called Viagra. James & Suzanne said that I just had to hear this song and so they took me into a music shop, put the headphones on me and said I must listen to the words. Well I did and could hardly stand for laughing as it was so funny as inded is most of the CD and now that we are back in the UK the CD is much in demand.

After taking in a few more beach trips, dips in the swimming pool, not to mention an excellent movie "The Man in the Iron Mask" which we saw on one of their movie channels, it was time to put away the sun cream and head back home. So armed with a bag-load of goodies including presents for the grandchildren, souvenirs to remind us of the fairy tale we eventually arrived back in Solihull.

I know that we live in a world that is full of cynicism, but the next time something really good happens to you let me encourage you to spread it around as much as possible, so that there may be more people who like me would still believe in fairy tales.

John Flanner