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Blast From The Past - Part XIX |
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Written by Ronald Mizon
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Canada
– Ronald Mizon in Nova Scotia 1940-1944
CHRISTMAS 1940
The
lake at the back of the house had frozen over but we were not to go on it
yet. Meanwhile, Uncle George and one of
his men went down to look at the ice. I
remember standing on the lakeside as they ventured out into the centre. It was quite cold but my English clothes had
been laid aside for others more suitable for the time of the year. I had thick trousers with lace-up boots and
a stout jacket and a fur hat with pull down ear flaps.I
watched in awe as the two men casually walked out into the centre of the ice
carrying a logger’s axe and a shovel.
As I recall, it was a long lake and not very wide. Certainly not as big as Penz’s lake. A spot was chosen and the man started to
hack away with the axe. He chopped a
hole about ten by twelve inches wide until it was, from my point of view, about
one foot deep. Uncle George stuck a
measuring stick down and checked the depth of the ice. As it came to his requirements - one foot thick of ice – he confirmed all
was safe here. This scene was repeated
further up the lake and confirmed that the ice was still at least one foot
thick and as it would build up as the days and nights grew colder it would be
adequate to hold the skaters. The
holes were now filled in and smoomed over.
Skating could now commence. How
nice, but I did not have any skates so Bessie and I had to be content to run
and slide. Carol did have skates and
soon was gliding around like an expert.
Later that day, as it turned dark, Aunt Allie and Uncle George were seen
whispering together and it looked very mysterious and even more so when they
went up to the attic and appeared later with an old pair of skates which were
tucked away up there. They were much
too big for me and I was a little disappointed until Aunt Allie came to the
rescue, with the resourcefulness of a woman, with some kapoc and pushed it
right down to the toes and laid some along from the heels and Voila! – they fit
me like new gloves! Anxious to try them
out I had to wait until next day.
Skating day! Sitting on the
lakeside fitting the skates on.
Gingerly I stood up. With Uncle
George holding me I struck out. This
was easy as I could rollerskate. This
was thrilling! Then I went solo and
landed on my bottom. Ah well, if you
fall off your bike you get up and start again.
Soon I was progressing quite well.
Next day we had more snow so after I had swept the drive with my little
snowplow I took it down to the lake and swept a path on the ice which enabled
skating to take place. When the snow
had some frost on it out came my bobsleigh and as I acquired some steering
skill Bessie and Carol became my first passengers. We shot down the slope and down onto the lake and assisted by the
momentum we careered up the lake at least thirty yards or so. This was the life, I thought. Middlesborough, where was that?
Nearer
Christmas, a party and concert was to be held in the hall which was adjacent to
our house.
The
ladies of the village were the architects of the function in conjunction with
the YPS (Young People’s Society). Cakes
and pies were made of all descriptions and appeared as if by magic . Pumpkin, squash, chocolate, butterscoth (my
favourite), apple, blueberry and, of course, biscuits, or cookies to you, of
numerous flavours. Coming from food
rationinig in England, Bessie and I were astounded by all the food available. The decorations, Christmas tree and general
gaiety were breathless, but the big surprise was on us. We were asked if we would sing a song
together. Mesmerised by all the
festivities we agreed. As our debut
approached, back stage our hair was combed and brushed. Behind the curtain we stood as the
announcement was made – Bessie and Ronal Mizon will sing a duet
unaccompanied. It will be, “There’ll
Always Be An England”. Curtains went
back and we were on. There wasn’t a
sound in the hall and we struck up.
When we had finished, the audience just sat there, then all of a sudden
they gave us a terrific applause. We
bowed and the curtains closed.
Authenticity for this performance can be found in a little book written
by Sadie Siroy, entitled “A’way Back Then and Now”. It can be found on page 25.
A picture of Uncle George can be found on page 134 in the booklet
entitled “Recollections of Our Little Corner”, both probably available in your
local library.
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Ronald Mizon 1940 -1944 
