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A Pioneer in Paradise by Keith Malcolm Williams 150 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #04-0160; ISBN 1-4120-2332-7; US$28.00, C$35.00, EUR22.75, £15.50 The story of a lady who quit the "rat-race" in 1984 and moved to Tonga to live her dream.
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about the book
about the author
excerpts
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About the Book
In 1984, Ginette Hodgson decided that her life was leading nowhere, so she quit the "rat-race" and moved to Tonga.
Her deceased husband had fallen in love with the islands, when he visited Tonga, whilst serving in the Canadian Navy. It had been his dream to retire there. Ginette decided to fulfil that dream.
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About the Author
Keith Malcolm Williams was born in 1944, in Birmingham, England. On leaving school, he joined the British Army and trained as a chef. After completing 25 years service, he and his wife settled in Germany where they ran a bar/restaurant. He joined the Continental Territorial Army (Royal Army Veterinary Corps) and trained as a Security Dog Handler.
In 2000, he and his wife decided to quit the "rat-race" and move to Tonga, where they still live. Since arriving in Tonga, he has worked as Manager of the "notorious" Royal Nuku'alofa Club and for the past two years, has been teaching Catering at Ahopanilolo Technical College. They share their home with two cats and a dog.
He took up writing for something to do in the long school holidays.
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Excerpts
INTRODUCTION
This is a true story of a remarkable woman, who left her home country to take up a completely new life, when she was aged 51 years. As with many people in the eighties, Ginette Hodgson found it difficult to find a decent job, let alone the offer of a serious opportunity in the employment market, due to her age. Therefore, in 1984, she packed up and left America in search of somewhere that she could continue living a useful and active life. Had she remained in America, she admits, she would probably have become a "Bag-Lady", (a female tramp or hobo), which would have resulted in her dying alone and destitute some years ago.
To appreciate this story you must know that Ginette was born in Canada, her father being French and her mother Scottish. Her father was a chef and learned his trade by working aboard ships for very little or no pay, nevertheless, he became well respected and highly sought after, one of only ten "French Chefs" in Canada at that time. Her mother was a topqual ity pastry chef, but she died when Ginette was fifteen years of age, which is just when a girl needs the helpand guidance a mother can give.
Ginette is sure that she has inherited the best attributes of her parents, the French flamboyance and energy of her father, and the Scottish solid, dependable, calmness of her mother. She dearly loved her parents and when talking to her, you can see, still does to this day. Maybe, Ginette's full history will be told at a future date, but for now, we will concentrate on one period.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
THE HURRICANE
Things could have continued as
they were, but for the hurricane.
Tonga, like all islands in the Pacific,
has a cyclone season, this occurs,
between November and March each
year. During this period cyclones and
hurricanes can strike the islands at any
time. Luckily today, with weather
tracking stations, their route and
strength can be monitored and
warnings given, allowing people to
prepare themselves. In the eighties,
although there were the tracking
stations, the technology was not as
advanced, so the unexpected could and
did happen now and again.
The day started much as any
other, bright clear blue skies, maybe
the breeze was a little stronger than
normal but not so much as to worry
about it. Midmorning, the breeze had
become a wind and the sky had started
to fill with clouds. Ginette and Visone
were sitting outside, taking a break
from the morning's labours. Visone had
been watching the sky, he suddenly
said to Ginette, "come, we go" and
started to walk to where the truck was
parked. Ginette did not know what was
happening, but from Visone's tone and
manner, she knew something was the
matter and she had better follow his
instructions.
Visone put some water, food and
a coup le of blankets in the cab of the
truck, then he, Ginette and the Brutus
climbed in. He told Ginette to drive,
but to go slowly, so still not sure what
was happening, but having complete
trust in Visone she did. He gave her
directions and they drove slowly down
the bush tracks. Visone was looking
out to the left and right as they went
and all the time, the strength of the
wind increased and the sky darkened.
Ginette thought to herself, "I
should feel frightened", but Visone's
quiet confident manner and the
authority with which he was handling
the situation, told her that they would
be safe and that he knew what he was
doing, so she did not worry. They drove
for some time, until at last Visone found
what he was looking for. It was a small
groupof trees and bushes, witha gapin
them, into which they could drive the
truck. After parking in their safe
haven, Visone took the blankets and
covered the windscreen of the truck,
securing the blankets by jamming the
ends in the closed doors of the truck.
Once all the preparations had
been carried out, they sat, safe and
secure, in the cab of the truck, to wait
out the storm. As the intensity of the
storm grew, the branches of the trees
and bushes around them beat out an
irregular rhythm on the truck; Ginette
could see now, why Visone had covered
the windscreen with the blankets, had a
branch hit the unprotected glass, it
would have smashed. Ginette asked
why they had not just gone to one of the
caves on the beach. Visone told her
that, storms like this bring big seas and
that when they did the caves were not
safe, "better we wait here", he said.
As the hurricane reached its
peak the sound of the wind became a
deafening roar. The branches were
joined by a torrential rainstorm beating
on the truck making it feel like being
trapped inside a drum while all the
demons in hell were beating a crazy
tattoo on it. The dog was a little
anxious and had to be reassured, but
Visone sat with his head back and his
eyes closed. Ginette thought, "How can
he sleepwith all this noise?" It was not
that she wanted to talk; even if she had,
it would have p roved imp ossible for
Visone to hear her, due to the noise
from outside, but to see him there,
apparently so relaxed, gave the whole
situation a surreal effect. The fact that
Visone did not seem to be bothered also
had a calming influence on Ginette and
even the dog eventually curled upand
fell asleepat her feet.
After a while the winds started to
die down and the sky appeared to be
clearing, although it was a little
difficult to tell, due the blankets
covering the windscreen, limiting the
light in the cab of the truck. Ginette
thought that, once the wind had
subsided, they would be able to go
home, but Visone said they should wait
a while. He was not sure that, what
they had just experienced, was a
hurricane, or a cyclone. A hurricane
just comes and goes, but a cyclone has a
period of calm at its centre, "the eye"
and if you venture out during this time,
thinking that it is passed, you will be
hit without warning, as the rest of the
cyclone follows, it is like a whirlpool of
wind.
Visone's thinking was, that it
was better to be safe than sorry, so they
sat there and ate some of the food that
they had brought with them, until
Visone at last decided that it was safe
to go home.
The drive back, showed that it
had been a strong hurricane; although
their way was not blocked, they could
see trees that had been blown down on
either side of the track. It was early
evening when they arrived home. The
hurricane had only lasted a few hours,
but the sight that greeted them when
they got to the homestead made
Ginette's heart sink a little. The
buildings had escaped with only minor
damage, the plastic sheeting windows
had been blown out and the odd piece of
thatch had blown off. It was the garden
that had been worst hit, plants and
bushes had been uprooted and there
was debris scattered all around, most of
the plants that remained had been
flattened by the rain and now looked as
if some giant had crushed them
underfoot.
Visone suggested that they wait
till morning to do the major cleaning
up, so while he did a few minor repairs,
Ginette cooked them a hot meal and
made a cupof coffee. The eveningmeal
was eaten in silence, both were
wrapped in their own thoughts, and
neither of them could put their feeling
into words.
That night, before going to bed
Ginette sat outside, as she usually did
and looked upat the heavens, which
were once again clear and dotted with
stars, as if the hurricane had never
happened. The only reminder of what
had taken place was the sound of a still
angry sea crashing against the reef and
shore. She knew that she could only
take so much of the disappointment
that now surrounded her; she would
have to revise her dream.
The next morning they drove to
the village to make sure that the family
were all safe and sound. They found
the same sort of devastation there.
Although the buildings had stood up
well to the onslaught, the vegetation
had suffered badly. Most of the banana
trees had been blown down, along with
one or two of the older coconut palms.
A lot of the other fruit bearing trees had
been stripped, not only of their fruit,
but their leaves as well, giving the
appearance in some places, of a
petrified forest.
People were out cleaning up and
repairing the damage where they could,
everyone was happy to see them and
said they were about to send a party
round to see if they were safe. There
were no human casualties this time,
although a few of the villagers had lost
some chickens.
Anyone who tells you things
always look better in the cold light of
day, has obviously not had that
particular experience, because when
Ginette looked round the garden next
morning, she saw that they would
almost certainly have to start from
scratch. All the hard work they had put
in over the weeks had been undone in a
matter of a few short hours. They
cleaned upa nd did the repairs and
although neither of them had their
heart in the task, it helped to pass the
time working together.
When they had restored what
they could, they stopped to eat, as they
ate they discussed the situation. Visone
suggested that, maybe they should
leave Tonga and go somewhere else and
maybe start her market garden in a
place where the weather was not as
cruel? He pointed out that the same
thing could happen every year and that
this time they had been lucky, it had
not "broken the house" as it sometimes
it does. He told her that this was one of
the reasons for his apparent lack of
interest just lately, why keepbu ilding
things just to have them broken?
Ginette could see the points in
Visone's arguments and found she was
agreeing with most of them, but the one
thing she was now determined about,
was that Tonga was the place for her.
True, her dream of a market garden
now seemed to lie in tatters, but how
much of the dream had been based on
the garden, or was it, that when she
had first thought of coming to Tonga,
she had imagined it to be like the
Garden of Eden and had automatically
gone for the market garden idea?
She had given the matter a lot of
thought; in fact she had hardly slept
the previous night, as hermind
wrestled with the problem. The dream
took on a new perspective, to stay in
this paradise that is Tonga, but what to
do to make this dream a reality. She
decided to move back into town and find
something that would not be at the
mercy of other people, or the elements.
She would miss the peace and solitude
she had found in the bush, but thought
that she could always come out to
escape for a few days, if things started
to get her down. The bush would
always be there, so that she could take
refuge in it when she felt the need.
Catalogue Information
