An overview of my 1979 trip to Mauritius, courtesy of the wonderfully hospitable Biltoo family, can be found by clicking here or below:
Here is an extract from my fifth letter, which is in effect my diary entry for 22 July 1979:
Dear parents,
Just thought I’d let you know that all is okay and tell you what happened yesterday. Garçon came in the morning and collected us, along with all our luggage except for one night necessities, as we stayed at Marraz’s last night, to move to Garçon’s this morning.
We went to his house for lunch and then went on to the races. Garçon is an expert, wagers large amounts (and wins large amounts). We youngsters just took his tips for the low stake game, so we made pence rather than pounds (although Anil made about 5 pounds as he bet a large amount and won on the last race).
Marvellous when the horses get into the final straight. Everyone gets really excited and jumps up and down.
We then went on to the home of Buddu, the husband of Bill’s cousin. Buddu own cinemas and is so rich it’s coming out of his ears. Their house is like your description of Stella’s in Bournemouth – like an antique shop. We had supper there and returned. We were so tired, we both lay down for a moment (at 9:45) and I didn’t wake up until 12:45, when I got into my pyjamas, got into bed and slept like a log.