Antonette's Story A novel by Bronwen Welsh Copyright 2020

Chapter 14   A tour and a wedding.

A benefit of dancing with one of Britain's best companies which hadn't occurred to me, was the opportunity to travel. The company travelled overseas every second year and had been to America, some parts of Europe and Asia before Jack and I joined it. In that year, we toured Australia and New Zealand. It was a long flight from Heathrow, stopping at Singapore before landing in Perth on the west coast of Australia. After four days of performances, we flew to Adelaide, a distance of about 1300 miles. From there we flew to Melbourne, then Sydney and Brisbane before flying across to Auckland in New Zealand and finally Christchurch. Since this is a memoir, not a travelogue, I won't write about all the places we visited, although some stand out, like dancing in the Sydney Opera House.

However, the highlight of the trip for me was our visit to Melbourne where Kate White, the sister of Gary, my first boyfriend, still lived. We had become firm friends and corresponded regularly after her family migrated to Australia, and she made me a gift of Jemima, her prized bride doll, a gift so generous I could hardly believe it. I had offered to send Jemima back to her, but she insisted that she stay with me. Over the years we had changed from aerograms to emails, which have their advantages and disadvantages. I love receiving a written letter or card, but we have to move with the times and while we still exchange cards and small presents on our birthdays and at Christmas, the rest of the time it's emails. It now occurred to me that I might be able to repay her gift in some small way.

As soon as I told Kate that we would be performing in Melbourne, she said that she and her mummy must get some tickets, so I asked her to let me know which performance she would like to attend and said that I would obtain the tickets for her. We were to perform in the Princess Theatre, a classic theatre built in the mid-eighteen hundreds and holding about fifteen hundred people. We filled it five times! I happened to meet my friend Harriet before we left England, and she told me she had performed as Juliet in that theatre, and what is more, she swears that she saw the famous ghost. She is rather psychic, while I am not, so it didn't surprise me that I didn't see him.

I obtained two very good 'A Reserve' tickets for Kate and her mummy at the special price for artists. They could pick them up at the box office, and as a surprise I included two copies of the program which had been signed by all the principal artists and soloists, plus a little note from me. I was fortunate in being able to do this as a comparatively lowly 'First Artist', but it was a very happy company, almost like a big family, and the senior artists did not put on airs as I have heard sometimes happens in other companies. After all, the 'corps' provides the backdrop to make them look good.

I let Kate know that they would be in 'A Reserve' so that they knew to dress up. I didn't get a chance to see them before the show, but we arranged that we would have supper in a local café after the performance, and they came around to my dressing-room which I shared with a number of the girls. Kate was wearing the beautiful rose pink shot silk dress she had worn as Gary's bridesmaid and she looked amazing. Her mummy also wore a very beautiful green silk gown. I was glad that I had brought a blue silk dress to wear at the number of receptions which were held for the company, so that I was not upstaged!

It was wonderful to catch up with Kate once again. When I last saw her, she was a pretty teenager; now she was a beautiful young woman, close to finishing her nurse training. She told me that she intended to go back to the 'old country' as she put it, to spend a year nursing in one of the big London hospitals, and do a bit of travelling in Europe. I told her that I would be getting married soon and would love her to be my bridesmaid if she was in London at the time. When we had a quiet moment together visiting 'the Ladies',, she said she had told Gary that she was going to see me and he had asked her to pass on his congratulations at achieving my dream of becoming a professional ballerina, and best wishes for the tour, so I asked her to thank him.

“How is he going now?” I asked.

“They've moved to Parkes in New South Wales because he's obtained a job at the Observatory.”

“You mean 'The Dish''?” I said, referring to the film about the big radio telescope which was one of the receivers of the signals from the Apollo 11 moon landing.

“That's right,” said Kate. “Getting married in rather a hurry affected his studies; he had to get a job to support himself and a wife and baby so he couldn't stay at university to do an Honours year or get his Master's degree but he is still carrying on studying by correspondence and he was very fortunate to get this job based on his university results to date. They could also see how committed he is to becoming an astronomer.”

“I know he wanted to become an astronomer from the time I first met him, so it looks like he may achieve his dream too; I certainly hope so,” I replied.

“By the way, how is Jemima?” asked Kate.

“As beautiful as ever. She still watches over me while I'm asleep and will continue to do so even when I'm married,” I replied. “I take great care of her so that someday some other little girl can enjoy her as much as I have.”

“Perhaps you'll have a daughter?” said Kate. For a moment I struggled with whether to tell her the truth about me but decided after all this time that there was no point. Instead I told her something which was true.

“Unfortunately, I can't have children,” I said, “But maybe you will have a daughter one day, and when she is old enough I will be very happy to pass Jemima on to another generation.”

Back at the table, Mrs White said “We were hoping to meet your fiancé, is he busy?”

“No, he didn't come because he said it was a 'girls' night out' and he would only be intruding.”

“Nonsense!” said Mrs White. “He would have been most welcome to come.”

“Well, the hotel is only five minutes away, I can ring him if you like?” I said, and so it was that fifteen minutes later, Jack arrived at the café, having hurriedly put on a suit to look respectable. Women have a very predictable reaction when they first see Jack. After all, he is tall, slim and very handsome, with curly dark hair. The combined effect makes nearly every woman go weak at the knees, and Kate and her mother were no exception. If Jack was a bad person, he could have been a regular Casanova, but fortunately, he isn't that way inclined. Instead, he proved to be an excellent supper companion and accepted the compliments of the two ladies about his dancing in his usual modest and good-natured way.

We stayed in the café until they started stacking the chairs as an indicator that they wished to close. Mrs White, who by now insisted that we call her Marjory, had said that if we ever came to Australia for a holiday they would be very happy to give us accommodation and show us the sights. There were kisses on the cheek all round, and then Jack and I went back to the hotel, while Marjory and Kate went home.

The rest of the tour went very well, full houses everywhere and it was an exhausted but very happy troupe of dancers who finally arrived back in Britain, ready for a break.

Jack and I got married about six months later, in a break between seasons. We needed somewhere to live, and like most young couples, we rented a one-bedroom flat in north London and set about buying some basic furniture, a bed, kitchen table and chairs, and two easy chairs and cooking utensils. Jack's parents were updating their television set, so we inherited the old one which was perfectly functional but not 'smart' like modern sets. Jack moved into the flat, and I visited it quite often, but I slept at home until our wedding, a bit old-fashioned I know, but it's what we preferred to do. We were hoping to get a number of essential items as wedding presents and to this end made up a list so that when any of our guests asked what they should give us, we had an answer ready, appropriate to their budget.

Since most of our family and friends lived in London, Aunt Tess and Uncle Terry reluctantly made the trip down from Stratford. We were married in the Finsbury Park Anglican church, despite neither of us really being church-goers. However, the vicar said that was fine and perhaps he'd see us again. It was a lovely ceremony, very traditional, just like my engagement ring, which I had decided to leave as it was. There was an organ and choir and the famous lesson quoting St Paul's letter to the Corinthians which concludes: 'And so there remain Faith, Hope, Love--these three; and of these the greatest is Love.

Jack had asked his brother Ben to be his Best Man and George and Henry, two good friends from the ballet to be the Ushers. I had three very special people to be my attendants. My sister Jeanette was the Matron of Honour, and as bridesmaids, I had April, my old friend from school, and Kate, Gary's sister. As she had told me when I met her in Melbourne, she had come over to England for a year to work in one of the London hospitals. I had a feeling there was a young man in the background waiting for her when she returned but I couldn't help noticing that Ben couldn't take his eyes off her; after all, she was extremely pretty. They did go out for a while, but in the end, Kate returned to her beau in Australia.

We had the reception in the church hall and the catering was provided by the ladies of the parish who do it as a fund-raiser for the church, and I must say their charges are very reasonable. The reception followed the usual routine with two exceptions. My dear friend Harriet was present, and I really wanted her to give a recitation, but I wasn't sure if she would be prepared to do it, so I asked Reggie her husband, who is a really charming man.

“She doesn't usually, but in this case, I'm sure she'll make an exception,” he said and went off to ask her.

Ben, who was acting as Master of Ceremonies, announced her as 'the well-known Shakesperean performer, and Antonette's friend, Dame Harriet Staunton.'

Harriet stood up and smiling at the gathered company who had spontaneously applauded, and said: “When I first met Antonette, little did I know that all these years later I would be privileged to be at her wedding.” I couldn't help blushing at this little joke which was just between the two of us.

“I've been asked to say something suitable for a wedding, and as you know, Shakespeare has a quote for any occasion, so I couldn't do better than one of his sonnets, number 116 which goes like this:

'Let me not to the marriage of true minds
Admit impediments. Love is not love
Which alters when it alteration finds,
Or bends with the remover to remove.
O no! it is an ever-fixed mark
That looks on tempests and is never shaken;
It is the star to every wand'ring bark,
Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken.
Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks
Within his bending sickle's compass come;
Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks,
But bears it out even to the edge of doom.
If this be error and upon me prov'd,
I never writ, nor no man ever lov'd.'

I have done my best to emphasize the words she chose, and as you can imagine, there was a standing ovation when she sat down.

The reception continued with speeches and cutting the cake with dancing to follow. Jack and I took to the floor first and then the rest of the guests followed. We had one more surprise for them, having been persuaded although very reluctantly at first. With everyone dancing, Jack and I took the opportunity to slip away to a dressing room at the side of the hall where we changed and then awaited Bob's announcement.

“Ladies and gentlemen, as you know, both Antonette and Jack are dancers performing with the Imperial Ballet Company where they are now both 'First Artists', so how could we possibly let an occasion like this go without asking them to entertain us? With the 'pas de deux' from Swan Lake, please welcome Antonette and Jack.'

There was general applause as we stepped onto the dance floor and the recorded music began. Everyone seemed rather impressed, especially by the lifts, even if they knew nothing about ballet. It's a beautiful routine which highlights the strength and agility of the man, and the femininity and grace of the ballerina, with quite a lot of pointe work and when the music came to an end and Jack bowed and I curtseyed, we were given a standing ovation, and many 'Bravos'.

We left the hall again to change into our 'going away' outfits, but the reception continued for quite some time until a taxi arrived to take us to a nearby hotel for the night. What a day it had been!

Before Kate left for Australia we had a coffee together.

“So you've decided to go back to Australia; nothing to keep you here?” I asked with a smile

Kathe blushed slightly. “If you mean Ben, yes we are good friends and I've enjoyed going out with him but there's someone back in Australia called Bruce and I think he's still rather keen on me. This year apart has given us time to sort out our feelings for each other. I'd still like to marry him, and maybe he still wants to marry me. We'll see.

“There's a famous Australian poem called 'My Country', by Dorothea McKellar which she wrote in England when she was really homesick. The famous second verse starts 'I love a sunburnt country', and it's true, I do. I was very young when we emigrated, and for better or worse, I'm an Aussie girl now, I couldn't imagine living anywhere else.

To be continued

Next time: A working honeymoon and an invitation