In 1958, when I was 14 years old, I was introduced to young man, by a friend. We had a brief conversation then I didn’t meet him again until 3 years later, just before my 17th birthday in 1961. We got on very well and we started going out together.
I had realised he was not from England as, although he had excellent English, he had a slight accent. As we got to know each other better, he began to tell me about himself and where he came from.
He said his name was Ferenc, he was born in 1939 and he came from Hungary. He had left Hungary during the 1956 revolution and had ended up in England.
I had not the slightest idea where Hungary was as school book Geography, in those days, covered the countries closest to England, the Commonwealth, the British Empire and America.
From what he told me and what I subsequently read in books I found out a lot of fascinating facts about Hungary, its location, its people and its cuisine. I was introduced to other Hungarians who lived in and around London and I also met several English girls who had married Hungarians. Then, in 1964 Ferenc & I got married in Watford Registry office in Hertfordshire.

I wanted to see Hungary for myself, but, due to the situation in the country, it was not possible to do so. But, then in 1970 we found out that the Hungarian Government was allowing Hungarian citizens, who had left in 1956, to either return home to live if they wished or just visit the country again. We were absolutely delighted and couldn’t wait for a visit to be organised.

In August 1969 our first son had been born and in June 1970, when he was just 10 months old; we set out to drive to Hungary.
We sailed from Dover to Zeebrugge, drove through Belgium, Germany, and Austria then into Hungary. It took quite a long time as there were not many motorways except in Germany.
I had never been out of England before and I was absolutely fascinated to see the countries we drove through and how different they were to England.
We didn’t even think about booking into a hotel so we spent a night, sleeping in the car, in the mountains in Austria. When we woke, early in the morning, we found a little shop that sold fresh milk and bread. I shall never forget that experience, sitting with the mountains all around us having breakfast that morning.
Luckily, as it was quite hot during the drive, the baby went to sleep every time the car started moving so we had no problems with him while we were travelling.

Our first destination, in Hungary, was Budapest. We had friends there so we visited them for a few days. Unfortunately, Ferenc’s parents had died when he was young so I have always regretted that I was never able to meet them. Next we went to see one of Ferenc’s sisters in Szabadszallas which is about 80km, South of Budapest in Bács-Kiskun County. We stayed there for a week, then, once again, we headed south to Szigetvar, Nr Pécs, about 30 Kilometres from the Croatian border. There I met another sister and her family.

I was overwhelmed that we were greeted so warmly by his family. Of course, they were delighted to see their brother, Ferenc, but I was unsure how they would accept me as a foreigner. I need not have had any reservations as I was treated as one of their own and I really began to find out what Hungarian hospitality was all about and what being part of a Hungarian family meant.
Altogether we stayed for nearly 3 weeks in Hungary. We met such a lot of friendly people; the weather had been fantastic and the food fabulous. The time went so quickly and before we knew it we were heading home for England once more.

I can honestly say that, although I had been the one who insisted on going to Hungary, and we had been given a wonderful holiday, there were aspects of that first trip that I didn’t really like. I didn’t say anything to Ferenc because I didn’t want to spoil it for him but I thought about it long and hard.
In those days I had shoulder length, fashionably styled hair and had been far too hot and with it all hanging around or piled up on top of my head. I always wore stockings and would not dream of taking them off just because the weather was hot but I was so uncomfortable. I would not have been seen dead without make-up and I certainly would not have worn shorts – just the latest fashion in summer wear.
How stiff and formal we were in those days even though we had just been through the rock and roll ‘60’s – we seemed to emerged from it with more strict fashion rules than ever before.
I must have looked quite extraordinary to the Hungarians, all dressed up and more concerned about how I looked rather than enjoying myself, but they said nothing and I hope they thought I was just different because I was English.
Over the next year I continued to think about our visit and I eventually came to the conclusion that I was envious of the easier Hungarian way of life and attitudes – so different to ours in England.
I decided that I must drastically change my attitude to life and loosen up or I would never be able to enjoy life to the full.
I booked another trip to Hungary in 1971. My son was nearly 2 years old by then.
I had my hair cut very short. I bought several pairs of shorts and I certainly did not pack any make-up or take any fancy summer dresses with me and I didn’t even take one pair of stockings.
The trip was a huge success. I had the time of my life and fell completely in love with Hungary, the Hungarians and their way of life.

Unfortunately, due to work and other commitments we were not able to go again for 19 years. Then, in 1990, we decided we should make another trip over there. My eldest son, by this time nearly 21 years old, of course, did not remember his first trips there and we also had another son who was 16 years old.
Although we had not visited Hungary I always insisted they should know about where their family was and all about Hungary itself.
The trip was a fantastic success. We all loved it so much and were sorry to leave.
We returned in 1991 and once again we enjoyed it immensely and of course we saw quite a lot of the country.
The only problem was that because of my husband’s work commitments he never had time to teach the boys any of the Hungarian language and I never had time to learn it. But we got by with the help of a dictionary and Ferenc translating for us.

In 1992 Ferenc & I decided that we would like to live in Hungary when we retired. I also decided that although I would be of retirement age I would like to do something else with my life in Hungary. I had been teaching for several years but I wanted to change my teaching subject. After much thought I became a student again and qualified to be an ‘English as a Foreign Language’ Lecturer and I taught for several years in an English college so that I could gain experience.

Since 1990 we have visited Hungary many times, made lots of friends, and we never ceased to regret having to return to England every time – we wanted to stay there so much.

In 1996 my youngest son met a Hungarian girl and he went to Hungary for nearly 2 years, worked there, and learnt the language and he absolutely loved it. Then, in August 2001, they got married. They are preseently living in England.

In the summer of 2002, we sold our house in England and bought one in Hungary, 30 kilometres from Budapest, near the River Danube.
In November 2002 we took the first load of our possessions over and then in May 2003 we took a second load over and moved into the house and that is where I am writing this article now.
My eldest son, well he also loves Hungary and is about to take a job and move into a flat in Budapest.
Me, well I am delighted to be in Hungary at last. We have been warmly welcomed into the small town where we are living. We have made new friends there and the people have been very kind in helping us settle in. At the end of this year I will begin teaching English and I will attend college in Budapest to learn the Hungarian language.
Who says that a new life can’t begin after 60!