Love Before and After

Victory in Europe – finally! In May, 1945, the Allied Nations went wild when the fall of Nazi Germany and the death of Adolf Hitler were publicly announced. Churchill had steered the Ship of State through its roughest sees ever straight into the safe harbour of Peace and Security. There was the far-off Japanese to defeat, but for now it was time to celebrate. Mum agreed to watch Chelsea while I went into central London with my girlfriends. The place had gone mad. There were drunken servicemen everywhere, laughing and screaming women, people hugging and kissing total strangers and people just hanging from lamp posts. There was the occasional fistfight, but the crowds were remarkably peaceful considering their enormous size. It was unbelievable. We made it to Trafalgar Square and the crowd broke into renditions of “God save the King” and “There Will Always Be An England”. I looked at “Canada House”, an official Canadian residence that sat on Trafalgar Square and wore its scars from bomb damage during the ‘blitz’. It made me think of Sam. What must he be doing? Surely he knew that the war was over and we would be reunited soon. Surely he was just as happy as I was.