Thanks WHBM, that clears up a few cloudy bits.
I remember Tangiers very well but not Bathurst. We were flying with a friend of my mother and her daughter who was a youngster like me. My mother had gone along the corridor to her friend's room to check if they were ready for dinner. As she'd been gone a long time I decided to venture down the corridor and hurry them all up. Along the corridor came a group of arab women in full regalia, niqabs and all. I took fright, chased along the corridor, hammered on their door and rushed in, tripping on the carpet and cutting my lip badly on the bed. All I could mumble between sobs was that there were 'bandits' coming along the hall.
As for the DC 6, well it's a long time ago and I shall allow myself one slip-up.