IT MAY be 41 years since Gordon and Jenni Kirkham went Down Under in search of a better life but turkey is still the centrepiece for their annual festive feast.

Sutton Coldfeld-born Jenni and Gordon, from Aston, were only two of up to one million British migrants who travelled to Australia under the Assisted Passage Scheme.

Nicknamed the Ten Pound Poms, migrants paid ten pound for their passage, with the Australian Government making up the rest of the fare, provided people stayed and worked there for two years.

Jenni and Gordon married at the Register Office on Broad Street in 1968, two weeks before they boarded the Achille Lauro after transformer coil winder Gordon was offered a job in Perth. Four decades on and the Kirkhams have made a life with their daughters, Sarah, 29, Gail, 38, two grandchildren and son-in-law Brian.

Jenni, now 63, said Christmas was still a big family celebration. The office worker-turned-writer said: “We have established a family tradition since our elder daughter married in 1993, so each year we go to lunch at her house.

“My daughter and I cook the food, traditionally we have a turkey breast roasted in the oven or if it gets very hot we do it in the barbecue, and a ham, with vegetables and salad to go with it.”

Just like back in Brum, Jenni and Gordon, 69, watch the Queen’s speech on TV. But, Jenni said, “seeing tinsel and decorations in the streets of Perth in harsh sunlight still doesn’t seem right.”