All change - part 2

If our first half of April was on the beach, the second half was all about getting back to the UK. We had a few days in Nairobi to finish our packing, tie up loose ends at work and (the hardest bit) say our goodbyes. There was inevitably more to do than we wanted. And it took longer. And we didn't get to spend time with everyone we wanted to. But we saw the cats settled in their new home, had BBQ suppers, drank and were merry with friends every evening, paid all our bills and got the big stuff sorted before we left. We were all sad as the mini bus laden with us and our bags pulled out of our compound for the last time.

But as we drove away, locking the car doors and with a security escort to get us to the airport, one of the boys observed that for all our security in Nairobi (high wall, electric and barbed wire fence, grills on all the doors and windows, 24 hour guard, padlocks, a lockable safe keep area upstairs, alarms, panic buttons) he feels safer in London where we have none of that. And the recent news from Kenya with explosions in Mombasa and Nairobi and where a couple of near neighbours have been burgled over the last two weekends suggests he had a point. So whilst we are all really missing our Nairobi friends, there are some bits of living in Kenya that we are less sad to say goodbye to.

Landing home for spring has also helped soften our return. The sky was blue and sun was shining as we arrived back at our London home. Even the fact that we returned in shifts wasn't a major problem. There wasn't room in the cab that I hastily booked by the pool in Nairobi the day before for all of us and our bags - yes 200kg really is a lot of luggage, a point I thought I'd made when booking! So I followed by tube. Our first chunk of freight arrived an hour after that. And friends and neighbours appeared to offer tea, fizz, flowers and to catch up on news. We felt very welcome.








We took a break from unpacking and sorting and reconnecting with London to spend a lovely Easter in Sussex catching up with cousins, looking for chocolate eggs in the lanes and enjoying the bluebells and lambs.

Sussex at Easter View photos You are invited to view anne's album. This album has 7 files.

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And then it was time to take our chocolate haul back to London and focus on school and work, spending time with friends and starting to find our new rhythm of family life. So far so good.