For the last month I’ve been
home, in England’s [cold, wet,] green and pleasant land. It’s been quite a mixture of emotions
really. Had a super fun time catching up
with people; I’ve had family meet-ups, good friend meet-ups, spa day meet-ups, new
baby meet-ups, Newmarket race meet-ups, surprise meet-ups, old time meet-ups, ‘godchildren’
meet-ups, new friend meet-ups, New Zealand travel buddy meet-ups, Ghana
volunteer reunion meet-ups, old colleague meet-ups, fellow PGCEer
meet-ups. I’ve travelled through
Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Guildford and Hereford (England’s true green
and pleasant land… bloody gorgeous) and a few counties in between. In what? I hear you cry; in a Peugeot 206
souped-up with every ‘sporty accessory’ possible; aka ‘Heaven’ - for a 17 year old boy (not a 37 year old woman)…. Still
it had an invaluable sat nav which only went off the boil twice sending me to
places far flung from where I should have been.
I missed the man on the corner giving me directions; ‘turn left at the baobab tree and right
after the large pile of rocks, when you past the goats it won’t be far’…. I
haven’t seen everyone nearly as much as I would have liked (including family)
and some people I haven’t seen at all…. Really sorry, you are of course welcome
to visit me in Ghana. Fancy riding
pillion on my moto?! If not we must ensure
we meet this time next year, before I go off the Oz…
Coming back I’ve realised (or
been reminded) of a number of things; I can survive perfectly well without
Eastenders, BB etc in my life… they were not missed in the year I was away and
I have had no desire to reconnect with them on this visit. I still ache for a
house like those they show on Escape to the Country, I love antiques and old
things (there is something about the history of England that cannot be recreated
anywhere else in the world) and I would still like to buy a house at an auction. I’ve really missed my doona and hot showers and
Cambridge retailers are surprisingly friendlier than when I left (no they
really are… noted on several occasions!).
It’s also clear that I really
was born to live in a warm (if not hot) climate and what’s more, I am broody as
hell (highlighted further due to new babies Eadie, Charlie and Isla who were
born while I was away and are totally gorgeous).
The main reason for coming home
was because I was to be an Auntie. Being
an Auntie has been fab, not nearly enough cuddles though, I’ve tried ever so
hard not to overwhelm Button (and Buttons mum) with the over exuberant baby
focused cooing that I am known to do.
It’s been tough to step back when a) I know I’ve only got limited cuddle
time and b) I came to help as much as I could and my sis clearly is doing so
very well… I do hope I’m as good when/if it happens to me. Can you believe I’ve
only changed two Button nappies… so unlike me!
Luckily I made up for it visiting Charlie and Isla!!
There have been other incredible
parts to my holiday home apart from seeing friends, family and new babies, having
hot showers, using my doona and driving a car. Food. As much cheese in as many varieties as I
desire, milk and yogurt every day, olives by the ten dozen and enough pickle to
pickle my insides…I’ve dined at the Snug and Las Iguanas, Chez Webb, Chez
Brown, The Elm and had my fav mum made meal.
I’ve had a Starbucks frappaccino, a M&S sandwich, lunch at The
Orchard and other yummy lunch venues. I’ve
managed to amass any small amount of weight I may have lost on one year and
some more to boot in a mere month.
Marvellous.
I’ve had to spend a lot of time,
too much time, sorting out finances (or lack of them) and the house with a
change of tenants and various things to sort out … paperwork seems to have
multiplied and expanded beyond what is truly necessary in the year I’ve been
away. Boring. It’s also meant I haven’t
quite got as much of my Post Grad in Development done as I had planned over
this month… kind of regretting saying yes to that one now I’m snowed under with
everything else. With reading,
assignments to do and a piece of Action Research to complete, alongside working
out exactly when and how I’m going to Oz and what the hell I’m going to do once
I get there, next year could be quite hectic.
There has been a huge blight on
an otherwise great trip. My Bolga house
has been robbed. In the first break-in
(yes, there was more than one…) they stole my moto, helmet, mattresses and some
smaller bits’ and pieces from a friend (some sentimental rather than expensive)
that they removed with her suitcase. The
second time they stripped the house of anything else which was mildly worth
nicking. They took the remaining
mattresses, the fridge freezer, the gas hob and the gas bottle along with other
smaller bits and pieces that I’ve tried to figure out before I go back so I can
take it back with me. I was luckily that
the second robbery was discovered while I was away in Guildford. My stress and panic at others having to deal
with my shit and the disappointment of the likely hood of someone in my local
area having done the job and me possibly knowing him was much reduced due to
the hilarity and drunken jokes/songs the steeling of the fridge freezer bought…
they were ready to pack me off with a replacement – a cool box!! I had an amazing network of people both
volunteers and local people headed by the amazing Leela who helped to discover
the thief and get some of the stuff from the second robbery back. Neighbours and good friends Hanana and Mohammed
noticed the break in, organised the house to be secured, phoned the police and
explained in local language the series of events and what had been taken. Lewis the VSO Penguin (VSO Penguins probably
need further explanation…but later) and his policeman friend instigated the
eventual police raid (with loaded riffles).
Even the landlord got involved having been accused of being involved as
he had been at the property the day before the first robbery and wanted/needed
to clear his name. Leela was the one who
held it all together liaising with everyone and managing to support getting a new
detective to deal with the case. The
first only working on the case if he was being bribed… Unfortunately I do not
know the full extent of what went on all I know is they have all helped me out
so much. How do you thank a bunch of
amazing people like that? Think I’ll have a lot of paying back to do. Unfortunately the thief is yet to be arrested
but was known as a ‘bad egg’ by the locals and had only just come back from a
stint away in a Ghanaian jail.
The greatest thing about going
home was the support I received in a number of different ways; one of my
Uncle’s was even trying to get me a slot at his Rotary Club meeting to try to
get more funds. Unfortunately a slot
couldn’t be found before I went back but what a lovely thought! Support has been given in words and
encouragement for doing volunteering, which people seem to think is a mad, hard
but wonderful thing to do (to be honest it’s not all that hard at all… in fact
I feel a little bit of a fraud to hear it all as I’m enjoying it so much and
doesn’t in the whole scheme of things seem like a chore). Support via money from friends and family who
gave generously. I amassed in one day nearly 600 pounds sterling to take back
to Mama Laadi’s Foster Home in
Bolga. This equate to sufficient Ghana Cedi
to support one child in the home for nearly one year. Finally enough gifts to
take back to ground a plane; books, clothes, stationary, Olympic memorabilia,
bags and some toys… things to make small children very happy. I feel very lucky to have such supportive and
generous friends and family. You are the
amazing ones. Thank you.
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