A year later than planned due to a global pandemic, with a new strain taking its toll on people, we manged to navigate not getting COVID in the run up to the most important flight of the year. Not quite out of the woods, the next hurdle and who would predict it…….British weather decides to have a record breaking 2 day mini heatwave causing chaos to fire services, bucking train lines causing mass train cancelations and to top it off there's a fuel strike at Heathrow and Heathrow have told companies to cull flights over the summer season due to staff shortages.

We are on the move…..how typical our train is cancelled so we had to cram ourselves onto an earlier train along with everyone else whose journey was disrupted; luggage space limited and bun fights to find a seat - standard travel UK style.
Celebrations arriving in London we all crave ITSU and devour it whilst a young chap clearly psychologically unstable joins us with his trolley of belongings and we listen to him talk to the sky arguing with those above and putting his world to right. Onlookers look on in gnash, a small act of kindness Maz offers him a drink and off he goes. This is a reminder to the kids we all enter the world had someone responsible to give love, food, and shelter at some point you choose your own path and it's important just to show kindness, acceptance of the diversity of people's lives.

Travelling with five and choosing seats is always a bane of our lives, nobody wants to sit in the middle, and nobody wants to sit beside a stranger. Maz comes up with a cunning plan which I think sucks but roll with it. Kids three seat, one at window must sit in middle on return, middle gets choice of window, isle both ways - an attempt to stop bickering! As for mum and dad we want isle seats so booked the middle row and left space between us and God help us we hope it's left empty. Unfortunately, what looked like a member of South Africa basketball team stops at our seats, looked at us asked if we were traveling together and did one of us want to move to the middle seat ...... Maz politely declined the poor chaps face dropped and once settled I explained we argue too much hence leaving a space between us (white lie). As for the kids they all settled well with the nightmare family of 3 younger kids in front with a chilled dad who did what he was told when barked at and an over the top mother on many levels. As I observed the 11 hours I had a quiet word to myself - never ever and I'm sorry if I have to my children and husband.

Landed and collected by Bushlore we head to depot dead excited to start prepping vehicle to pick up our 4x4 car our home for the next 6 weeks.. With a little forward thinking Maz did an online food shop of basics which would cut out a supermarket shop, 2hrs later on the road straight to the hotel for a kip.
Rejuvenated we order an Uber and head to a typical South Africa steakhouse - on entry a sign stating no guns allowed.....we look out of place as white South African's eye us up it seems to be a local haunt typical of the places Maz finds, the kids think they so don't belong here. Quickly we attempt to blend in by Maz ordering a Rock Shandy that comes with a cheery on top and myself getting down with the local ladies order a pint of South Africa's Castle, we sample the specialty like a Haggis stuffed with lambs' liver along with the standard steak, chops.
Late evening our Uber drives us back to the hotel along the deserted usually busy main roads.
An early start is intended to get out of South Africa.