My trips abroad are great fun and had work, but it is lovely to come home. Alex and Becca are growing up fast and being in the their company is a privilege; Alex is hungry for information and is loving getting into new things like suduko, but still has the attention span of a gnat! Becca is a beautiful young girl in spirit and in mind her desire to do well is lovely but with a cheeky nature and a real spark.

Two days after I returned my in-laws arrived with a van filled with the contents of their house having just sold their house in wirksworth. catching the last few weeks of the housing market stability yet sitting with completion pending as the bottom fell out of the market must have been a tad nerve-racking. But it all went through with minimal fuss after a few poker faced standoffs.

After unpacking the van into storage they were able to kick back and enjoy the process of house hunting with money in the bank.  They first saw a 3 bed property in Puddletown and then went further afield to Gillingham and Sherborne and several a bit more west.  But time and time the Puddletown house pulled them back. After a little deliberation Puddletown it was. A situation that was welcomed particularly  by both Alex and Becca who could see immediately the wonders of being able to walk home from school to Grandma’s!

The deal was straight forward and bargains were at hand with the prices falling so fast.

During the two weeks the family were all together I was hugely grateful for the endless piles of washing that miraculously got ironed by the iron fairy, the rooms that sparkled after I had spent a hard day at work and the family meals of an evening that materialised from nowhere.

The only dampener wa sthe increased tv remote struggle, but small price to pay for two weeks in my own home being pampered.

For those that read my blog from time to time you may have noticed the new theme. I hope you like it.

After Juba, we hit the road back to Nairobi. A couple of meetings and a lovely lunch at the Indemnity Club (Thank you Hope Murera of Zep-Re) and an evening meal at The Tamerind completed our long journey well.

Then came the tricky bit, flying back to London, and leaving again that evening out to Tunis via Paris. So Kenn met me with the kids and Vicky and Sophie and we spent the day together in Woking. Later they dropped me off at Terminal 2 and my next leg was underway.

First to Paris, flight was short and smooth but it was Air France so no great shakes! At Paris we were collected by an escort who started a 3 KM sprint to the other side of the airport. My lungs were still in poor shape following my chest infection and by the time I reached the otherside had no breath left.
The weazing meant that the plane crew decided to call a doctor, I was attended to by 6 very good looking french paramedics and given the all clear, but they suggested i stay in busines class!! ohhh dear!

When I arrived in Tunis, the boards had not mad ethe transfer either, but thankfully my case had. I reported lost luggage and then made it out through arrivals. I thien had a bust up with the organisers who said I was not on their list and so could not take me to the Hotel. I blew a gasket and I was short tempered. I ended up taking a death trap taxi to the hotel. and finally I slumped into bed.

This small conference has been good for us. We have had alot of interest and i hope the seychelles and Kenyan contacts come off.

Now i sit the night before leaving looking forward to getting back to cold english soil and my own bed!16 nights away is long.

We travelled onwards from Nairobi to Juba in South Sudan. The plan ticket placed us with Africa Express but the airport guarge said if the gate was not manned then they would not be flying. So a quick paniced search of Charleston Travel in the arrivals hall and our tickets get transferred to East African Airways.

One and a quarter hours later we were in the baron land of Sudan and the city of Juba. In front of us an almost completely one story city of ramshackelled huts of mud and corrugated iron.

Weather reports had put the expected temperature at around 30 Deg ! yerrr right do they actually stand outside and feel for themselves or put the thermometer in the fridge???  more like 35 and that is in the shade!

We passed through “customs” a bench with a man who likes to rummage through clothes - well the first 2 inches of them anyway. Then draws a chalk mark on your nice clean case!

Then into Zeru’s car - the statutory Japanese 4×4. but hear we have no Chelsea tractors, this poses a challenge to the best of international vehicle manufacturers. And that is just the high street!

Today the very reliable company generator failed - the office ground to a halt. even in such a hostile environment and with crazy lack of discipline and order the fact the computers went down did mean no business!
Whilst Phil stayed in the office to do some offline coding whilst his battery was still good, I had the delight of a trip out.
By this stage I must add i am fast going down hill with the Morning Data lurge, something like tonsillitis and Glandular fever. Whatever it is/was I have it now and with my history for chest infections I could feel things going pear shaped so far from home and any form of reliable medical supplies outlet!
But in my case i had 11 Erythromycin and with some sterling work from back home more supplies are on order for when I get to Nairobi. Quite and achievement.

The trip out from our commitments in Nairobi was to take in some of the sights I had already seen, the Giraffe Centre, The Elephant Orphanage and the Nairobi National Park. and once again I marvelled at the the strange beasts the planet had walking on it - Giraffe being one with powerful legs that can kill a lion with one kick and that only sleep for minutes at a time for fear of low blood pressure killing them, and elephant trunks!! well what can I say - watching them close up delicately clean mud from their eye! amazing!

So Mr Nissan - thank you for the manufacturer of the little 9 seater minibuses used by Kenyan tour operators to take unsuspecting travellers to many of Kenyan’s best attractions. We too innocently climbed aboard to look forward to our few hours of sight seeing. I noted these models had a wonderful sunroof construction that lifts up on poles to provide sun shade whilst passengers stand and gett a better view of whatever they are seeing. What one does not realise is that the phrase “The African Massage” does not refer to the masterful techniques of exotic ladies to expel the stresses of the diabolical traffic jams experience to getting through Nairobi, but refers more to the endless potholes your vehicle has to contend with as you drive as varying speeds through the so called “modern” roads.

So these lovely little minibusses are able to take on the best the African roads can give and with not a care for the wellfair of its passengers cope with steep inclines, 4 way pitching and deep ruts without a blink of an eye.

My apology to Nick is that Nick is my Chiropractor and I am so sorry for whatever my spine and neck will be presenting him with upon my return!  All the pitching and bumping, sharp drops and juddering will I am sure take its toll.