Passing Through The title of this blog is not a description of the effects of too many curries on my digestive system since returning to the UK, but a reference to our brief home visit before heading back to Africa. Despite having three months in Washington, Alaska and the Yukon our North America trip ended far too quickly, we didn't even get a chance to attend the Overeaters Anonymous (lunchtime meeting) in Juneau. It has taken a while to get used to w...

Farewell to the UK (again) After a lightning tour of friends (those of you we didn't descend on can now bring the alcohol back out and relax) and relatives we are flying to Seattle, USA for something we never normally do, a relaxing weekend in a big city. Angela is keen to visit all the locations of one of her favourite films, Sleepless in Seattle, but I have tried to point out that most of the film relates to New York! With my 50th birthday getting dangerously...

Warm beer and old churches Despite the risk of upsetting all our Southern African friends, I have to admit it has been an absolute pleasure to drink real beer again now we are back in the UK. Fizzy tasteless lager is perfect in 40 C temperatures but now we are back in the middle of a typical British summer (16C and copious rain) it has been a joy to sink a few pints of proper beer! After leaving Dad in Cornwall we've thrown ourselves on the hospitality of Al...

Yvonne Spilsbury 1931-2006  We said goodbye to my mother in a moving non religious ceremony at Glynne Valley crematorium, Bodmin, Cornwall last Wednesday.  The view from the picture window across a wooded valley to the distant edge of Bodmin Moor and it’s patchwork of purple heather, was a reminder of how beautiful, green and lush England is in autumn. It was a fitting location for Dad, Angela, Princesa (Mum & Dad’s Spanish dog), friends...

You've nearly got rid of us! Time for all the women to start crying, Ralph is leaving the UK. Thanks to Rob, Lesley & Bill, Alan & Jane, Ralph (snr) and Bubbles (Ralph's parents) and Jo & John (Angela's parents) for putting us up (or up with us) over the last week or more. Thanks to Paula for coming over to Rob's today and for volunteering to escort us to Heathrow (it saves Police time) tomorrow with Rob. Next postcard should be from South Africa unles...