Dearest Ralph

How are you?Hope you are doing fine.  A quick hi from purchasing here at Heston.  By reading your last email about zip breaking it reminding me of Jeff!

Last friday he decided to volunteer to do the stock take, he got so excited when he was down in the warehouse that he ended up ripping his Khaki trousers, showing off his nice GREEN pants.  He didnt think it was too bad as he said if he stood up no one could see, and you couldnt really tell if he was sat down.  im afraid that was not the truth you could see his Green pants.

Jeff says hi!!

Hope life in Africa is treating you and Angela well.  Email when you get the chance.

Love

 Jessica

Hello !

Really had a good laugh at your tales of Etosha - and the mad Germans. Seems like you really can't get rid of them !! Have fun !!  Hope that wasn't a picture of a Toyota towing you in ?!  And where is a picture of the Custard Bus !!

We're off to Cape St Francis - with the Allens - over Easter. Really looking forward to some serious relaxing - and the kids to some serious surfing.

All the best Heike

I have found a zip for back up purposes if Ralph's trousers ever get in trouble. I stole it from a child's toy purse. It might be a bit on the large size though.

We will be in Kenya & Tanzania late Summer - where will you be in September

Love

Emily & Steve

Greetings from Tsumeb, Namibia, and thanks for the message Rory.

We've been to Etosha for a couple of weeks and are now 100km south in Tsumeb. The internet here is very slow so we may not be able to upload photo albums and blogs from the last trip. We are here because a large zip needs replacing (not Ralph's trousers but the tent door). We are planning to go west and north to the remoter area of Namibia (Kaokoland), hopefully finding some desert elephants if we are very lucky.

Leaving for Etosha tomorrow, so we are making the most of the cool weather and a warm Atlantic Ocean today in Swakopmund. We are also overdosing on prawns and fish, rare commodities inland.

We've put a few "blogs" on under Swakopmund that actually relate to other areas like Tiras and Sossusvlei, so have a look at them if you wish.

Keep the comments coming, not sure when we'll get internet access again though.

Ralph & Angela

Thanks Steve.

On our Orange River canoe trip when Roach launched in to his Afrikaans folk song and birds fell out the trees I almost (note the almost) wished you were there to give us a few Irish ditties. Shows how desperate you get away from civilisation.

How's my car doing, we'll need it back in 2 years, did I tell you that was the rental price we agreed?

Ralph

We are just about finished buying up the contents of Swakopmund's supermarkets and will overdose on KFC tomorrow before leaving.

I'm still shocked at meeting my last boss in the the hotel here, it is a very small world now.

Thanks for the messages, keep them coming please. You'll note that this website is moving with the times, our postcards are now blogs, sounds like a nasty disease!

Next stop will be Etosha, with a stop halfway as it is over 10 hours driving with the trailer. Going back to the heat and dust after a refreshing stay by the Atlantic ocean here in Swakopmund. Haven't seen Angelina & Brad yet so I've left my autograph at Tourist Info for them!

Wherever you are, hope everything is well.

Ralph & Angela

Excellent pictures Ralph. I had a word with the LSE guy like you asked regarding a job for you in the gold trading floor. He said he will not have vacancies this year but has put me on to a guy who owns a chain of jewellery shops. He is looking for someone to clean the droppings from his cuckoo clocks. Let me know if you're interested.

Take care both of you

Love Emily & Steve

x

Thanks for all the messages.

Taking them in date order:

Phil & Sue, hope the plumbing is repaired, mine is!

Magda great to hear from you, Swakop is a pleasant 22C, nice to get away from the heat of the interior for a couple of days. Hope all in well in Upington

Valerie sorry the smokers are going outside in July, thanks fro reading the updates

Shirley & Vic, thanks email address change noted

Jessica, cheeky as ever thank you. Tell Simon anyone can buy cheap in a falling market and wake Gary up if he's in.

Lesley Bullen, hope the Far East trip was good, Jo, hope it is still good, hope you enjoy Sarawak

Heike, canoe trip was great, won't follow you down the Fish River canyon thanks, too hot for 5 days!

Richard B, great to hear from you, could do with that wine now. I check the Avaya and Centrix websites daily, it just takes 3 days to download a front page here! Good luck with the injury, one way to avoid a marathon.

Ralph & Angela,

I can't recall if I've posted a message before or not. Either way, this is one now, or you wouldn't be reading it. Clearly you're both enjoying yourselves and aren't missing much about the UK, except work and the weather of course. Heston (where I was last week meeting with Simon Ginger) has come along nicely with a gravel drive leading up to the offices and acres of parkland with wild animals roaming (or do I mean a grass verge with security guards patrolling?). In fact, there is a new coffee machine installed at GHG and I had a lovely Latte there. I understand that they're decided not fill your role there because it was impossible to fill to find anyone as good as you; or perhaps it was for financial reasons I don't recall?

I hope you're missing the world of telecoms and at the very least are checking the Avaya and Centrix websites to keep up to date with what's going on? Need I ask, of course.

They have replenished the stock of that lovely red wine we drank at the Four Seasons (I believe they had to step up production in order to meet demand) so as and when (and if!) you return, and promise to get yourself a job where there's more than a remote chance of needing our services, then maybe we can return there and you can tell us more about what colour people go when they drink toilet cleaner; oh and the animals, tell us more about the animals (and not the ones you used to work with).

I'm sporting a fractured fibula at the moment (sporting? what a pun!) caused by either my training for the Reading half-marathon or a go-karting accident. I never did work out what it was but I've been hobbling for about 6 weeks now and it worked as a good excuse to get out of the half-marathon so I shouldn't complain too loudly.

Keep posting the pictures and the blogs!

Richard.

Hi Guys !!

Wow - it is so great to hear that you did the Orange River trip. Congratulations !! The photos look amazing - and the write-up - as always - great fun !! I am seriously impressed at you two intrepid travellers !!
Must say - I could do with a trip like that again. Looking at doing the Fish River Canyon hike next year.

Otherwise all OK on this end of the world !

Keep well and mainly - have lots of fun.

 All the best

Heike