When we were in the UK for Granma's 90th, we received two sad bits of news. Two people that we love dearly (Issy and Philip) were told they had cancer. So with the immortal words of Sean who said "Hey, we can do Egypt anytime, even with kids..." we decided that instead of heading from Spain to Egypt via Tunisia we would instead stay in the UK for a month to spend some time letting this news all settle in and spending some time with them.
Upon landing back in the UK we were greeted by a text from Issy, my best mate, that read "you're coming with me tonight to Murano [a Michelin star restaurant]"... Ok, so my first thought was what the hell are we going to wear? Trekking boots and sports wear aren't exactly the dress code in these places. So we headed straight from our Stansted-Victoria bus to Wimbledon and into Debenhams to try to find me a dress. Thank goodness for the sales, I picked up a 15 quid bargain! Thinking I could borrow shoes, a coat, make-up and a hand-bag from Issy I was set to go. Sean was more difficult however. He not only needs an outfit (jeans, shirt) but also shoes and accessories (socks, belt) and a coat to go with all this. Another thank goodness for H&M who supplied all in record time. We managed to make it on time back to Issy's where our taxi awaited and had an amazing night! This is a sensational restaurant and our re-introduction to wine after 6 months was possibly the most exciting moment of my life so far.
Being back in the UK meant we also got to spend New Year with Issy, Ross, Rob and my cousin Jon and his girlfriend Sally. We ate takeaways and drank bubbles (although on a budget cava replaced the usual stuff!) and brought New Year in watching the fireworks on the Beeb.
We were then surprised with a gift of tickets to see Cirque du Soleil with Jon and Sally. These were intended for my Aunty Kate and Bill, but unfortunately Bill wasn't well (he's fine now though phew!) so they couldn't travel to London to use them. We certainly owe them a Christmas Present in lieu! Was a great afternoon followed by lots of wine and cheesy pizza in Covent Garden.
It also, also meant I was in the UK for my mate Lyndsay's birthday AND that I got to meet her new bloke (they got together a bit before we left). We headed down to The Prospect of Whitby which claims to the oldest riverside pub in London to meet up. This is a great little pub and we had an amazing afternoon which spread into the late hours gossiping and "getting to know". Lyndsay's fella is a gem and I can't wait to meet up with them again!
Issy also spoiled us to musical nights out to see Legally Blond, Wicked and Priscilla: Queen of the Desert. Almost split my sides at Priscilla - it is highly recommended!
We got two trips to Brimfield in to see Philip and my mum. Spent a lovely lunch with Jim and Katherine again, saw my Nan and also had a lovely walk down memory lane with Granma one afternoon.
We also managed to meet up with Drew and Kylie and Llewellyn (Kylie has done this amazing video of his first year of life - check out her Facebook page - it's truly amazing!). Llewellyn has THE most amazing eyes you've ever seen. They're so blue and he has big eyelashes. He is going to melt so many hearts when he's older! They spoiled us with more cheese (can you tell how much we missed cheese yet?) and also Pringles (it's mad the things you crave when they're the more expensive option available). We are incredibly grateful!
Mark and Jules spoiled us one night with an amazing feast and cheesy dancing! Loved the new place! As soon as we have a home again you're first on the dinner invite list!
I also got in some meet ups with girls from netball. Linda and Bev took me and Sean out for a curry and I also got to see the England/New Zealand match at the O2 with them.
Issy fancied making one of her dreams come true to drive a Lotus around Silverstone. We were chauffeurs up to the track and were entertained in amazing style by her friends Chris and Sandra with whom we stayed the night and talked cricket, Africa, "Lufbra" and much more with their daughters and their partners. Sean and I had been outstandingly happy with this wonderful evening, but Issy, generous as ever had a surprise for us. Hotrod rides around Silverstone! These little vehicles get up to 150mph on the straights and we loved every single hair raising second!
And my final meet up was with generous Rach and Leigh who were brave enough to take on my rusty cooking skills! We look forward to hopefully meeting up with Leigh in Africa (if she remembers to send us her itinerary that is! Hee hee) and can't wait to see Rach again when we get home!
The good news is that Issy looks to be bashing cancer to a pulp. After 3 chemo sessions, the markers are down and the bloods are looking good. So I'm confident that she's going to work miracles with her positive attitude and get that rubbish into remission! Her house has been sorted, tidied, painted, stripped, cleaned as much as we possibly could in the time we had so she now has a good environment in which to heal.
Philip starts treatment in March. He had a holiday already booked to visit Chris who we stayed with in Phuket, so the docs told him to go and enjoy it. I'm pretty sure that Chris' whisky bottle is as magical as his beer fridge. And the sunshine works marvels for positivity!
So with that, we head out again to Nairobi in Kenya to get some safari in before the rains come.
We leave the UK with hope in our hearts for those we love.
Besides, with all that's happened in Tunisia and Egypt - it's a good job we weren't there anyway!
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