Bank Holiday Weekend Friday 30th April - Monday 3rd May 2010

There are not many bank (public) holidays in England so when one comes along it is a real novelty and reason for celebration. We were lucky enough to be able to organise for "Team Andrew" to visit us from Weston Super-mare for this bank holiday weekend and as always it was stunning to have our friends in our home.

Cayne and the girls took time off work / school on Friday and so were able to take a slow drive down to us and arrived mid afternoon to much excitement and shrieking (South African's tend to be very noisy when they get together lol). Friday night was a chilled evening with snuggling on the couch and dvds for all the kiddies in Meggies bedroom - when you make a move like this friendships tend to transcend what I have experienced in the past and I can honestly say that the Andrew family is now part of ours and so it is a bit like cousins all getting together rather than mere friends when they visit.


Saturday we had arranged for two families that Cayne and Linda were close to in South Africa (and who now live near to us) to join us for a braai and although the weather wasn't as perfect as it has been recently there was much laughter and "South Africaniss" on our terrace all afternoon. All 11 children got on famously and it was a very special day making new friends and enjoying old. It felt good to share our experiences of immigration and commiserate on some of the really hard aspect......it would definitely seem that although this adventure is different and individual to every family there are distinct commonalities which we all go through and that really helps to leave you not feeling quite so alone.

Angela, Gary, Justin, Lin, Amanda, Cayne, Me, Si

Sunday morning was relaxed to the extreme due to the cold rainy weather outside and we literally vegged on the couches under blankies chatting and catching up before Sarah and her three children made the epic trip from Ascot to join us for tea and wonderful milk tart which she brought with her for us all to enjoy - again much laughter and the flavour of South Africa was strong in the house bringing a nice comforting feeling with it.


All too soon this morning arrived and after a fab fryup-a-la-Simon the Andrew family where back in the car and heading home. Tonight as I type my soul is restored and my "tank" refilled....these visits simply cannot be over overestimated in their ability to make this whole experience more bearable and I am so grateful that we have these wonderful friends in the country with us.

Thanks for a stunning weekend "Team Andrew" we miss you all!