Today seems a good point to sit down and write a few lines -
I know that we still need to write about our time on Mfangano island but that
will require a longer stretch of time.
We arrived at Heathrow on the 17th July. The following day
we drove our little Nissan Micra from London to South Devon. I (Andrew) had had
some family holidays around there when growing up and having some familiarity
helped us to find our way around.
Going straight on holiday is stressful - you have to repack
your bags after all the earlier packing in Kenya and travelling on a night
flight - but to me its the equivalent of two weeks on a boat sailing back to
the UK - I've left where I was but I'm not yet where I am going - I'm in
transit and that gives space for reflection.
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| Sunset over Hope Cove |
Having been in Kenya I had different criteria than what
might be expected for what constitutes a good holiday, and a good camping
holiday at that. I wanted the long light evenings; the coolness of the air
during the night, the dew and damp grass in the morning, the simplicity of
cooking and washing up; and from a weather point of view I wanted a little
rain, patchy cloud and some sun too. We were wonderfully pleased to have
something of everything - even fog rolling up the valley.
After our holiday we have had some church holiday club, a
jolly day out to Olympic rowing at Eton Dorney (in which we even got the
opportunity to shout 'courage!' to a rower from Niger who was up against stiff
opposition in his race).
Then last Friday we moved to a new town that will be home
till mid-January - Thame. It's a small town close to Oxford. The house is right
on the edge of the town and beyond the road behind the house is a nicely
rounded field of wheat. On the first afternoon we went to the high street and
popped into Clarks shoes. I tried a shoe on sale and liked the price and the
fit. I asked to see the other shoe in the pair - if they could find it - ho ho.
Several minutes passed and no shoe arrived. Another staff member went to have a
look for their lost colleague. Eventually they appeared apologising that the
other half of the pair was unmatching - the same sole but different stitching.
They therefore offered the pair for £10 - a nice discount of 82% on the
original selling price.
The town seems very interesting - it has a cattle market and
a vibrant high street of bakeries, butchers, and boutiques and charity shops.
The town is grounded in history with old buildings dotted around - wonky roofs
and exposed beams, multicoloured bricks and tiles and rubble walls.
The following afternoon we set out to walk to a neighbouring
village. The countryside was beautiful - rivers, greens, budding flowers and
lush grasses, dragonflies, red kites, a buzzard and a water rat. Truly wonderful.
We're really thankful for the provision of this home and town and we pray that
it'll be a fruitful time.
