One Daily Positive - Week 41 Birthday, DIY and being tourists

We've had a busy week together with family and friends and have started talking more about planning our return to the UK in the next 2-3 years. Mixed feelings after turning down the opportunity to move back to South Africa, due to the contract not being as peter would've liked, but it has provided more opportunity for me to travel there over the next few years until we relocate and who knows what will happen next.

One of our plans is for me to pick up short term contract work, purchase a camper van and travel Europe, however until this Brexit stuff calms down we have no idea how that will pan out. We change plans constantly, now 2 of the children are married and we have 1 grandchild, things could change for us anyway, so all planning is just that.

I'm certainly a lot happier when I'm in the UK, because I have friends and family around me and get out and about, however, the reality is we acknowledge we're still a bit of a novelty with living so far away and things will be very different when we return, especially as we won't be living in this area.

279 Sunday Pub lunch with a few friends, the 2's and child 5 for Peter's birthday. Peter took child 5 back to the Cotswolds and the 2's came back to the flat for some Granny/Granddaughter time. We watched crap TV and stuffed our faces with snacks.

280 Monday Harvest Festival for the Things. I snook in the back of the church, late. Did random shopping, finished photo frames from the wedding and our granddaughter, went for a walk late afternoon and a pub stop. Peter spent the day working. Emails and phone calls and fitting a heated towel rail.

In Dubai we have lots of space and do no DIY. The weather is also perfect for drying clothes. We ended up at the laundrette with the bedding and towels and tripped over one another as Peter needed space to work in. Today helped us decide what type of house we would like when we return to the UK.

281 Tuesday Meeting with Child 1's care home, to address a few issues such as staff turnover, then an appointment with HSBC in Gloucester, as Premier customers in the UK, Dubai and Offshore we actually expected better treatment than we get from them, such as when we ask to make an appointment for when we're in the UK, we should be able to do so, they keep fobbing us off with expensive phone calls saying each issue is the other sides responsibility. Visited Child 1 in the afternoon for a walk, tea and cake.

Child 2 has been my step son since 2000, but we view ourselves as a family of 7. Him and 2a had a baby girl 3 weeks ago. We have no baby photos of him or any little outfits etc to pass on to his children. The best I could do was to pass on this outfit as modelled by child 3 in 1992 and a little blanket an aunt knitted.

282 Wednesday Up early to Bath to visit MIL then onto St Albans to stay with Chrissie @mediocre_mum my twitter partner in crime from 2009. Peter treated me to a pair of Doc Martins.

283 Thursday Caught the train into London as tourists, Obligatory visit to and Harrods of course, lovely pub lunch, lots of walking and visited Trafalgar Square to witness the Extinction Rebellion. It was very calm and peaceful, although we witnessed a lot of arrests.

284 Friday Coffee and a stroll round St Albans then collected 4 and 4a from Heathrow after their honeymoon. After dropping them at my mums, they showered and changed and we met them for dinner in the local pub.

285 Saturday Off to the 2's for them to meet their niece, apart from child 1 (which needs an awful lot of planning) they've all met 2b now. Dropped 4 and 4a at Birmingham for their flight to Belfast and home.

Photo to follow.

Nothing on the blog again this week.

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