One Daily Positive - Week 39 Charity work in South Africa.

Normally I write this blog post on a daily basis, but I've been so busy with packing Christmas boxes that it's Saturday morning and I've no idea what's been going on.

I had to have my finger prints taken to prove I have no criminal record for my time in South Africa ready for when we return to the UK, not something I was asked to produce when I was teaching in Dubai.

I've had a mixed week, packing and sourcing items and funding for nearly 500 Christmas boxes. We have a storage unit near by, which I've been organising and using items from to pack. Sourcing empty shoeboxes has been my biggest challenge to date. I've spent time with friends, read 2 books, blogged and generally just chilled out. I also made sure I slotted in some time for a mini safari.

The friend I'm staying with had to go to Canada with work. Her parents who stay here also, have been  looking after me with dinner, printing labels, the loan of a car and making sure I'm still alive in the cellar. I have however taken over their part of the house now with storing packed boxes also.

I also booked two further flights this week, one to Cairo in November for a weekend and another back to South Africa in December for a week for handing out the christmas boxes in the townships. Peter is working in both places and with having been away for most of the year, he asked me to join him on both trips, otherwise I get back and then he goes away.

More about the Christmas shoebox appeal. 

266 Sunday Shopping and lunch with friends. Sadly I won't see the Jacaranda's in full bloom, everywhere will be purple in a week or so.

267 Monday Storage, read book, packed boxes in the cellar.

268 Tuesday Storage, finger prints, lunch date, cellar, baby sitting.

269 Wednesday Cellar, storage, cellar, safari, night with friends. Think about this question.....

Why did the chicken cross the road?

270 Thursday Storage, nail bar, cellar. An amazing thunderstorm occurred during the night.

271 Friday Storage, collected 300 boxes from a school, had a quick lunch with a friend and shopped in the evening, getting back to another fantastic thunderstorm. This took 4 car runs.

272 Saturday Packed 100 boxes and visited friend where I'm staying for the night. Family Pets.

On the blog this week:

My Sunday Photo - The reality of an African Sunset.

Why I don't like being 47. Was there a significant age for you? What do you think (or were you)  doing when you're that age?

Travel and HDYGG in Worcester

During our travels in the UK, Peter and I have not only visited the areas where our family and friends live, but we've also revisited areas where we've previously lived and worked.

I've not been into Worcester since 2013 when I spent most of my time at the courts and with solicitors evicting tenants from our property in Malvern. Prior to that I worked in the city at the college. Peter's last visit here was prior to us leaving the UK in January 2011.

In some ways nothing has really changed, but we both noticed the addition of  a travel lodge at the cricket ground and the demolition of the old one in the city. 

We've only visited the Cathedral a handful of times, the last time was probably for my Graduation in 2007.

The city centres are full of brightly coloured flowers and displays, we've really noticed how many trees there are in the cities and how much green and open space there is, something we don't see a lot of in Dubai and we're very much enjoying.

HDYGG in St Albans Abbey

My travels around the UK have extended from St Alban's to South Wales, Cumbria and Leeds and this weekend I'm dropping down to Lyme Regis for a few days.

One thing I miss, living in Dubai, is the variety of colours and the depth of the landscape and trees and hedgerows and old buildings and fields and trees.

I'd forgotten how green the UK is and I've been wandering around with my camera and iPhone taking pictures and it's only when I come to write a post I realised that all my pictures are of trees and views and not of plants and flowers as I've focused on in previous photo's.

I spent a couple of days wandering around St albans and for a City on the outskirts of London, I've seen a lot of greenery and old buildings and I've stayed away from the shopping centres to explore the  area further afield on foot.

These photos are taken from a visit to St Albans Abbey and gardens.

HDYGG? A drive from Germany, through Austria to Italy

Although the landscape didn't change much, driving alongside and through the Alps, the weather and the buildings changed, especially noticeable was the difference in weather, cloudy and grey in Germany, sunny and bright in Italy.

 Germany

 Leaving Austria behind us

Arriving in Italy

The churches in Germany with their rounded domes and in Italy with a more traditional spire.

The country side was green throughout, the rivers and lakes a bright turquoise, lots of trees and splashes of colours in the towns from the flowers planted everywhere and of course the vines in Italy.

Every village we drove through was decorated with paintings on the buildings and flowers in pots galore on balconies.

When leaving Germany and before entering Austria you need to stop at the border and purchase a Vertrieb card to display on your windscreen, it is picked up by radar as you drive and without it, there are huge tolls to pay.

You need to pay great attention to the road signs to know when you're entering each country, as without borders and the landscape being the same, it would be easy to miss other than the phone companies sms.

Planning International Travel

There are 3 questions you need to ask and answer before you book travel.

Questions

1. Can you afford it?

2. Where do you want to go?

3. When do you want to go?

Answers

1 Yes

2. South Africa, UK, Germany

3. During the summer months in Dubai

Last year I spent Ramadan in Canada, but the rest of the summer in Dubai, with the teen coming out for the long school holidays, my UK trip was in September due to child 4 of 5 Passing out Parade and South Africa in October and November to work with a charity.

This year I'm back teaching and Ramadan falls before the end of term.

The first trip booked was the UK for 5 weeks, based around cost of flights and availability. Then I booked a flight to Munich for 5 days to visit friends. On discovering I had 12 days of school holidays before my UK trip, I decided to book 10 days in SA to visit friends there also.

August looks just as busy but with us flying back to Dubai and the teen joining us for the last 2 weeks of his school holiday and friends from South Africa stopping over 1 night on their way back from their European trip.

The logistics of booking around school holidays for both the teen and I, checking schedules for Peter's work and an upcoming trip to Saudi, I was able to book his UK flight then sort boarding for the cat and dog, accommodation and car hire.

I still have a few more hotels to book and travel insurance to renew and I've even packed my case for South Africa as its winter there and I don't wear those clothes here.

I wanted to purchase a new hand luggage case for the Munich trip, but ended up buying Peter a new one instead, I'll make do with what I have for now.

I'm busy sorting out a variety of currencies, bank cards and plug adapters and making sure I take the right things to the right location.

I still have 2 flights to book for the teen to include his cousin travelling with him for the October half term. My mother's flight for November/December was booked some time ago and hubby has to squeeze in a trip to Turkey and plan a potential trip to Pakistan.

My Sunday Photo - Week 59 From the beach

Another landscape of the Dubai Skyline, taken from the beach at the bottom of our street.

Packing away my suitcase and choosing a staycation.

Whether I'm traveling round the globe or I'm exploring the area I live in, I travel alone.

I've had enough now and I'd just like to put down some roots, I'm not too bothered where that actually is as long as I have some certainty that I'll be there for as long as I choose and not move when visas get cancelled or jobs come to an end.

I've spent 4 years in South Africa and a year now in Dubai. I've explored every inch of South Africa and on a visit there last month, I felt I'd returned home. When I visit the UK, it's all very familiar, but it's not my home anymore.

I've also travelled to new places this year and made a trip across the Atlantic to Canada for a tweet up.

My husbands job dictates where we live and when we move, but I now have employment in Dubai and for the first time, in a long time, I finally feel I have a little control about my life and as long as the job pans out, like I hope it will, we could stay in Dubai on my visa if hubbies company decide to move him on and we're not ready to go, like what happened when we left South Africa at the end of last year.

Don't get me wrong, I  know at some point we'll have to return to the UK, our children are there, as are our parents and the reality is, they are getting older and have various ailments that prevent them from traveling out to see us. 

The eldest child is in care in the uk and there is no way that she, her carers, the crew and other passengers would survive a 7 hour flight. Child 4 is unemployed, child 3 has his own life, friends, job, home and although he is coming to Dubai for the New Year, I can't see him visiting here often, although he has said when he has his own family his wife and kids will be told that visiting us while we live abroad will be their family holiday each year.

Child 4 is in the army, currently in Northern Ireland and off to Kenya and the Falkland Islands next year, while our youngest is at boarding school in the UK in his 1st year of A levels and aiming for a CISCO apprentiship which could take him all round the world also.

I don't find travelling a pleasure anymore, it's become a necessity that I don't actually enjoy the experience of these days, hopping on a plane isn't exciting, I've visited so many places around the world and stayed in the height of luxury in the Bellagio in Las Vegas to camping in a township in South Africa, I just don't feel there's that much left for me to experience or explore, although I would like to visit Cairo and the pyramids one day and I'd love to walk the Inca trail, but those are experiences for me of places to visit, but I don't look forward to the flights or living out of a suitcase anymore.

Many friends are 'home' for Christmas or booking New Year on a beach in the Maldives. Me? I'm just looking forward to staying at home, with the family who can to travel to visit us.

We live 1km from a beach in a city that people pay a fortune to come and visit for a holiday, so this year, like many more to come, we are having a staycation.

My Bucket/Bragging List

When I wrote my Ultimate Bucket List  I realised there were so many things and places I'd already achieved and visited. I'd never really thought much about travel when I was growing up, my Father travelled the world with his job and brought back amazing souvenirs, photos and stories of his time abroad, but I never thought in a million years that one day I'd be visiting some of the same places he has, yet alone live in them, and other new and just as exciting places.

When I look back I realise I've had some amazing opportunities in my life, met some amazing people and travelled far wider than I ever thought.

So I thought I'd write my Bucket List in reverse, share with you my adventures to date. Most of them I'd love to do again, some I'm glad I've experienced but won't be revisiting.

I suppose you could call this my bragging list, but who cares.

In no particular order:

1. Been caving
2. Had a helicopter ride
3. Visited the Grand Canyon
4. Played the slots in Las Vegas
5. Been on a Safari
6. Camped in a township in South Africa
7. Been on a film set - Intolerable Cruelty and Harry Potter
8. Visited Luxor
9. Visited the Valley of the Kings
10. Lived abroad
11. Been up Table Mountain
12. Driven the Garden Route
13. Rode the Big Shot in Vegas
14. Visited Death Valley
15. Been to the Hoover Dam
16. Watched England play at Wembley
17. Went to the Olympic Games in Barcelona
18. Went up the worlds tallest building The Burj Khalifa
19. Seen the Niagara Falls
20. Camped in the wild
21. Walked down Downing Street, prior to the gates being installed
22. Seen the Montjuic fountains
23. Stayed at the Bellagio
24. Seen Cher perform at Caesars Palace
25. Eloped
26. Seen an African sunset
27. Seen an African sunrise
28. Dined up the Eiffel Tower
29. Drove round the Champs Elysees
30. Been Whale Watching
31. Driven across Europe
32. Seen a Giant Panda
33. Seen a Leopard hunt
34. Ridden an ostrich
35. Visited the tulip fields in Holland
36. Seen the Namaqua flowers
37. Visited Alcatraz
38. Walked across the Golden Gate Bridge
39. Been to Hollywood
40. Been up Crater lake
41. Swam in the Nile
42. Visited the Temple of Karnac
43. Performed on stage
44. Met a Witch Doctor
45. Taught in a township in South Africa
46. Camped in Kruger
47. Got a Blue Peter badge
48. Was interviewed on Radio 5
49. Been to a FA cup final
50. Play the Clarinet

The birds of Rietvlei with Animal Tales in South Africa

Last week for Animal Tales I visited Rietvlei Nature Reserve, I returned again yesterday. At only R48, around £2 it is definitely somewhere I will be visiting as many times as possible during my trip.

There's a gorgeous tea room at Rietvlei and I need no excuse to stop and enjoy a cup or two.

I still haven't located a free bird, animal, plant app, but I found some boards in the hide with bird identification and I met a woman who helped me out naming a few.

It's spring in South Africa so there is lots of new growth and of course lots of off spring and I enjoyed watching these young birds playing in the water and cooling off.

Red Bishops and a Golden Bishop

There are several bird hides around the reserve but this one is the best as it offers the best views

White throated swallow

Goliath Heron

Egret's in flight

These two seems to be firm friends, more about the rhino's next week