May and Junes letter home

We've been in a whirlwind the past couple of weeks. The house move didn't go as smooth as we could have hoped for. The tenants moving out, hadn't even packed on the morning they were due to move and made 100's of small journeys by car. By 9pm they were ordered to move all their remaining stuff into the garage so we could unload and put our boxes in the house and hand the keys over. The boys spent the night with their friends and Peter and I stayed at the rental agents house over night.
We were all unpacked, boxes and rubbish sorted and just settling down when we got a phone call to say my dad had had a heart attack and I flew back to the UK on the 13th June, returning home on the 22nd. Dad will be fine, but it was a huge scare for everyone and I'm glad I went back to see him and everyone else, catching up with Steph, Andrew and Jamie also which was a bonus.
I arrived back to be greeted with the visa renewal so it's been a mad rush getting police checks and xrays and providing certified copies of every document we've ever owned.

Weather is still very cold at night, lovely and warm in the day as long as you don't step into the shade. We've invested in electric blankets now as hot water bottels just weren't enough. Still adjusting the mindset 'electric blankets = old age'

The cat has settled in well, we only kept her in for a week as she was going stir crazy and now we have to throw her out on occassions as she'll spend the day on our bed, eat and return to sleep. I never knew cats were this lazy.

Still no word on the London Olympics, not even an email to say thanks for your application and sorry you weren't chosen. TBH I'm more than slightly fed up at the moment, it's been the one thing I've focused on to keep me going since we moved her after giving up my career and studies...oh well, time to focus full time on the volunteer work.

The kids are on mid winter break as from today and return to sit their exams. Dan is doing equivilant to A/S levels and Alex has mid year tests.

Dan passed his theory test last week, so he's now driving my car. I can't wait for him to pass his test (can't apply to sit it till he is 18) and then I won't get dragged along on the school runs, 3-4 times a day. There is no extra charge on the insurance to learn to drive and his excess is...wait for it....just under £200.

We have no visitors lined up until maybe February, Summer starts back on JSeptember 2nd (September 1st is the only day of spring)

The boys will be back in the UK in December and I'm yet to decide if I will be back with them, it will be nice to have some child free time and the opportunity to travel with Peter.

Well that's it for now, I'm sorry if I didn't reply to the last lot of emails, but moving, my dad, the visa and then the endless power cuts buggering up the internet box, it's not always an easy thing to do.

Hope the family are well and love to all.

Suzanne, Peter, Dan and Alex

Christmas letter

First there was the individual letters...52 of them sent in March, which prompted an initial response from less than half the people I sent them to, some replied on face book, some sent emails and a few sent letters. (postal system is a bit crap here, so I gave many the benefit of the doubt) then there was the request on twitter for pen pals and the response was brilliant. Letters started coming in and were coveted, re read and replied to immediately.

I boycotted face book for a few weeks and sent everyone an email to say that I found facebook not to be personal enough and while it's great everyone loves to hear about what we're up to, the point was TELL ME, not other people. That's why I love twitter, you get a response, you chat with someone about anything and everything, you DM, you move to email, you get requests from people to add more to the blog. I love how interactive it is.

Well the response I got from the email was mainly limited in relpy to friends off twitter, a few other 'old' friends responded to the email, but they were the ones that had written back in the first place.

So my last option is the round robin letter in the christmas card, another 52, I shall personalise them of course, ask questions about work, children and family life so there is something to reply to and this afternoon I'm off to get the annual family picture developed to include in each and every card.

I'm desperate for communication from 'home' it is often the highlight of our week to receive a letter even if it just says, 'nothing much doing here' it shows they care, we are missed and my efforts are appreciated.

So no response to my efforts, means there will be no further effort from me and I'll leave them behind, even if they are family.

December 2011 A A year on, wow, it has gone really fast, both the boys have now completed their first school year in South Africa, with Dan going into Matric in January, this is Grade 11 & 12, equivalent to A levels, but instead of 4 subjects he continues with all his options and grading for university has already started. Alex moves into senior school (for the second time, it’s graded differently here) and is looking forward to some of the more practical lessons, stage production, CAD, music technology. Peter is settled with his job and travelling as much as usual, no longer far flung places but only 2-3 hours by air.
It is most peculiar to be sat writing a letter dated in December and thinking about Christmas in 30c, wearing shorts and t shirts and even more strange to see all the Christmas decorations up in the shops and malls and all the same as the UK, snow scenes, Christmas trees with tinsel and baubles and hundreds of fairy lights, I had hoped for something different, but not sure what really.
I’m now working, voluntarily at a home for abused children under 4 and I’ve been collecting and handing out with Santa Shoebox for children who are orphaned and disadvantaged, all those years we donated boxes to various schools in the UK and now I’m actually getting to hand them out to these kids in Africa, it is actually a very humbling experience.
I’m back in the UK now with the boys for 3 weeks, we return to South Africa on the 20th December, finances, time and transport is limited, if I don’t get to visit this trip there is July and August next year.
The postal system isn’t the best here, in fact not a lot gets past customs, unless it is sent via recorded delivery or is in a A4 envelope marked ‘printed papers’ with a return address on the back. And that is both ways. So please drop me an email, if you have sent a letter or anything else to us that we haven’t acknowledged you for, it may be we just haven’t got it yet.
Hope you have a fab Christmas and look forward to hearing from you in the New Year. Kids want me to cook a traditional dinner but in this heat I think their luck is out.
Love Suzanne, Peter, Dan and Alex.