Dad's here......& so is the video camera

The last week or so has been quite hectic, dad arriving, finishing work, Scotland, Blackpool, packing, selling, not sleeping..

It has been fun with dad, enjoying looking at things again through his eyes..all excited, reminds us of what a cool place we have been living in for the past 14 months and makes us sad thinking about how much we are going to miss it. Dad seems to have developed a permanant appendage on his hand...called a video camera. Brings me back to my childhood of Dad making us all pose and be 'natural' while he taped us on hols. After he made me walk in and out of our front door, and up the street several thousand times...I got over it.

We will be leaving St Albans tomorrow and then flying to Athens for the first leg of our travels on Monday. It is a time of change for the UK, with Tony Blair finishing up as Prime Minister and the Sherwinators leaving. Although it might take some time, we are certain the void will be filled and the cogs will continue to turn.

The blog will most probably be dormant for the next 2 1/2 months until we get home. We will try and email now and again so you know we are alive and kicking, but otherwise thanks for reading and sharing our journey with us a bit.

So farewell England, farewell London...

...and farewell No. 46 Lower Dagnall Street.

See you when we get home on September 13!

A quick breather...

So Brendan and Kimmy made it and saw a lot of London over the weekend. Kim went from just wanting to sit in a coffee shop to being a real tourist which Brendan was happy about!

So, now we have a little breather before Father Gra-Ham arrives which will be very exciting! And the count down continues til our departure from old London town, as does the lack of packing and selling a house full of goods....she'll be right.

From Babbo to Lex to the Scotts!

So the baton was handed from Babbo to Lexi and the Sherwinator B&B was all a buzz. Lex braved London for 2 weeks, seeing almost everything that you could see, including 2 trips with Lyndal to the theatre to see Chicago and an amazing production of Les Miserables. And of course enjoying the fruits of St Albans!

We (Lex & Lyndal) went to a church service at Westminster Abbey one Sunday which was an interesting experience of 'church'. We were seated in with the choir boys which was pretty cool. It was an hour of feeling like you couldn't move, sniffle, cough, fart or burp which was tough. The 'sermon' could have done with a bit more juice, but the surroundings were awesome and beautiful which made up for it. We wondered what God would think of the whole thing, of what the other 'tourists' thought and why they were there, and of what the cute little blond haired choir boy was thinking when he got distracted from singing and was staring into space, and if he knew what he was singing about when he was in fact singing.

Spicer Street (our church here) has been such a blessing for us. We are so sad to think that we will soon be spending our last Sunday there, perhaps never again to see the friends we have there. God's family truely does spread all over the world. It is funny how we can be so different to people from other countries but be so similar and united because we are God's children. It is cool. And it is cool to have experienced this even if it is hard to say goodbye.

So Lex left us on Thursday and the house is feeling a little quieter which is sad....but at the last minute cousin Brendan and Kim have decided to come and see us for the weekend! No, not from Oz but from Amsterdam where Brendan has been sent for 6 weeks with work. So not to fear, the Sherwinator B&B will be buzzing once more! Not sure when all that packing we are meant to start doing will happen...but hooray for visitors!

Paris, la ville de l'amour!

We spent the bank holiday weekend in Paris for the second time...we love it there! The weather was a bit wild but hey, we were in Paris! Plus, nothing makes you feel happier than nutella crepes which are sold on every corner!

SHERWINATOR B&B....Babbo's Here!

Yes, the high season at the Sherwinator B&B has started with the arrival of our beloved Babbo at the tail end of his European Garden Tour. There has been much touring of London, a trip to a West End theatre to see We Will Rock You (awesome!) and A LOT of Ron Burgandy banter...

Budapest

Thanks Bruce for a great time in Budapest!

For the splash of culture at the Hungarian opera - although we didn't have a clue what was happening...we felt the vibe...Paul feeling the vibe in the first 5 seconds and thinking that would do,

for the dip in the beautiful baths - a true European experience,
for the delicious goulash and poppy seed desserts, and much more!

The best part was getting to see where Bruce has been hiding for the last 6 years! Visiting the church he is working at and getting a feel of what his life is like there.
Köszönöm!

1 Year Anniversary

Can you believe it, its been 1 year since we left the shores of Oz! 1 year since we set off on our adventure, with the wind in our hair and nothing but the clothes on our back.....
....2 suitcases, 2 backpacks the size of small people, 2 smaller backpacks the size of smaller people, suit bag, handbag and any other bag we could manage to attach to ourselves in the form of 'hand luggage' (couldn't do that these days hey! My how things change in a year.).
So, I guess reaching this milestone calls for some kind of reflective blog entry, some wise words, some conclusion about whether it's all it was cracked up to be???
Well, yes and no and more! It's been better, harder, funner and crazier than we predicted! We are just so greatful for the blessing it is to be where we are at this point in time, but also for the blessing it is to have the place and people we call home.
So, in conclusion, Happy Anniversary to us and here's to the year ahead :)



And here's to the beautiful bluebells that have overtaken our garden!
Where they came from...we do not know...