Africa baby YEAH!

OK but don't get too jealous - it's been raining. We woke up in the night to a humungous thunder storm and it hasn't stopped pouring since! It is flooded around our house. It has started drying up now, and I bet it will dry quickly so it's not like camping-at-Newday rain. I'm glad the children didn't wake up though because they would have freaked out - it was pretty scary!

Look at us Brits, talking about the weather. First things first eh? I haven't got internet access so I am having to PAY to bore you about the weather. I feel a bit under pressure actually - I've probably wasted 50p already, telling you all this...

It was great to leave Worthing. Child B was really tearful about the wrecked car. so we had to comfort him whilst clearing out said car and taking off its' roof rack etc as it'll be towed away while we're here. Just the kind of stuff you don't expect to be doing at the last minute! Then we picked our way around the wreckage, past all the builders and drove off, not in to the sunset so much, but out of the sea mist. I'd love to say we were elated but we were mostly stressed and exhausted to be honest. It's not like the movies, despite Alice Cooper's best efforts on the iPod.

I can't leave out the fact that I was next to an unfortunately large lady on the night flight, who at one point had me wedged in my seat. Fun times.

So anyway, Africa. We flew to Johannesburg then drove 4 or 5 hours up to Clarens. Before leaving the city the kids spotted a McDonalds and begged us to stop. You can guess that our reply was in the negative. The first thing I like to do in a new country is to have a nap. It's a bit like the pope kissing the ground, it's just my way of saying 'hello, I come in peace and I plan to make my home with you for a while'. So I did that for a bit (because I was nearly doing it whilst driving) then Col drove for ages. It was a bit of a blur - a long straight road with hours in between towns. I have never seen anywhere so empty. We saw people working in the fields or hitching lifts along the roadside and we couldn't see where they'd come from or where they might be going. We also spotted a buck and, our favourite thing so far, some kids carrying things on their heads. Our kids have been trying to 'be African' this morning - carrying things on their heads - but I have to say they're not very good at it.

When we got to Clarens we immediately went to the church building (we're with Colin after all!) and met some friends, stretched our legs and took a moment to see where we were - a beautiful, quiet place which, to me, seems to have a story on every corner. I can't wait to explore. A wonderful lady, Jemina, made me a cup of tea and I could have kissed her. Isaac had a go on the drums, Evie found some ants and the boys ran around with football in the main hall, which opens up to a breathtaking view of Lesotho. Phew. We'd arrived. And that felt like enough for one day.