Mainly humans and a few animals

Its 7 days exactly since I arrived on UK soil. My week has consisted of lots of eating, sleeping and generally feeling cold (so lots of lying about under blankets and watching the TV!) However I have also managed to see quite a few folks. Thanks for taking the time to catch up with me and hopefully I haven't bored you too much with my African stories.......

Cat and Mike, Richard, Matt and Justine, Jerry and Jules, Mum and Tony, Rosie, Lucy (my Gran), Terri, Nicky, Paul, Emma and Charlotte, Marcus (and the Kings head crowd, including Larson the dog) Nicky, Beckie and Alex Knowles, Otto, Heather, Carmen and Steve, Richard Heathcote (ok he’s actually my dentist but he had a lot of questions), Pauline Brookes, James Rose, David Bracegirdle, Bernadette, David and Jessica, Anne Marriott, Steph, Jim Britt, John Wharton, Nick Armstrong, Jan Todd, Jackie Morris, Fiona Boyle, Marie Rice, Enid, Eddie, Lisa, Annette, Dot and little Chris (old Sefton crew), Wendy Aspin, John Billo, Jacqui Candy, Rob Wall and others from Sefton, Norma Hewitt, Ged Timson, Alison Rylands, Justin McCarthy and my cat of course, he’s back for a holiday too. There are still lots more friends to see this week and please dont forget my Barbeque on 14th August!

Here is a picture of me and my god daughter Charlotte at her Christening a week before I left for Sierra Leone and I am amazed at how much bigger she is now!

Home Straight

I’m 28 hours into my trip back home and I'm at Euston waiting for this flashy Virgin train to take me home and into the arms of my mum and sis. I had lots of advice about how to handle ‘re-entry’ into European society but its difficult not to talk about being in Africa when everyone asks you about it. I’ve already made some stupid or thoughtless comments and which make no sense of course, apart from to me or can be misinterpreted! It’s lucky that I have amazingly tolerant and caring friends who don’t really care how freaky I am and are just glad to see me (Cat, Mike, Justine and Matt, thanks, especially for the sausage butty and veggie risotto). Also thanks to Jerry and Jules who threw a great party last night for Matt and Justine, who move to NYC next week…. Good luck and I’ll be visiting!

There are many things that never reach this blog because they are too private or distressing to write about or more usually I just forget!! Blogs are inevitably a little sanitised for public consumption. So now I’m watching the lovely English countryside go by (very fast) and I am really trying to be honest about how I feel at the moment....but I’m lost for words. There are times since I landed yesterday when I been close to tears due to feeling overwhelmed to be home and times when its all felt incredibly normal, like I’ve never been away. I’ll write more soon when I’ve figured out what’s going in my head and heart!!!