Transition.....

Blogging two days running, there is obviously a lot going on!   Although I have actually done very little today I have nearly finished sorting out my apartment......  the rest of the time I have been knitting and thinking!

I think the 'lot going on' is actually in my mind rather than busyness or doing stuff -  sitting and knitting and thinking has taken me to a very still place of reflection, which I will now try and put into words in my blogg.

When I meditate I can go to an extraordinary place, somewhere that doesn't feel here/this world. Recently this place has been full of colours -  deep, swirling lights that I am in the centre of. I can also get this feeling at other times when I'm not meditating, it's a feeling of detachment, of being here and also not being here.

There is also the growing recognition that I feel time is accelerating, I was listening to something on YouTube earlier on talking about beginnings of the Internet in 1994.  Just over 20 years ago and there has been a complete transformation in global communications. I talked about it to my Mum on the phone and she said she recognised it had happened, and also that she was not part of it, she was very right and  I felt her understanding was insightful.  I then thought back over the last 20 years of my life, so much has happened, too much for me to remember, yet here I am today present at this time. Not certain where this blogg is going -  sometimes when I write a blogg I get an insight to what I'm thinking..... but it's not coming tonight!

 So obviously - it is still work/reflections in progress......  and it's okay not to know! I love that -  it is okay to say " I do not know why."  And to just accept that!

So I do not know why - anything happens/why I am here/the meaning of life......  and it's okay not to know.......  got there in the end -  thank you blogg -  that's what today has all been about -  it's okay not to know!

Lucky to be alive -  especially at this time -  of accelerated change, chaos, the unknown getting closer, wow, wow ,wow....... AND it's OK not to know......... IN FACT IT'S PERFECT NOT TO KNOW!!!!!!

My heart is so full........

It is late on Friday night....... I came back from the Spirithorse valley on Monday night after five days with Aidan my little great nephew, age 6 years......  another and very special story......  so back home to the 'real' world and packing -  boxing up all my possessions  - as I will only be in Liverpool for a few days before  I leave for ever at the end of October......  after 40 years in this city I am leaving - happy to leave, timing right to leave, but.......   but knowing that as I'm doing this that I will actually find it very hard to leave............  and tonight my heart is full...

Conscious of my family, especially my Mum.......  but also my sisters and their families.....  but knowing....  and increasingly knowing....  that distance is not a physical measurement...  you can be close to someone the other side of the world,  and very distant from somebody who lives close to you...

Happy to be leaving, with the knowledge that the timing is right, sadness and grief because of distance which is not physical - knowing  that I have responsibility only for living my own life.....  and bottom-line just getting on with it!!

Wow -  it isn't life just absolutely amazing!!!!!!!!

Manifesting in Detroit............

I really do live a magical life, this morning I woke up in Vaughn's house in Detroit after the most amazing evening last night. There was a small group of us and we had dinner and talked and talked and talked. I think all of us gained insight as a consequence of the conversations. It is difficult to even describe the energy of the evening or the depth  of our connections - it was just so beautiful.

I am staying in a district of Detroit which is seen from the outside and the inside - as the area of the City with the most problems etc. It is unusual for a white European to be a visitor here -  and as we talked last night there was a point in our conversation when we were reflecting on this - when there was a gunshot very close by - it made us all laugh  with its timing!

I was talking to young boy yesterday about  guns  and he was amazed to find out that in Europe it is not normal to carry a gun and that in the UK, police officers do not normally carry guns. We talked about children being killed and he said his cousin had killed himself by accidentally shooting himself. Bufffffff

Yesterday evening was very powerful and this morning  I am reflecting on that  and also where I have been, and who I have talked to whilst I've been here in America.   There is often a superficiality that masks pain  and fear -   not just here in the USA -  although I do think it is particularly prevalent here. The beauty of last night was its joyousness -  pain and fear were acknowledged, and through one lifetime the most unimaginable pain and fear -   it was extraordinary and difficult to describe.

It all reinforces my belief that I am here in this lifetime to learn and that I manifest the people and events in my life in order to learn........

I feel so amazingly privileged to be here.........

Post holidays and not being busy!!

Back home after a truly lovely week away. There was a big gang of us covering four generations, from my little granddaughter Alba at eight months - to my Mum of 95 years. We stayed in a beautiful cottage on a headland on the delightful island of Anglesey with Fiona and her family staying in their campervan on a farm just down the road.

It was really just a lovely, lovely holiday! The weather was perfect, the odd shower of rain occurring either overnight or whilst we were having our breakfast. From the windows of the cottage we could see South Stack lighthouse and the sea and the cliffs around us. It was particularly lovely to be able to walk out of the door and find ourselves on a truly stunning cliff walk, with lots of little paths intertwined over the headland. In small and larger groups we would walk and talk. My Mum was in heaven as there is nothing she likes more than walking and talking, something her daughter has inherited!

So after 10 days of being in the company of my beautiful little granddaughter  and the rest of the family, I am now in an empty house and feeling a bit 'post holiday'. The symptoms of which seem to be an inability to do anything very much!

I look back and think how busy have been so many years, it is just so weird not to be busy. I think it must be a good thing for me to do, to spend a few days not being busy! So I will keep this blogg short and go back to not being busy!!

In Prague

I have woken up in Prague!

I arrived late last night having been to a meeting in London and realising the flights were so much cheaper from Stansted airport and that I had the weekend free -  so checked with Jimmy and Rachel and just pitched up! I suppose this is the joy of being a nomad! 

Had a lovely deep conversation with my Mum on Thursday - I had gone over after a phone appointment with her Doctor about getting some stronger painkillers when her back is bad - as the pain is very debilitating in spasms - and had found her lying on her bed upset with the pain - I went and got the prescription and then we just sat and talked for a couple of hours before going for quite a long walk in the sunshine.

Although my Mum doesn't remember the conversations she has, they are - at the time really sensible - it is a strange kind of memory loss - but actually it does mean you can have deep and meaningful conversations - but then she just doesn't remember them. I have thought about this a lot and - especially after last weekend's dancing - and believe that although her mind doesn't remember the pleasure of the conversation - her body does.

She can be very wise and perceptive in these conversations and said she knew I was leaving. I hadn't told her and maybe someone else did - I was surprised she would have remembered that - so maybe she intuitively knew and felt I was going away. Anyway she gave me her blessing which felt important.

Now Jimmy and Rachel are up so time to go to the market!

Dancing emotions

I am on the  third day of an Andrew Holmes Heartbeat workshop. We have been dancing emotions and dancing deep.  Connecting with our bodies in a way that we don't usually do, taking time to feel if how different emotions resonate within our bodies. Andrew started with this poem by Rumi  and I just love it. To think about emotions neutrally, neither good nor bad, to be welcomed and respected and treated honourably as a guest. Acknowledging that guests are temporary but being grateful for the learning that each one of them brings.

The Guest House by Rumi

This being human is a guest house. 
Every morning a new arrival. 

A joy, a depression, a meanness, 
some momentary awareness comes 
as an unexpected visitor. 

Welcome and entertain them all! 

Even if they're a crowd of sorrows, 
who violently sweep your house 
empty of its furniture, 
still, treat each guest honourably.

He may be clearing you out 
for some new delight. 

The dark thought, the shame, the malice, 
meet them at the door laughing, 
and invite them in. 

Be grateful for whoever comes, 
because each has been sent 
as a guide from beyond.

Rumi wrote this poem  800 years ago and  it is just so true! 

Big journeys are made up of small steps.

I have changed the name of my blogg,  this is a really big thing for me, and happened very suddenly and unexpectedly today.

I had gone to get a new passport, mine was full, six years before it was due up! Another clear example of how blessed I am. On my way back I called into the Red Ninja offices and spent time talking about my future plans. Bridget said: 'You should keep a blog  about the big changes occurring in your life', when I replied I do have a blogg but I haven't written it much recently. It suddenly occurred to me that the time was right for me to change the blogg, title, format  and maybe content as well - to reflect where I am and the huge changes that are occurring in my life.

So, I have changed the title and format and this is the first of my new bloggs!

It took me a while to decide on a title - the expression and concept of 'travelling lightly'  has been with me for quite a while. I wrote on Facebook the other day - All we truly have is what we have learnt........  I can't remember where I came across it but it has such resonance to me at the moment.  At a time when I am putting into place - my leaving of the University, after 31 years - leaving Liverpool  after over 40 years....... I feel really drawn to  the concept of travelling lightly through this amazing journey of life.

I have found it really interesting that I used the concept of a 'learning journey' as a very core element of my professional work, going back over 20 years. However I now see a learning journey differently.

To be alive is just such an extraordinary thing - I see it as a combination of two fundamentally and completely different ingredients... the soul being one element - the etheric spark  combining with another completely different element - the human, physical  earth made body. Together they make one unique, distinctive and magical thing called a  human being. 

I believe that souls incarnate into human bodies to learn...... not just for themselves but for the Universe.  I also believe that the soul,  on behalf the Universe, chooses in advance what they wish to learn. However when they become part of a human being, with everything that this involves,  this knowledge becomes lost - particularly after childhood, until sometimes remembered when very close to death.

Reflecting on my life, and my career etc I recognise the extraordinary good fortune that I have had. The major component of this good fortune has been my ability, and the associated circumstances which have enabled me to able to listen to my intuition....... to be able to go with the flow and to do what 'felt' the good/right thing to do. When I did this - things just seemed to happen...... difficult to explain - but the lighter and more in tune with my intuition I was - things just turned out right - and sometimes when they didn't seem right at the time - with time and on reflection - they were actually perfect.

Because I was able to follow my intuition, to go with the flow, and to be happy with that......  being happy is so incredibly important,  because when one is happy, genuinely, deeply and sustainably happy, one is resonating with the Universe.  I call it the Universe but I don't know what this means....... and this is the heart of the human dilemma - we can 'feel' the connection, we can wish to describe it -  but  because  we are an unique soul and as a consequence separated from the  Universe by living in this human life form -  we  are not able to  'know'.  This means we have to have faith, to accept the mystery, to know that we don't know......  but at the same time to know that we do know.......

It is not easy being a human being! 

I met a wonderful woman a couple of weeks ago who understood and was able to verbalise/explain  this so beautifully, this gave me such an amazing sense of certainty.  However life continues, if we are lucky! and  it is not always easy to hold on to that sense of certainty.

I am certain that I am  living in very blessed life. I am certain that there are responsibilities that go along with that. I am certain that to travel lightly, and to be fully present wherever I am  - are really, really important things.  I also think the small things are the most important, the conscious act of kindness, being genuinely caring and compassionate, speaking truthfully, loving others through  loving yourself  first but not being self obsessed. 

Bufffffffff!  It IS NOT easy being a human being!

Another factor in changing the name of my blogg,  which in no way changes the fact that Chris Jenkins was a lovely man, is that I am developing a different relationship with grief......  and another thing this insightful woman talk to me about -  was that I was still holding onto a lot of grief......  I was surprised as I thought I had moved on a long way, which of course I have, but meeting with her was the impetus for me to say  - that I no longer carry grief....  and now I'm living my life on the basis....  I no longer carry grief. Another part of the jigsaw of travelling lightly.

So the details of my leaving Liverpool are now becoming a reality, the last week in October, which will now also include an official leaving event from the university, my time between now and then being filled with travel of course!  No grief....  or even sadness......  that I am fully accepting that I will be emotional through this process,.... but I intend to travel lightly!

Back home....

 I have been home a week now, and it seems like that I have never been away......  but also I feel I am just  passing through for a short while -  which of course is true, as I fly to Norway tomorrow and then on to Paris and see my little granddaughter, who from the pictures is growing into a beautiful big baby!

It was lovely to see my Mum and she was very happy to see me. The letters worked really well and she had a folder of them next to her chair, I think she read them in the evening sometime. I have seen and phoned her a couple of times but she is so very forgetful and  does  not remember  phone conversations - whereas the letters  enabled her to have a kind of conversation with me throughout her day.  I asked her what she liked about the letters, and she said that she could hear me talking through them. It was also lovely to talk to Claire who said that it made her day when she took a letter down to Mum and saw her face light up on receiving it.

I think  I will send letters regularly even if I am at home and seeing and talking to Mum because she really doesn't remember very much of what happens in the day, although she can remember with great detail things happened early in her life.

 

The best bit about being home has been seeing people that have caught up with  many over the last few days. I love my little apartment but being away  has confirmed to me that I am ready to  leave Liverpool. 

 And now I must do some work!

On the road 1

Dear Mum

Hope you are well and happy - it is lovely to think that I will see you next weekend - I will ring you on my return and sort out the best time to come over! I will be full of traveler tales and I am looking forward very much to seeing you all!

I have been on the road again for a couple of days and it was an amazing trip. We went up North to a region called the Kutch District - it is a desert region and we drove through miles of barren land with strong winds and sandstorms. We called into various villages and met some students who had been working with local Artisans - it was fascinating as I was welcomed into people’s homes and saw their way of life from the inside.

There were two languages being spoken Hindi the national language of India and Gujarati the State language - Kathan translated for me - and sometimes I just played with the children in a kind of sign language - with the odd English word. It was a truly wonderful experience as you will see from these photos. These boys showed off their cricket skills to me!

In this village they live in the traditional round houses - they invited me in a showed me around. The women were quite shy but smiled with me, the men were very hospitable and the children were delightfully laughing and curious about this red faced white woman! They always made us Chai tea which I have got a real taste for - they make it in a big metal pot on an open fire and then pour out into little ceramic cups which they present quite formally on a tray.

We stayed in a traditional centre and here was my bedroom for the night, I love Indian food - especially the thali - plate of food which I ate with roti bread and delicious fresh mango juice and buttermilk.

Lots of love and see you soon Tricia xxxxxxxxx

      

On the Road

Dear Mum

We have been on the road for the last few days - visiting some amazing places but also having meetings with Government officials etc. It has been extremely hot - high 40s during the day and low 30s at night. Currently I am staying in a Government House and it has Air Conditioning so I am taking the opportunity to cool down!

The first photo is with Shraddha and Swati in the back of a Auto- rickshaw - they go hurtling around the streets - honking their horns very loudly as they weave in and out of traffic, great fun! We went to visit several temples and sightseeing - and it was lovely being with the Kothari family as I went to places that a tourist would not usually visit.

We are off today to look at Science Centres

Hope you over your flu and well and happy - lots and lots of love Tricia xxxxxx 

AHMEDABAD 2

Dear Mum

I have been in India a couple of days now and it has a time and pace that is so very different from Europe…. magical, dusty, beautiful, crazy…. it is difficult to find the right words! The country teems with people, sights, sounds, colours and the heat - it is 30 degrees in the morning and mid 40s in the  afternoon !!!!! I am coping quite well in the heat, I put factor 50 cream on my face, wear light full length clothes , drink lots of water and just keep in the shade! 

We have been travelling around visiting Artisans in rural villages which has been amazing. My friends work with craftspeople and their villages - so they have been visiting them for meetings etc - it has been wonderful for me as the children and the villagers have seen very few, if any white people , and I am regarded with great interest. There is usually one of the older children who  can speak some English and I just love to talk and laugh with the children. The women are shyer to start with but then they too come round and want to ask me questions. They have mobile phones with cameras - and they want to take pictures of me  - they might live in very basic houses but they use Facebook and modern technology at the same time as following very ancient crafts and traditions     

The roads are a mixture  - in the city they are jammed packed with cars, auto rickshaws, lorries, buses, motorbikes, pedestrians and cows! In the villages less traffic but but herds of goats, sheep, water buffaloes and more cows of course! The other night when we went out for dinner we met an elephant walking along the road - it is trained to put its trunk into car  windows and take money!

This is my favourite photo - you have to look hard to see me in the middle of all the children!

Hope all is well with you my lovely Mum - look after yourself  and lots and lots and lots of love      

Tricia xxxxx

AHMEDABAD 1

Dear Mum

I do live an amazing life! I left my Australian friends at the beginning of the week and am now with my Indian friends - I have been made so welcome here - it is just amazing! It really feels like family - especially as last time I was here I was with Jenny for Kathan and Swati’s wedding.

Yesterday I went for a walk on my own - India is so welcoming - it is really special to be a white woman on her own - as so many children and adults come up to me and start talking - smiling and welcoming me - magic!

After a meeting at a university I was then treated to lunch. If you show Jenny this photo she can tell you who everyone is!

Then Shraddha and Swati took me to the tailors as I wanted to get a couple of tops made - we had a grand time and went to lots of places before the ‘stitchers’ with my material - shopping in India is just a completely different experience!

Later one we all went to dinner at Uma and Deepak’s house - they had prepared a feast for me - and I felt very honoured! Then we drove back along the noisy, crazy Indian roads!

Today I am going out to some villages to meet some of the people involved in the work of the Manthan organisation - which will be really interesting. I am really so amazingly lucky not just to be in India but to be meeting people and being welcomed into their homes.

Hoping you well and happy and getting out everyday to feed the ducks on the moor! My friends all asked after you as they know of my family from conversations over the years, so I can send you their special regards from here in India.

Lots and lots of love my lovely Mum, 

Tricia xxxxx 

Abu Dhabi!

Dear Mum

Well I am in Abu Dhabi! airport! I left Melbourne last evening and it was a long flight around 13 hours to here.

I was lucky with the seats again and got the one with all the leg room at the front - I had eaten a big dinner at Kerry’s so I just went to sleep on the plane - listening to Little Dorrit on audiobook and knitting when I woke up this morning. Can’t say it was a full nights sleep but I definitely got some sleep so that was good.

I have a few hours here until my flight leaves for Ahmedabad, but I asked a young man where the restaurants are and he gave me two vouchers one for breakfast and one for lunch - which was a bonus. I also found a shower so I had a good wash and then went to duty free and smothered myself with very expensive face creams and Channel No 5 perfume! Things to do when at an airport for a while!

With the magic of the internet - here’s a photo of me writing this letter - and a little girl playing on a statue of a camel behind me!

I think when you read this letter I will be on my flight to Ahmedabad - the time difference is very confusing - I am now 6 hours behind Australia and three hours ahead of you - but that will all change tonight when I get to India - then I think I will be 4 1/2 hours ahead - which is pretty crazy!

Say Happy Birthday to Ann for me please as I am sure you will talk to her today - and I hope she’s completely over her flu!

Look after yourself my lovely Mum and I will send a letter from India when I can - lots and lots and lots of love your nomadic daughter

Tricia xxxxx 

Leaving Melbourne

Dear Mum

I hope your cough is getting better and that you do not have too bad a cold. Jenny told me that you had caught a cold and that a lot of people have had it in Cheshire - that seems strange for May - you’d think the cold season would be over.

Anyway my lovely mum I do hope you shift it as soon as possible - eats lots of fruit and drink extra orange juice - vitamin c is always good for a cold.

I am still at Kerry’s house but go to the airport this evening to start my journey to India. Kerry, Stephanie and I have just been out for a Chinese lunch - which was delicious but I think we all felt a bit sad. So I will say good bye to one dear set of friends but look forward to seeing you by the end of the month!

Alex is in Spain at the moment they have taken little Alba to meet her Spanish family. From the photos she looks like she has put a lot of weight on and is flourishing!

It is lovely to think that we will all be going away together in July and Alba can then meet her British family!

Here are some photos of our holiday house this summer in Anglesea to cheer you up we are going Friday 17th July, I am sure it is in your diary!

Look after yourself my lovely Mum and I do hope you feel better soon - lots and lots and lots of love
Tricia xxxxx 

Newcastle letter - out of sequence

Newcastle

Tricia 23 April 2015

Dear Mum

It was just lovely to speak to you on your birthday and I had updates and photos from Jenny,Fiona and Sophie and it sounded like you had a glorious time - I am so pleased.

I have been having adventures here in Newcastle, New South Wales. Stephanie and I arrived on Monday morning for a three day workshop and it was raining quite heavily. However no-one anticipated the storm that then happened over the next three days - it was enormous! As you can see - the Storm of the Century was how the papers described it!

Sadly the workshops had to be cancelled as everywhere had to close down and the roads were impassable. The storm raged for over 36 hours, we lost power in the hotel but we had candles and torches . We were fine - the hotel really took care of us - providing food whilst we all waited for the storm to die down. I have never seen such winds and rain - some of the gusts were classed as Cyclone 3 level winds - so I suppose quite close to a hurricane . We could see the sea from our hotel room and it was wild.

Yesterday we went for a walk around the area and there were lots of trees down and the sea and clouds were spectacular.

   

We met up with some people yesterday afternoon and we are going to the University this morning for a meeting and then will fly back to Melbourne this evening. I am speaking at another Workshop in Melbourne on the 8th of May and some of the people who were going to be coming to this one will now attend the other one - and who knows maybe they will ask me back again!

I am thoroughly enjoying my time in Australia and have met some really delightful people and can see me doing some more work here in the future. I didn’t really anticipate that but life is such an adventure!!!

Lots and lots and lots of love my lovely Mum - I do miss you. 

Tricia xxxxxxxxxx 

Loving the learning - and recognising both the happiness and the sadness

It's my last few days in Melbourne and I have a morning to myself which has meant I could catch up on my blogg and write to my Mum etc....  all good stuff!

I have been using my time here in Australia and New Zealand, to reflect on what I want to do in the future.....   and that was the learning that I wanted to come out of this journey.

But in the last couple of weeks I have actually felt more confused about what I want to do in the future.......... however what has becoming increasingly clear to me is that I need to get myself more prepared to go through the doors that I know will be opening for me in the future.

I do have faith and certainty - I am totally certain that these doors will appear ......  the uncertainty is that I have very little idea what these doors will actually look like!

My first bit of learning from my time here - is that these are new doors  - opportunities will appear and will come in ways and forms that I don't know and can't foresee -  and I have to become completely comfortable with that. It must be perfect to have no idea what these doors will look like, what is behind them or where they will lead........

This is an important piece of learning as I have been trying to predict what the doors will look like - based on my previous work etc - but I am now moving into uncharted territory - and cannot know what it looks like!

So that is my first bit of learning -  I will embrace the fact that I have no idea what the doors of opportunity will look like or where they will lead........ and I will be excited and fearless about the unknown!

The second piece of learning is that I now need to prepare myself more as an independent operator.  In some ways I have already started this - planning to leave the University, my flat in Liverpool etc but what I must also do is to prepare myself with the tools that I will need to be independent.  I have been focusing on the leaving Liverpool stuff and the time has now come to prepare myself for this one woman future and the unknown options - but there are some basic prerequisites that a professional independent business requires - so I will start there and see what happens!

It's funny, but of course other people see things that you don't, several people have been telling me this for quite a while but I just wasn't ready to hear. Learning is all about being ready for the next step, and you just cannot learn something until you are ready.  The details of this are not yet clear to me, however the next steps are.

So I will take this knowledge with me to India on Tuesday, use my time there  to learn more.....  and then back to Liverpool, (briefly!) and a plan is being formed!

But all journeys involved partings....... and today I have also been thinking about the transient nature of relationships.  A friend once told me  that people come into your life ' for a reason and a season'  and  that is so true.  The 'season' for some people in my life, like my mother - has been my whole life, and for others the  'season' has been for a much shorter period. The 'reason'  for people being in my life is not always clear at the time but thinking about my time here, I can see people who have really helped me learn -  and that's what it's all about -  however many people there are in your journey, the learning you do on your own!!!

So  feeling blessed,  feeling happy - consciously happy, but also recognising and cherishing the beauty of sadness of the transitory nature of our humanity.

Thank you blogg!

Melbourne but not for long.....

Dear Mum

It's Sunday morning here in Melbourne and it is raining cats and dogs! I am coming to the end of my stay here in Australia and I’m surprised how emotional I’m finding it. I am really quite sad to be leaving as I have had such a really special time here.

Last night Kerry invited some friends round for dinner, I made a chicken casserole, which I have to say was very good and Kerry made Pavlova which was absolutely delicious. Here is a photo of Kerry and me and the pavlova.

We then played cards, Kerry and her friends play solo but they had never played estimation whist, so I taught them how to play Matches and we had a grand old time. it reminded me of playing cards as a child with you and dad and my sisters, and the many happy hours playing cards with my own boys.

In the morning we had been to the Queen Victoria market, it is such a lovely market, really huge with stalls selling everything. We bought the ingredients for the dinner and then I bought lots of little souvenirs to take with me to India.

India - yes the next leg of my journey is India! I will leave here on Tuesday evening and fly to Ahmedabad via Abu Dhabi. My friends in India have planned a very full two weeks for me. I will be based in Ahmedabad with trips to various villages to meet people and to see some of their work, so my amazing journey continues!!! In the market I bought lots of pencils and pens with koalas, kangaroos and other images of Australia on them, to give out to the children that I will meet on my travels.

I feel amazingly blessed, I have been made so incredibly welcome here and now there is another group of wonderful people planning exciting things for me to do in India. I just feel so grateful and appreciative , especially for the people who are in my life.

It is Mother’s Day here in Australia and Kerry will be going to visit her Mum this afternoon and I really miss seeing my lovely Mum! It’s nice to write you letters and hear how you are getting on from the others, but I am really looking forward to seeing you at the end of the month . I will be over to see you in the last weekend in May!

Hoping you are well and happy and I am sending you great big hug from Melbourne.......

Lots and lots and lots of love my lovely Mum - Tricia xxxxx 

Melbourne again!

Dear Mum

How are you - well I hope?

I’m now back in Melbourne , we flew in from Christchurch on Monday evening after a really lovely week exploring the South Island of New Zealand.

The landscape in New Zealand was truly spectacular with amazing mountains, lakes and the sea. We spend a very lovely week driving around in the camper van just taking it all in!

We spent one night with my friend Paul and Sue’s son Sean and his girlfriend Claire , they are a lovely young couple who are travelling at the moment and currently living and working in Dunedin. They made us very welcome by cooking us beautiful food and then taking us to their favourite spots - it was a very happy time.

They are currently living in a beautiful little house which overlooks the ocean and it has a really sweet garden which has lots of ornaments - I saw these two little owls and thought of you!

I heard from Jenny that Ann had been ill and she also thought she might have caught the bug herself - I do hope they are both better now and that no-one else caught it.

I hear from my boys quite regularly and Jim has been over in Paris meeting his little niece for the first time. Sadly Rachel couldn’t go to as she is still having problems with her visa. Here’s a lovely picture of them!

Hope all going well with you my lovely Mum, lots and lots of love

Tricia xxxxxxxxxx

    

New Zealand 2

Dear Mum

We are now in a place called Haast - tiny - population around 200 people - New Zealand is such a sparsely populated country - we have been driving through the most amazing countryside with hardly any houses - quite a lot of sheep though!

Here's me having a breakfast cuppa in the campervan - with the sun rising behind me!

This is just a short letter as we are now going to set off - for another day of amazing views! 

Yesterday we saw Cook's Mountain and the Fox Glacier - apparently there are over 3,000 glaciers in New Zealand! Today we will spend some time on the beach then head inland.

   

Lots and lots of love my lovely Mum Tricia xxxxxxx 

New Zealand 1

Dear Mum

Well - I am now in New Zealand - we arrived very late Sunday evening and picked up our camper van Monday morning and drove out of Christchurch. To start with the countryside seemed very normal but as we drove it started to change around every corner! One minute there would be rolling hills, the next minute big black peaks in the distance and then amazing beaches. 

This coastline was black, presumably volcanic - black sand and black rocks. The weather also seemed to change by the minute too, and we drove through sunshine. showers and rainbows - the sky stretching up and away in every direction with the clouds also making another landscape above us! The camper van is great and we stop and make cups of tea etc and our lunch watching the sea break on the rocks, or out to a lake and peaks - beautiful!

The scenery is truly fantastic - and really does take your breath away. It is much greener than Australia and looks more 'British' but on a much grander scale - all the beauty of the Lake District but really amplified - with hardly any people and loads of sheep. The towns are very small and sort of old fashioned in a nice way! Sue and I get on well and have laughed a lot.

The weather has been pretty wild and tonight - Wednesday - it is blowing a storm - but we are nice and cosy with our knitting!

Lots and lots of love my lovely Mum Tricia xxxx 

Sydney

These were sent via the phone - and both Jenny and Claire had real trouble printing them out!

Sunday 26th April Sydney

Dear Mum

Am now in Sydney and leave this afternoon for New Zealand. Through the magic of the internet I now know that Claire has a printer - so I can send letters to Abbeyfield again - thank you Claire! The technology is magic as I am writing this letter on my phone! I have left my computer in Melbourne as this afternoon I am going to fly to New Zealand with my dear friend Sue - she is from Bacup but is staying with her brother in Australia for three months.

I flew down from Melbourne yesterday and had a grand day walking around Sydney - the weather was extraordinary - when I arrived it was baking hot - walking down into Sydney I had my sun glasses on and looked for the shade it was so hot. But by the evening there had been hail storms and I really needed my jacket and scarf!

Here was the view from the apartment I am staying in - 12th floor with a great view of the back of Sydney! I walked down to the famous waterfront - it is funny seeing things in real life that you know - Sydney Opera house was just like I knew it - but bigger - and the waterfront was sort of smaller than I had envisaged! I got a ferry and did a round trip of the harbour - it had loads of ferries and reminded me very much of Hong Kong.

I got back to the waterfront and was walking around the Opera House when the weather changed completely and there was a short but very violent hail storm - crazy weather!

The sun then came out and I walked back! So summer to winter in one afternoon! Am off to New Zealand this afternoon - we are in a camper van and I may not be able to write that often - but hope you well and happy my lovely Mum - with lots and lots and lots and lots of love.

Tricia xxxxxxxx 

Still in Melbourne

Dear Mum

How are you? I heard from Jenny that you had a sore eye, I hope it is all cleared up now. You will soon be off to London for your birthday weekend, I will think about you and I’m sure you will have a wonderful time.

I am now staying at my friend Stephanie’s house, it's in the suburbs of Melbourne but I will be going back to Kerry’s tomorrow.  I am enjoying being a guest and have been made so very welcome .

On Friday morning I went to Melbourne Museum and was particularly interested in the galleries which told the stories of the aboriginal  people. There was a very poignant  memorial to the children who had been taken forcibly from their own families and put into white families. It is amazing to think that this continued right up to 1969. Before I left  Liverpool I had gone to an exhibition in the Maritime Museum about British children that has been sent out to Australia and that too had continued into the 60s.  Made me think how lucky I was  to have been brought up in my lovely family. 

On Friday evening we went to a drum circle and I took my singing bowls. It took place in a lovely little cottage up in the mountains, which are not too far away from here.  We sat in a circle and everybody played  their drums , I played my bowls  and we sang.  It was a very special and rather magical evening. 

We haven’t really done very much else this weekend , just pottered about, but as Stephanie is such a dear friend this was  perfect.  She has gone to watch her son Adam play Australian rules football so I'm now in the house on my own, writing letters. 

Here’s a picture of me on the deck yesterday doing my knitting. I'm making a cardigan and these are the sleeves so not too far to go now!

The weather is still very changeable here but I think that is typical for autumn in Melbourne .  The light is also very different from the UK even when it’s overcast the light has an intensity which can be quite dazzling!

I will send this letter via Jenny as I think Claire’s printer is still out of action. Hope you enjoy London, and please give my best to all the family.

With very much love from your galavanting daughter down under!

Tricia   

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