We are visiting our homeland for a few weeks tomorrow, and it made me think how much has happened in the 3 years or so since our last visit. Our trip was at Christmas 2018, and we were 5 Nichols, nearing the end of 4 years living in Bloemfontein. Since then: 4 significant birthdays :… Read More Stats and facts
I had a fun morning teaching English paper piecing today, a skill I learnt from my friend in Worthing. She sent the students a little video which they found hilarious: an English lady showing her work, saying hello, and warning them that it was likely they would become addicted. Meanwhile her husband sat on his… Read More Empowerment can look hexagonal
A few weeks ago we made some prayer stations at church – interactive spaces to help us all pray in different ways. Mine was very simple and took very little time to construct, but I thought I’d share it here as it might encourage somebody. In 1 Corinthians 3, Paul says, “I planted the seed,… Read More The Master Gardener
In England, the local landscape was quite mellow – rolling Downs and cute little hedgerows. Then in Bloemfontein it was stark, but beautiful in a different way, with huge open skies and wide empty roads – cacti and aloes and sunsets. Now I am in a jungle, with enormous mounds of vegetation along the roads.… Read More Z is for Zulu
I recently got rid of all my old journals and diaries, but I read through them first and copied out the best bits. It was quite revealing – basically I’ve always been exactly the same as I am now. Same issues, same weaknesses, same ranting sessions ….. I wasn’t sure whether to laugh or cry… Read More Y is for Yesteryear
This blog post is a substitute for never having overseas visitors to keep me company on my school run – every single day I find myself imagining what “C” or “M” would say if they were in my passenger seat, and I wonder how I’d handle it. When I first moved here I actually wept… Read More X is for X-treme school runs
Today we went to Durban to collect the husband’s latest visa – from which our other visas should flow. Even though we were pretty confident, having invested most of our money here in SA so as to get an investment visa, it was still horrible watching him go in to his appointment (I wasn’t allowed… Read More V is for Ventricles, valves, visas, victories and vulnerabilities
Many weird things have become pat of normal life now, like bumping elbows when you meet somebody, or wearing masks, or knowing your own temperature at any given point through the day. Zoom calls are the norm, with new learned etiquette: how many of us have been ‘un-muted’ whilst somebody is shouting in the background… Read More U is for “un-mute yourself”
Theology means ‘the study of God’ – very cool. But when I think ‘theologian’, I think of a musty smell, some bad clothes and a whole lot of waffle. How hilarious then, that I appear to have married my very own theologian by accident. He used to be more of a guitar-playing laid back sort,… Read More T is for Theology
The first time I came back to England after moving away I had a conversation with a friend who thought I was living a perfect life because of what I’d put out there on the internet. It threw me a bit because I thought people realised that nobody’s life is perfect, and I don’t want… Read More S is for Show and Tell
Big Sleeves 