With limited TV for the last year, the kids had their fill of movies after 24 hours on the plane and at the end of the flight, we all had a treat as we were invited into the cockpit for a look and chat with one of the pilots. We were feeling fairly dazed with our body clocks now upside down, but probably more bewildered at how ‘mild’ the temperature felt as we left the terminal. We’d been warned of zero temps, freezing fog and catastrophic changes to our softened temperate bodies (OK – Alex’s!), it was a nice welcome back.
Sleep time 
Transit walk
We needed this ‘holiday’. I know many people think we’re on one loooong holiday, the reality is we’re living life in a different way than we have before. Certainly, our new (dare I say it) “office” is an incredible one, yet we still have all the chores, schooling, concerns and family ups and downs that everyone has. I’m certainly not complaining, we’ve moulded right into this new way of living, but with the constant breakdowns of the car and all the other little pieces of equipment that just aren’t made to last nowadays, a break from the road was a welcome change for us all.
The Captain 
We have arrived!
The trip had been booked for months, although we couldn’t leave Australia until after we’d renewed 3 of the 8 passports we hold (a task made 10 times harder being on the road), following an innocent check to make sure they were all in order! $ – Ker-ching – $. I can be smug as I was the only one who didn’t have to renew one.😇 We’d decided to take 6 weeks so that we could catch up with friends we’d not seen for a very long time. Normally we’re limited with annual leave and school terms and we split time 50/50 between our two families, so why not maximise on the opportunity!
Once dates were fixed, planning routes, destinations and hook-ups became a military operation as I wanted to book in catchups early so that everyone’s Christmas events didn’t clash. Even with 6 weeks, we didn’t manage to meet everyone we would have liked to, however, to compensate that loss, we did manage to sneak in a weeks skiing in Val D’Isere (or maybe that was why we couldn’t see everyone?? Hmm…🤔)
Our first stop was London, at my brother Damien’s place. Ali took us to greet the cousins Daniel (7) and Caitlyn (6) from school – a great reminder to ours that children generally have 6 hours of schooling a day! 🤓 We had 5 days to acclimatise before moving on and landed on a Friday which meant we had an action-packed weekend with The Kelly’s. Lexi had postponed her birthday party as she wanted to share it with Daniel and Caitlyn, we then kindly put the onus on to Auntie Ali to organise a bowling afternoon and party fun afterwards! Amazingly the birthday girl won the game, as Uncle Damien cried into his beer that night at ‘accidentally’ throwing a curve ball which would have won him the game – such a considerate uncle. It was back home for party food, but either excitement or jetlag got the better of the birthday girl and she was fast asleep by 6.30pm. The cake would have to wait for another day.
This is the second Christmas on the road, the second without a tree, so it was a real treat that we got to participate in decorating the cousins. It was a fun expedition picking it up. Not only did the tree get wrapped to bring home, the kids did too!
It was turning into a planes, trains and automobiles adventure, as we took the tube into London one day to explore. The weather had turned colder – another first for the kids as they saw this ‘white stuff’ on the cars – that’s frost kids! – so we wrapped up warm, layer upon layer to make sure we’d be cosy. We finally got to the Science Museum once Reo had announced after getting off the tube, “I’m hating this cold, we’re going home, NOW!”, de-robed and began exploring. What I’d totally forgotten was what an absolute nightmare it is de-robing as soon as you get into a warm place. Once we’d de-layered 5 items each, we were struggling with where to stuff it all while we walked around!
Rugged up 
History lesson
From the first car in the UK, looking at the Apollo 10 capsule, playing climate change games, to seeing an exhibit showing the side effects of the Thalidomide drug (and maybe gaining a little insight into the industry mummy has been working in the last 20 years), we whiled away hours and still had more to see. The highlight for us all were the VR experiences; Lexi & daddy were twirled 360 degrees in a jet plane simulator, Reo and I took a ride over the Welsh countryside and we all had a Red Arrows 3D experience. Being in one of the cockpits, it was incredible to see how close they flew together in formation, the lead pilot calling out commands as they darted through the sky like an embodiment of dancing birds.
The time in London passed quickly and it was so much fun hanging out with the family. The UK tradition of Christmas jumpers was introduced to Lexi and Reo, and I’m not sure Reo removed his much for the rest of the trip! Gin and wine featured a plenty, as did the introduction of a new game for me and Alex, Azur, now on my wish list. Once explained and a couple of practise games to sharpen the skills, I was a Master. The more gins Damien had, the more games I won. 😝
With city life ticked, it was time to try out country living in Norfolk with Alex’s parents. Driving down the country roads in complete darkness, only wide enough for one and three-quarter vehicles, high hedges guiding the way, it certainly honed the long-forgotten country driving skills, certainly not needed in downtown Sydney.
In the planning stage, we’d arranged a rare night away, which turned quickly into two, and asked Nannie and Grandie if they’d be happy to have the kids while we took ourselves off. “Sure”, came the response, quickly followed by “I’m sure Maxine would love to have them”!! So, we had a couple of nights with Nannie and Grandie before we waved our farewells to 4 smiling faces, jumped in the car like 2 excited teenagers leaving home for the first time and sped off before anyone could change their minds.
Some people may think we now lead a rather basic life with van living; constantly on the move, outside cooking, re-wearing the same 3 sets of clothes, digging holes and burning loo paper ain’t for the faint hearted. We’ve stayed in some varied spots and we were now taking things to a new level…. You know you’re being a good friend when you’re required to slum it for a uni reunion with mates who hadn’t been all together for 15 odd years. Will and Susie kindly hosted the event in their old house, we’re talking mid 17th century, around the time Australia was discovered! Surely it must be falling down by now?!
Warmly greeted by Will, Susie and Will’s 2 daughters Alice and Georgia, we entered ‘The Shack’. As you may have guessed, we’re not talking your modest 2 up, 2 down. A magnificent, 11 bed, 8 or so reception rooms and a couple hundred acres to stroll around, this glamorous mansion is more grandiose than most boutique hotels. Certainly, my words do not do it justice. There was of course more than enough room for the 11 of us catching up, of which 15 years ago, I’m sure none of us would have been allowed near anything so exquisite.
A glass of champagne was placed in our hands and seemed to stay topped up all weekend! As the weekend unfolded, Helen & Martin, Dave, GooSe & Debs and Max & Lucy joined the party house and I’m sure the raucous laughter could be heard for miles around…luckily, it was only the pheasants disturbed. Just like old times, there was a lot of pi$$ taking, friendly banter, reminiscing and catching up on current news.
One morning to blow away the cobwebs, Martin, Alex and myself joined Will and Susie on a pre-arranged shooting date. Resplendent in the correct hunting garb, Martin was given the job of a beater (flushing the birds from cover) while Alex and I paired with Will and Susie to counsel on how to shoot. Evidently, I was far better at this than Alex as Will tended to scare most of the birds flying over with a loud BANG, it was Susie who brought home the bird.
The weekend flew by with laughter, delicious food, bountiful drink and flourishing friendships. As we bid our farewells, our buckets of love and belonging were filled to the brim. We departed leaving far too many empty bottles to recycle and an exhausted Will and Susie. I think I can say for us all, we had a fabulous time catching up together, like we’d been together last week. Thank you, Will and Susie, for being such amazing hosts and opening up your beautiful home for us.
We returned to the quieter daily routine with Nannie and Grandie of C&C (coffee and cakes), Lexi began to love the full English breakfasts and a little schoolwork was completed with Nannie as teacher. I think I may have even managed a nanna nap one afternoon! It was nice to have some downtime and the kids have quality time with their grandparents.
After a couple of nights back, we ventured off to see Andy, Pips and their 2 daughters Cassie & Annabelle. Again, it had been quite a few years since we’d caught up, yet we walked through their front door like we’d seen them just yesterday. Spoilt by Andy’s amazing cooking over the 2 nights we were there, conversation flowed, the kids, initially shy, soon were racing around the house like new besties, it was great to be together again. Rugged up for the cold and mud, we ventured to Wimpole National Park, spied the donkeys in the field, got muddy as we walked through the reindeer path and just missed the rain as we took shelter in the café for lunch. After an afternoon of trampolining, (kids not adults!) and they were still bouncing off the walls until late. Pips and Alex were sensible and took themselves off to bed earlier that night, while Andy showed me the merits of a couple of different gins he had…some things don’t change!
Returning to Alex’s folks, we began to start to feel very Christmassy. I took a day off and snuck into Norwich to catch up with Celli and her son Arthur which was lots of fun. Oh, how times have changed. In our younger days, we’d have walked into the city, found a cosy bar to hunker down and caught up on all the gossip over a bottle of wine. Now we were snatching sentences while chasing a little munchkin around the shops and trying to give him a tutorial on how to ride a bike 🚴
Nannie and Grandie treated the kids to a true British institution, The Panto. Initially they were a little overwhelmed with what was going on, but their cousin Daniel (5), who clearly had been to many, led the way with clapping and shouting back, and before long Lexi and Reo were in the throngs of shouting back at Buttons as if they were in the playground.
To ensure we were truly in the Christmas spirit, Auntie Maxine treated us to a magical train ride on the local North Norfolk heritage steam train. The train ride was fun, yet it was the destination that held the excitement. After feeding the reindeers, it was a short walk through an entrancing tunnel to find Santa waiting with a gift for all.
Before we knew it, Christmas Eve was upon us and all the Towns clan had arrived. 10 adults and 5 excited children. It was great to see everyone. The children had organised their bedtime routine, (with Reo wanting to go at 7pm so The Big Man would arrive early), with stockings hung by the fire, milk, mince pies and carrots arranged, they tip-toed upstairs, quiet as mice, had a story with Grandie and went promptly to sleep. Oops, sorry, that was an extract from another story I’m writing… crashing, banging, loud whispering, running from one bedroom to the next, was occurring in the Towns household until about 10.30pm when they collapsed exhausted into bed.
Christmas day was a big success! Stockings had been filled, delighted children with gleeful grins ran around with their new spoils and wrapping paper was coming out of our ears. Alex took charge of the turkey dinner to ensure it was on the table early afternoon, and what a feast it was. It had been a fabulous day, Santa had been extremely generous, as had the rest of the family and we spent the evening lazing in front of the TV catching up with Gavin and Stacy and their Christmas special – top times!
Our next destination was to be even more chaotic with The Kelly Tribe. Lexi & Reo were exhausted after the last few days of excitement and late nights, so it was a nice respite to have 1 night alone to catch up with mum and dad before everyone else descended. Utter bedlam then unfolded over the week with 7 children ranging from 1 to 9. The family turned up in stages with Jac & Rob arriving up first with their 3 boys.
To ensure I wasn’t going to get in the way of the kids reuniting and having fun, I’d snuck out for lunch, to a reunion with 4 girlfriends from school, Lizzie, Natalie, Natalie & Alex. I think we were all interested in how the meet-up would pan out, as it had been nearly 30 years since we’d all been together. It could have been one of those gatherings where all we did was recollect on “the good ol’ days” with not have much else to say; not with these guys! We certainly cried reminiscing on some of our exploits, yet sharing stories of our current lives, we talked of celebrations, challenges, loves and loses. Oh, and I gave them all a geography lesson on Australia! We laughed a lot, at points had a tear in our eye, it was just like we were back in the school yard; food for the soul. We could have talked well in to the night, but other commitments transported us back to our realities.
For me, it was meeting my new nephew Simeon, just turned 1, along with Barney (6) and Xander (3), oh and of course Jac & Rob. Simeon was soon hitched on Lexi’s hip, looking like the archetypal teenage mum, as she bagsied as much time with him before Caitlyn showed up and challenged her to the Simeon cuddles. Most of us caught up with Siobhan and Graham the following day at Chatsworth House, leaving Jac and Xander behind as they had a bout of gastro. This place is always a must see for me when we return to Chesterfield, such a beautiful residence. We explored the manicured gardens, got lost in a maze and toured the house all dressed up for Christmas.
The London Kelly Clan then rocked up and full chaos ensued. Trips to the park to run off energy were a plenty, fights broke out over who had what toy and Simeon was smothered in love by Lexi & Caitlyn. One day the kids had fun playing with Daniel’s Christmas present, a metal detector. One hovering the device over the ground in wait of potential treasure, while others were at the ready with spades to dig as soon as a beep went off. I think the total find was a bottle top, a chain holding the slide secure, a 1p, 5p and 10p. Not bad for a first day’s work!
Hunting 
Treasure!
New Year’s Eve we had an outing to see my best mate Farmer Pete and his family, you might be able to guess his profession?? Reo was in heaven getting in the pen with the sheep and bedding down the dairy cows which gave him a ride on the tractor. After such manual work, it was off for a pub lunch to regain our strength and warm up, ready for the NYE party. The kids enjoyed an ‘early’ midnight with sparklers and a couple of fireworks Uncle Rob set off and the adults just managed to stay up for midnight, watched the fireworks on TV, sang Auld Lang Syne and quietly slipped off to bed – such party animals!
Unfortunately, due to illness, we never managed to get the whole extended Kelly family in one place at the same time which was incredibly disappointing for us all. So, on pressie swapping day, we teleported Shiv and Graham in to the lounge via Whats App on the big TV and swapped gifts remotely with them. The week flew by and before we knew it, it was time to say our goodbyes.
Sad as all goodbyes are, we did leave with a spring in our step as I would be seeing most of them again before returning to Aus and we were going on, well, we weren’t sure what you called a holiday, within a holiday, within a holiday?!?! The ‘Russian Doll Of Holidays’ was our best supposition! Off to the airport for us, Val D’Isere was calling.
An early night was called for as we had a very early 3.30am start. My bestie Niamh joined us for dinner at the hotel and we met our other bestie Marion at the airport for brekkie the next morning. We were all together for our snow filled experience. Alex and I hadn’t been skiing in the Northern Hemisphere since we left the UK in 2005 and we were very, very excited!
We’d been watching the weather reports closely with Marion sending us daily updates on the amount of snow falling. There had been a bit of a lull since Christmas, but we were not disappointed, how could you be?!?! The week had been planned; Lexi & Reo had been booked for morning ski lessons during the week, while the adults had their time and we all skied together in the afternoons.
Arriving at our chalet we were welcomed by our host Charlie and met Anita, her 6-year-old son Oscar, Reo’s new best buddy and James who were sharing with us. It was a lovely chalet, all wood, creaked as you moved around the place and just big enough to squeeze us all in.
Our first day of fun started when we were greeted by our good friends JoAnn & Russell and their 2 boys Harley & Arlan, who had driven down from Switzerland to see us for the weekend. We caught the bubble up the slopes and started with a green slope to warm up. We learnt quickly that in Val the colours did not always match the terrain! Poor Niamh, she hadn’t skied in 20 plus years, had come over to spend the week with us, with maybe more of a focus on après-ski, and was faced with what looked to her, like a sheer drop! Marion took her off to the baby slopes for a practice while we threw ourselves down the ‘green’. With Harley and Arlan initially challenging our two to races and jumps, they sped off and regained their confidence ready for their lessons.
It was nice to then have the mornings exploring without the kids. It won’t be long until they are faster and far more competent than us at getting down the slopes, so for now, we were enjoying the freedom and fun! JoAnn and I snuck out Sunday night for a quick drink and catch up as it had been 4 years we’d seen each other. There was a lot of catching up to do. We were feeling very loved with friends flying and driving to come and see us.
With Tignes next door to Val, we did not get bored as we traversed the slopes during the week. Nor did we tire of the view. The snow glistened around us like crystals catching the sun. We were a mere pinprick among this towering, alluring, immense landscape, seducing us higher as the days passed by.
Unfortunately, Niamh caught a bout of gastro which kept her in the lodge for a few days, yet we still managed to catch up in the evenings and chill out with Marion with a few glasses of wine. The week shot by with only 1 learning curve for us all as Reo decided he’d be OK coming down a red run back into Val one afternoon. I’m still not sure why his foolish parents thought it was a good idea to suggest the run in the first place!??! Lexi began well, turning cautiously with Alex following close behind and remained upright for the whole run – great work Lexi! The run began with a gradual slope, great for boosting the confidence…. it wasn’t long before more degrees were added to the gradient and BAM!, Reo did a 360/180 (think big rotating snowball). We then realised we’d made a grave error of judgement. Oops.
Bottom shuffling began, with Marion trying to coax a now extremely cautious and hesitant Reo down the slopes. Any words of wisdom from Mummy was shot down with a whisper-shout of “BE. QUIET. MUMMY!”. As it was late afternoon, rush hour had begun and the powerful noise of skiers and boarders hurtling past intensified emotions ten-fold. In the end, both Marion and Reo took off their skies and walked down the edge of the slope. At one point our hearts were in our mouths as they fell off the edge, down 20m or so, luckily coming to rest on the piste, which had now flattened out. Marion managed to encourage Reo to get his ski’s back on and we all skied the remainder of the run together. Nothing like ‘getting back on the horse’… phew. Reo was very proud of himself for getting down, as were we of him. The next day, his ski instructor did say that in any other resort the run would have been a black – double oops! What had taken us 12 mins to ski down earlier in the day, had taken an hour and a half.
It was another middle-of-the-night start to return to the UK and we stopped off at Debs and GooSe’s place for another catch-up and lunch before heading down to Devon. We hadn’t really anticipated the 3.30am start when we planned this section! It made for a long day. The trip was certainly worth it as we pulled up to Emma and Matt’s pad. Again, the reoccurring theme throughout the whole trip, was that it really didn’t matter when we were all last together, the sparks and banter carried on as if we lived down the road.
After a lovely evening chatting over home-made pizza, the kids took themselves off to play with their daughters, Fritha and Manon while we carried on catching up. The following day we took a chilly and rather muddy walk around Branscombe, checked out some donkeys, then on to the beach to give the dogs and kids a good run. The afternoon was spent chilling, utilising their laundry (!) and generally enjoying each other’s company.
The visit was short and sweet and with Monday comes school and work, for some! So, we said our goodbyes and took to the road once again. We were spending most of our time back in London, but we made a detour to Birmingham to catch up with Jac, Rob and the boys. Barney had a sneaky day off school and to ensure he wasn’t totally bunking off his education, we went to the Thinktank Science Museum. We managed to sneak in a pie night with Jac’s friends and we couldn’t go to the Curry Capital of the UK without indulging in a few tasty treats! It was awesome to have another couple of nights catch up before the final goodbyes.
The main highlight for our return to London was treating the kids and grandparents to a West End show. We met George and Hilary mid-week at the London Transport Museum for a look round and to drive a double decker bus, then took in the matinee of Mary Poppins. I managed to gatecrash Damien’s birthday gift to mum with a high tea at The Shard. Dressed to the nines in my Salvos jeans and top, borrowed boots from Shivvy and my finest fleece with burn marks in, I fitted right in!
Once the weekend arrived, Lexi, Reo, Daniel and Caitlyn we all excited for another adventure into the Big Smoke for their surprise. They knew they were off to the theatre but had no idea what they were going to see. Sadly, my dad wasn’t well and unable to make it into London to meet us, so mum and my great Auntie Madge came along for the fun of Matilda. I did manage to see him the next day for lunch for our final goodbyes which was great. Both musicals were excellent, the talent in the actors, especially the children, is incredible.
We had a truly incredible time. We’d eaten our body weight in Hula Hoops, Greggs sausage rolls, prawn cocktail crisps, pork sausages, scotch eggs and Jaffa Cakes, just to remind us of those long-lost tastes, spent quality time with family and re-ignited friendships. As the saying goes, true friends and family are never apart, maybe in distance but never in heart.
I got a bit emotional as the end drew near. Reminiscing on the fun times, reflecting on past adventures and deep-rooted friendships, devastated at not seeing all my family as much as I’d anticipated or hoped and a couple of glasses of champagne thrown into the mix, I ended up a blubbering mess! However, that was nothing in comparison to the kids opening the floodgates on the night we all said our goodbyes. Daniel had been on the brink of tears for the last couple of nights trying not to feel too melancholy about our impending departure, but as Lexi’s arms wrapped around him, the floodgates opened, which set Lexi off. Seeing both the bigger kids crying Caitlyn decided to join them, Reo just looked at them all, wide eyed with his big emotional wall built up around him, so he didn’t have to think about the sadness.
We crept silently out of the house at 5am the next morning, with Jack Frost nipping at our heels. We’d travelled 3016km, moved places 12 times, caught up with 84 family & friends and packed away many memories to take us through until the next visit back to Blighty. We were heading back to a world away from what we’d been living the last 6 weeks. We were feeling a mixture of excitement, anticipation and melancholy as the wheels lifted off the runway, we were returning to a burning Australia.
Great to see you guys, and see you having such a fun time!! What country will we see each other next?? xxx
Great blog. I’d show it to Daniel but he’d probably start crying all over again. Such fun to spend so much time with you.
Wow what a whirlwind call that a holiday! Great fun to see you all, what smiles and laughter … I can still hear Alex’s boom half a world away haha! very best Martin & Helen, E & W