On My Way to the MBE

Some of you good folk may have read in one of my earlier posts that my lovely Dad was awarded an MBE in the New Year’s honours list?  Dad was duly notified that his official investiture invitation could arrive anytime in the next seven months and that he would dearly love me to be there if I could. Hey presto!  Just a couple of weeks into the New Year and Dad received notice that Her Maj has requested his presence at Buck House on 16 March.  This is wonderful news and a scramble on my part to book flights.  Because I’ve just started a new job, my annual leave allowance is pretty low so I’m only away for one week – yep that’s a journey to the other side of the world for a week – crazy I know, but it just has to be done.

One of the toughest consequences of a move to the other side of the world, is trying to catch up with all the friends and family who you want to see, and those who want to see you, when you visit. It’s hard to do and I soon realised that I was trying to cram too much into a week which would have left me utterly exhausted with the potential risk of having to take a ‘nana-nap’ in Lizzie’s bed on the 16th. This in itself is fraught with the serious risk of me being carted off to the Tower and missing my flight home to Australia, let alone Dad’s golden moment. I was overwhelmed with the prospect of all the train travel, lugging a suitcase through the busy London railway stations and fighting for a seat on the train; the London Underground (that’s a subway for those of you thinking it’s a criminal underworld) and all this without really taking into consideration jetlag. Needless to say I’ve seen sense and have adjusted my visit accordingly.

I’m nearly there; ready for the trip. I just need to unearth some winter clothes and some proper shoes with enclosed toes; grow me some manners and adopt some airs and graces and I’ll be on my way!  I’ll keep you posted

Overwhelming