It's been one of those days!

There I was, quietly minding my own business with five hours before takeoff - when my mobile rang and a foreign voice advised me that my flight had been cancelled.  Great start.  Evidently the plane didn't come over from Sydney because of engine problems but eventually, after three attempts to get me away, I was transferred from Emirates and flew over with Air New Zealand, arriving half an hour before originally planned. Not pleasant at the time but all's well that ends well.

Julie dropped everything to take me to the airport and coached me in the art of handling the situation. Clearly it worked, because I didn't have to resort to tears once - or furious determination.  Indeed so pleasant was I, that I made friends with a nice young couple who actually had to PAY for tickets similar to my final replacements and a young German couple who both had dreadlocks and were surprised that they kept getting singled out for special X-rays everywhere they went.

I've had a lovely time with the family tonight.  Philly had done a roast chicken so already the 6.7kg weight loss is in serious trouble since I was the only one who would eat the skin! It would have been rude not to, I felt.  5 young lads/men are noisy bedfellows, so it's been a riotous evening.  But it was lovely how easily I was accepted and slotted back into their family group.  They, like me, have no other relations in the the Southern Hemisphere so it's always lovely to get together.

I'd planned on doing quite a bit of walking while I'm here but that's also gone out the window!  Five boys in a family are never going to be able to keep the secret that there had been a snake on their decking last week, but it was now dead on the roadside outside their house.  I fear I'm paranoid about such things, so am sleeping with the windows shut in my bedroom tonight even though it's on the first floor.  The time is probably about right for all its friends and family to appear for his funeral and I'd really rather not be part of the gathering.

So at 10.29 pm local time (past midnight at home) I'll push the "done" button and look forward to sending a less catastrophic message next time.