Our Journey (part 2). Leaving One Island for Another.

OMG we’re actually going?!

So the decision was made and the families were told and that meant that this was getting real. We started to plan for life away from Bristol. So getting our priorities straight we threw a party! Everyone we even remotely cared about was invited. It was supposed to be outdoors and of course, this is England we are talking about, it chucked it down all morning! So last minute adjustment meant a last second change of venue.

Emotional overload

It was a very emotional occasion. We were trying to keep it light-hearted and fun but it was difficult. Some people were happy for us, some sad, some downright angry that we were leaving. The emotion ramped up as the party wound down and the goodbyes started. You don’t realise how hard this will be until it smacks you in the face. Moments that will stay with me forever.

Not my Records?

Logistics are kind of boring so I’ll skim over them a bit. When you own a house and a car and a house full of stuff you have to figure out what the hell you are going to do with it. Bahraini rules meant that we had to wait a certain time before we were allowed to receive our stuff on the island so we had to delay shipping and pay for storage. Most of it was junk really. We sold some of it, dumped some of it (my old LP’s which I regret to this day) and left some in the chosen, expensive, storage ready to ship.

Excited/guilty/excited/guilty/excited………

It was time to leave. If the pain of saying goodbye to our friends and extended family was hard then saying goodbye to our immediate families was excruciating. Knowing that they were desperately unhappy to be, in their minds, ‘losing us’ I was feeling guilty and selfish and hurting because they were as well. I remember saying to them that we would give it at least a year. To them that meant we were coming back after a year! Nine years later I think they have realised we are not planning on living in the UK again. We left them and sat in the departure lounge a bit numb and confused. We were full of the emotions of leaving but we were at the start of our new adventure and we couldn’t wait to get going.

Dare I say it? Our relationships have improved!

Both Jayne’s family and mine all live in Bristol and looking back on it I think we took each other for granted. My Mum, Dad and Brother were all on my doorstep but we hardly saw each other. I’d see my Dad and Brother when we would watch Bristol Rovers (Football/Soccer) together and I would see both my parents when they would pick my daughter up from school. Now, we skype both sets of parents once a week and my Mum and Dad have the grandchildren as well, so we have a great relationship with the girls too. When we visit Bristol I practically live with my Brother and Sister-in-Law and we do lots together. We have stayed in touch with our close friends too . They even come out skiing in Romania once a year. The situation isn’t an ideal one but we are making the best of it and I believe we are closer than ever.

Enough with the emotion let’s chill out

So we were heading for the Middle East and Bahrain but first we had a little chill out and acclimatisation time in Dubai! The first observation was that it was bloody hot! Duh! I hear you say and you’d be right. What I will say is, no matter how much you think you mentally prepare for it you are never ready for it. We walked straight out onto the beach in 50 degrees, burned our feet with flip flops on and went straight back pool side. I subsequently walked straight into the pool with my phone in my pocket. This was chill time apparently. Actually it was one of the most relaxing weeks of our lives with opulence that we were unaccustomed too. Jayne managed to find a cheap deal at the Grosvenor Hotel which was stunning; otherwise we could never afford it. We met some people there that have remained great friends to this day. They even gave us a place to stay when we had to evacuate Bahrain! But that’s a story for another time.

Bye bye Dubai

This was a wonderful experience for all three of us. Jaime had a great time and we all relaxed and were sufficiently rested ready for the next stage of our journey.

Unfortunately, this perfect start had kind of set us up for a bit of a fall!

To be continued............................

Us in the first few days in Bahrain

Link: Our Journey. Part 1