We left the farm and we left Africa and the leaving was hard, but there was no point longing for what could no longer be. I went on ahead and for a year, I worked in various jobs until John could finalise the sale of the farm and join me.
For three years we lived in England, battling financially and never really feeling as though we fitted in. John was amazed to see Englishmen who dressed up in collars and ties to mow their lawns and I had the feeling that very little had changed since I had left thirty years ago.
It was by sheer chance that John was offered a position in Miami, and feeling that we had very little keeping us in England, we bought our tickets and prepared to leave. All our personal possessions went into storage until we could send for them, and I agonised over leaving as my father suffered a massive stroke less than a week after we had done our bookings.
We spent the next five years in Miami, living in relative luxury in a seventeenth floor apartment, fascinated with the oddities of American living. We met some interesting people and made some great friends, but after five years, it was time to get our feet back on the ground, and once again we packed up our possessions and boarded a plane for the south of France in 2008.
(To read about our life in France, have a look at my blog - "Diary of a French Housewife" )
"Lambs Love and Laughter" was serialised in the South African Country Life magazine over the course of a year, and I was invited to lecture aboard the QE2 on several occasions, talking about Lesotho, the farm, and all the strange things that I had learned. The greatest joy of these voyages was that I managed to get back to South Africa, and although I never made it to the farm, it was good to feel the pulse of Africa once more, and somehow make my peace with having had to leave.
Update - July 2013. After living in France for two or three years, we were invited to look after the home of a friend while she was away for a few weeks and this was the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. Through word of mouth we became almost permanent house-sitters and spent many happy weeks and months looking after large country properties in the south of France revelling in all the creature comforts without incurring a single bill. We were happy to make ourselves useful and could be found mowing large areas on the tractor or operating chainsaws and strimmers, and every home owner was delighted to return to find happy healthy pets, watered plants and gardens, a sparkling pool and property clean and cared for.
It was only going to be a matter of time before we realised that in order to visit my children and grandchildren in Australia, we could probably do the same thing on the far side of the world, and this is where we currently are, enjoying the extraordinary beauty of Victoria and heading off to New Zealand in the near future.
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| On the woodpile at the Stud Farm in Victoria |
I have made my peace with a great many things since leaving, and in due course, another blog entitled "Cannibals to Croissants" will be uploaded and you can find out about those 23 missing years in Lesotho.
To see more photos of the farm - go to http://bulklip.blogspot.com/
