About

This is about the journey of the rest of my life.

But first, a little bit about my former life.

I was born in 1956 to a fighter jet flying father, and a fashion model mother.

We traveled and lived all over the UK, spent three years in Germany and two in Singapore. We had summer holidays to the South of France, and also spent time on Pangkor Island and Pulau Tioman; the first on the West coast of Malaya, and the other on the East.

Having left school at eighteen, I spent the next four years at university in London. What a great time I had. After two years of study, I was elected onto the Students Union as the Sabbatical Social Secretary. This was a paid position for one year. I was in charge of booking bands, discos, the President’s Ball, film club and folk club. I was taken out by various record company executives, given complimentary tickets to see up and coming groups, sent albums and other merchandise; all so I would book this band, or that group. It was also during this time that I was to meet my future husband.

When I finished university I joined my father in the States. We spent a month in Florida having a terrific time. Driving to Fort Lauderdale for Spring Break in his black Pontiac Firebird, with the big gold eagle on the hood. Spending days at Disney World, Busch Gardens and Seaworld. We then drove for three days, via New Orleans with the vibrant Bourbon Street, onto Wichita Falls, and then to the other side of the Rockies, staying in Durango for another month. We partied, skiied, flew and partied some more. Skiing mostly at Purgatory, but also Telluride. We journeyed to Silverton on the amazing locomotive, we drove to Mesa Verde. We flew over the Hoover Dam, and landed at the Grand Canyon. We flew to Palm Springs for another party. Our next destination was the West coast of California; Santa Monica, Venice Beach, Los Angeles, Monterrey, Nepenthe, Carmel, San Diego and San Francisco. What an awesome three months I had.

On returning to the UK, I went back to university to complete a Post Graduate teaching certificate. I thought if I wanted to keep traveling, I better find a job with decent holidays! I became a teacher of mathematics.

After a year of teaching I got married; my husband in Naval uniform, myself in a white lace gown I had made, exiting the church beneath an arch of swords held aloft. The crowds were huge, and we also managed to stop the traffic!

Following the birth of our two sons, we were lucky enough to be posted to Australia, where my husband would spend two years with their Navy. On the flight out we stopped off in Hong Kong for a week. The colours, smells, and sounds were all so intense; a cacophony of cultures, interacting together on a small, lively island that never appeared to sleep.

Our new home was located just South East of Melbourne. What a marvellous opportunity, and a wonderful adventure we were about to embark upon. We traveled during every school holiday; to Canberra, Sydney, Magnetic Island, the Great Barrier Reef. We panned for gold at Bendigo, fed kangaroos on the beach, walked through the rainforest, drove along the Great Ocean Road, watched surfers at Bells Beach, saw AUSCAR/NASCAR races at the Thunderdome, skiied the Australian Alps at Mount Baw Baw and gazed in awe at the Fairey Penguins on Phillip Island.

Coming home to England, we had a stopover in Singapore for a little over a week. And so another round of sightseeing began. The zoo, Botanical Gardens, Raffles, Sentosa Island, Tiger Balm Gardens, Jumbo floating restaurant, Bougis Street and the ladyboys, and a Singapore Harbour boat trip. We certainly do pack in as much as we can!

And so back home to Cornwall, where I returned to teaching, but still kept the travel bug alive! We started to spend our summer vacations with my father, onboard his yacht; for three, four or five weeks, we became boat gypsies.
Our first trip was to the beautiful island of Bermuda, where we sailed, swam, snorkelled and went sightseeing.
The following year we had the first of two visits to Tobago. The most beautiful bays and coves, with abundant sealife, including turtles, manta rays, dolphins, angel and parrot fish, were breathtaking beyond belief.
Another island trip was to the BVI’s; and here we had the most fantastic sailing. To secluded beach bars; perfect white, sandy bays; catching tuna; marvelling at the sunsets; rum punches and painkillers (rum, coconut cream, nutmeg, plus maraschino cherry, and yes, maybe a little umbrella!)

Having sailed in the islands, the rest of our trips to the US took us to South Carolina, a state full of Southern charm, beautiful beaches, fantastic shopping, and wonderful friends. From here we would drive all the way down to Florida and back, taking in the theme parks of Orlando, the beaches on the Space Coast, to the magical Keys.
We now travel there every summer, without fail.
Four Christmas vacations have been spent in Orlando, including one where we saw in the new millennium sitting on Cocoa Beach at five in the morning; a truly amazing experience. We were also lucky enough to have two more vacations at this time of the year, but staying on my father’s yacht in Marathon, in the Keys. Party time in Key West is such fun!

253 responses »

  1. Hello fellow traveller. I reside on the other side of the world and yet our journeys are very similar. I was also diagnosed with Stage III melanoma. It began with a dodgy mole on my back near my left hip (of which I was unaware). I first became aware of a suspicious lump in my left groin in January last year that was misdiagnosed as being an infected hair follicle. In early March, melanoma was finally diagnosed. A left groin dissection followed with two consective infections in the wound site necessitating hospitalisation. My experiences whilst an inpatient on one of those occasions was almost identical to your experiences. The overnight nurses took pity and provided earplugs to drown out the drone of confused, elderly fellow patients. I too began the Combi AD trial in May and am so happy that I chose that option. I have 3 months left, it has all been a whirlwind but so worthwhile! I have learned so much during the last 12 months and I share so many of your sentiments. I can’t believe it! Oh yes, I am a mum too, a little younger than yourself and in the same profession! I would dearly love to keep in touch and follow your journey. If you wish to contact me re any info about the trial and/or any support please contact me via the email address as I didn’t wish to provide more info in a public forum at this stage. Good luck and thank you for your inspiration!

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  3. Hi there. I have an almost identical path to you one year behind and am due to go onto the COMBI-AD trial very soon. I’m British but based in Australia and thinking about coming home. I’m at Stage 3b currently.
    I just wanted to wish you all the best.

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    • Thank you Nigel.
      I have found being on the trial so reassuring, and the monthly monitoring helps me to feel I am doing something proactive.
      Wishing you all the very best, too. Take care.

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    • Thank you for stopping by.
      We have been very fortunate as a family to enjoy so much traveling.
      Tinged with sadness, now that our elder son can no longer be there with us, but he lives on in our hearts, and we will take him everywhere with us.

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  8. Thanks for the follow and I will do likewise. I was reading your about page and your travels, I was born and raised in New Orleans and lived in Florida for a while.I’m in North Carolina now but will be moving back to Florida (St.Augustine) where my daughter lives. I look forward to your post!

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  12. Pingback: Oo, look at that! | I Will Not Live in Vain

  28. Read this with great interest. You have certainly got around…widely travelled! Hope to keep in touch with you via your blog….as it is, I fairly new here…still finding my way around WordPress. Be seeing you. Hugs!

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  31. Hello
    I wanted to say thanks for stopping by to visit recently.
    I’m sorry to read the story of your first son’s health struggles and premature passing. That must be life’s most difficult challenge- to bury a child.
    Wishing you peace and love during the Christmas season though you continue to miss him.

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  33. I enjoyed reading your bio. Marathon Key was our favorite place to visit when we lived in Ft. Lauderdale and Telluride was our favorite spot when we lived in Colorado. We moved (and stayed) to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1981. Looks like we have been narrowly missing each other for years.
    Ω

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  38. Now this is embarrassing, I remember reading your About when I began following your blog because I was thinking what an amazing life you’ve lived. I think I got so caught up in your lovely tributes to your son and your cancer story that I neglected to come back and leave a comment.You are an amazing person!

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    • We were so fortunate to be able to visit so many amazing places.
      Sometimes it was as if we were among a natural history documentary. The scenery and animal/bird/fish species that we saw were unbelievably superb.
      x

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  41. Wow! What a read… interesting and fulfilling life. I can only dream that we’ll be able to see half the places you’ve ticked off… but hey, that’s your life and we must be grateful for ours! Thanks for following OMBH! I do hope you come away with a smile or two when you visit!! 😉

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  42. This works; my brother has cured his lymphoma, which was in stage 3 when he began treatment with the essential oils. He is now very close to being completely cancer free, after four months…

    It works.

    With love

    gigoid

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  43. I was born to a father who said he was a pilot (yet to be determined) and a fashion model mother in 1960. Thank you for following my blog and I look forward to reading more of yours. Just had cataract surgery and working all weekend so vision is a bit iffy.

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  44. Thank you for the follow 🙂 You have travelled far and wide inside and out ! You have an abundance of experience and resilience which I’m sure serves you well in your journey through life. Blessings to you 🙂

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