It's hard to believe that we've been in the UK for nearly seven years. It seems like just yesterday that I was at an interview at the Waterfront in Cape Town asking Edward what I should stay if I was offered a job.
However, when I look back at the pictures taken soon after we arrived, it's clear how much the boys have grown up since then. Here's a peek just to remind you of the boys: first there's the three of them washing the dishes in our first flat. Daniel was just a baby, Timothy was a chubby chappie and Christopher at just thirteen was younger than Daniel is now.
The other picture shows Chris with Ulf Maske. They found us by calling the university I was based at for the first four days and reached me just as I was leaving the dormitory for the last time. They were leaving on holiday that day and were calling to tell us where they were leaving the key if we were looking for a place to stay.
What an adventure it all turned out to be: we travelled on the train and underground without any idea of where we were going. Can you imagine a family with all their bags on the train???? We were convinced people would find us just a bit strange but soon discovered that this was how people travelled in London all the time. And soon we were in the swing of it too: using the bus, train, tube and tram to get everywhere.
Ralph Waldo Emerson said: "Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood." Here was a critical lessson for us - we had said that we were coming to London for the start of a new season in our lives and the only way we would cope was if we were prepared to move away from the way we had done things in the past and be ready to embrace the different way of living, even if we weren't entirely sure where it would take us.
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