MEGAN CHAMBERLAIN

Back in London again and my first day back the sun was out. I seem to have missed all the really mean weather.

So much has happened since I last posted. I left Cape Town on Monday the 19th. When I got to the airport my luggage weighed 34kilos and the allowance is 20kilos. So Wendy had to take stuff back for me to be posted later. It was a lot lighter with the books gone but still weighed 26kilos but the nice airline people let me get away with that. Of course 4 pairs of heavy winter shoes most probably accounted for a lot of the weight.
I really had a nice time flying with Qatar airlines, lovely crew, literally hundreds of movies to watch and the best was I had an empty seat next to me on both flights so I managed to put my feet up and sleep. The only down side of the trip is the time it takes, 11 1/2 hrs to Doha, a 5 hr wait and then 8 hrs to London. I was a bit tired by the time we landed and then the tube journey is an 1 1/2 hrs.

I miss talking to Wendy as we are back to phone calls and that can be a bit frustrating as there is always something that I forget to mention and of course I miss my kitties. Apparently the kitties are going to have to go on diet, being stuck in the cattery all the time means they are not getting enough of their usual exercise. At least the time is almost here for them to move to France.

One more hurdle in the saga of the Chamberlain family move was for me to get a Schengen visa. I made the appointment with the French embassy 3 weeks ago and set off this morning. My appointment was for 10:00, luckily I got there early as at 9:15 I was third in the queue. At 10:00 exactly you are let in the doors, we have been standing outside in the cold weather until then and now there must be at least 20 people in the queue (at least it wasn't raining - much). Now you pay and get a number, and sit and wait to be called. Of course then you start panicking that you have got all the right papers and haven't forgotten something or didn't know that you needed something else ( luckily I phoned yesterday and found out I needed travel insurance, I got it online from my bank for £20 otherwise the embassy offers you insurance for £50 - and you have to take it. ) If you get sent away because you haven't got everything you have to start again and make another appointment. Really crazy.
1 1/2 hrs of waiting and I get called, it only took a few minutes and then she gave me another number and I had to wait for my passport. I was out of there at 12:15 with a new visa in my passport. Thank goodness.
Now I can run off to France when I feel like it. Most importantly I can go with Wendy and my Dad to meet the kitties from the plane and get them settled in their new 6 month home.

Now back to bear making, some orders and the Hugglets show is just around the corner. I also need to look for a part-time job to help support the kitties, they do have expensive tastes :-) and it does help to pay the rent.