Adam and I played host to our first visitors from Australia late last week. Kerri and Adrian have been friends with my parents for years – the sort of people in your life you can never remember not knowing.
They’ve been in Italy, Malta and England on a lovely long holiday and made the time to spend the day in Malvern with us.
It was both exciting and nerve-wracking to see someone from my ‘Australian life’ – for so many months now I’ve lived in this little isolated bubble, communicating with friends and family via video chats, emails and social media posts. To see someone in real life, felt like the merging of my two existences – Australia and England – finally merging into the one life. The butterflies instantly disappeared though as soon as we all met up. After cuddles and cups of tea we made our way into Malvern.
Lunch was at a favourite cafe in town and afterwards we wandered through the Malvern Priory and into the town’s ‘Winter Garden’.
Kerri and Adrian timed their visit with the best weather of the week, so we popped up onto the hills for a look and to see the last of the spring bluebells, which had well and truly spread since Adam and my last visit.
It was lovely to be able to share what I love about Malvern with people dear to me. It was a strange feeling playing tour guide, when just a few short months ago, I was the one being shown around.
As fate would have it, I kept on running into people I knew while we were out and about. I felt like a real Malvern local. There was Yasemin at the pharmacy, Sue at the supermarket and Claire at the pub. It made me realise how very lucky I am to know and care about people from so many places and with life experiences so very different to my own. I got that warm little glow in my heart, knowing that I had a sense of belonging here in England, as well as in Australia.
On a side note, Adam and I currently in the Peak District! We’ve snuck off for a few days before Adam settles into a very busy few weeks working away from home. Looking forward to sharing more with you soon.
Have a lovely start to the week. x
Wattle and Ash 
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