Surprise! .... again?

Surprise surprise! As the old saying goes, everything always works out perfectly, Matt and I managed to scoot back to Jersey for (father-in-law) Guy’s 60th birthday party. Matt had a company seminar he had to attend in Hamburg in early April and we thought what a perfect excuse to go a bit early and celebrate Guy’s birthday in Jersey. And although the party wasn’t a surprise, our arrival was, thanks to the organization and careful orchestration by (mother-in-law) Sue and her secret email account – many thanks!

Aunt Caroline and Uncle Roger also came down from Liverpool as a surprise but unfortunately plans got a bit mixed up and although it was organized so that Guy would accidentally “bump” into R&C at the local grocery store, things got a bit muddled and the whole thing ended up being exposed in the parking lot. Oh well, it was a memorable moment nonetheless.

Matt’s sister, Claire, and her boyfriend, Anthony, are also here, having just moved back for a few months to work and housesit and look after the much-loved family cat, Beavis. So it was a full house indeed, so full that the septic tank couldn’t handle the overtime and some emergency measures had to be taken immediately.

Like my last visit, I’ve had the most wonderful time, taking long walks down in the valley and along cliff paths; dining on fresh veggies from the garden, locally caught oysters (Roger’s obsession for the weekend!) and delicious South African sausages cooked on the BBQ (Roger’s second obsession of the trip); meeting family and family-friends again and being immersed in what is truly a unique feel of island paradise this side of the hemisphere.

Unlike my last visit, things are a lot more relaxed: there are no worries about losing wedding rings, fixing hair appointments the day of the wedding, wondering if the sun will shine or if we’ll get rained in during the reception, setting up the marquee and ensuring all was in place, food, drinks, decoration, and guests included…. And as fun and exciting our Jersey July wedding was, it’s nice to be back and be familiar with it all, introductions out of the way with.The plan is to spend a few days in Jersey, see Matt off at the airport on the 4th of April where he'll fly to Hamburg for work, I'll join Sue and Guy on the ferry crossing to France on the 6th where we'll then drive down to the family chalet and enjoy the peace and quiet there, Matt will fly down on the morning of the 8th, we'll all chill out for a few days and listen to the owls at night, then on April11th we'll make the long yet familiar trek back to HK.

I’m quite getting used to this London-Hong Kong route on Cathay Pacific and I think we’ve seen most of the shows and movies offered on the personal tv sets for passengers. They change the shows every month so I’m quite looking forward to April’s “long-haul flight to HK” listing. I’ve seen the same episode of America’s Next Top Model several times already and it’s more than I can take. But that's later. Right now my only concern is to enjoy NOW.

Pic 1: Guy's reaction when he saw us at the door
Pic 2: Enjoying delicious fresh-caught oysters in sunlit kitchen. L-R: Matt, Me, Claire, Anthony, Roger
Pic 3: Having a cuppa on top of hill at St. Ouen's beach. L-R: Matt, Sue, Guy, Caroline, Roger (note red Kazakh hat along with red shoes)