Christmas in the warm

Stepping off the plane from -3 degrees in England to +24 degrees in Cape Town was a pleasant feeling, though we were far too over dressed, with socks, shoes, coats and scarves - shedding layers as we drove across town to our new home in Muizenberg.

It has been a great time meeting and greeting folk from the time we were here last and seeing some new faces around. People have been extremely accommodating and welcoming.

Becky's pregnancy is going well and we're due to go for the next check-up (with our new midwife) next Tuesday. The house we've moved into is lovely, albeit a bit furniture-less. Over the past week we have managed to acquire a refrigerator, two sofas (although one needs repairing - time to buy some tools!), a kettle, a toaster, a single bed (yes, we know, a double bed would be better, but as it stands double beds are hard to come by or extremely expensive).

Christmas is not going to be the same without family around us. We will definitely miss all in England and wish we could be there with them. We had our work Christmas 'do' which was a picnic in the park with salad, chicken wraps and soft drinks. It's not like any Christmas meal we've had before! Christmas falls in the middle of a long summer break in SA, so while everyone in England is busy with carol concerts and family gatherings with mince pies and mulled wine, most here are gradually winding up their work to go on a camping holiday or something similar. Muizenberg will certainly be quiet this year. We have attempted to decorate our house with some fairy lights, but it is still looking somewhat bare!

Some friends (those who haven't left already) have invited us over to celebrate Christmas with them, which will be lovely.

Please keep sending us your messages, we love to get your updates on how things are going your end. You can email us, pete@clemison.co.uk or Facebook message us, or call, +44 (0)1344 576494.