New friends

A really lovely consequence of this journey has been the people we have met and befriended, which was unexpected.

Not a new friend, but a very old friendship going back to 1985!! Suzette and her family welcomed us to Melbourne and showed immense kindness and hospitality, we were so grateful to be part of their amazing family. Thank you for the feast, the laughter, the non stop conversations and all round good times! Fabulous to get to know Nikita and Michael and reunite with Michelle, Perry and Mrs Boustead! Will miss you guys.

The Q Suites be EWA proved to be a sanctuary for a week in Jeddah, but even more wonderful and unexpected was the friend we made, Mr Mohamed Fekry. A charming, intelligent and kind man who took us under his wing and showed us some wonderful sights but more special, we found common ground in our values, ideals and world views. We value his friendship and hope to see him again in either Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Thank you Mohamed, we will never forget sharing Iftar with you and your generosity of spirit.

A remarkable thing happened at the Saudi Grand Prix, sitting in the seats directly behind us were a couple who had been on the same guided tour of Al Fateh Mosque in Bahrain! They recognised us (??), shoulder tapped us and we spent the next 3 days with Claudiu and Paula from Romania! Avid F1 fans, they have been to many Grand Prix in the past and Claudiu has some phenomenal photographs of himself with lots of drivers (I am just a teeny bit envious!!) We will meet up again in Monza and Abu Dhabi, in the meantime we are furiously Whatsapping as F1 events unfold (McLaren getting rid of their technical director etc etc!)

Coming back on the bus from Day 2 of the Bahrain Grand Prix we met Josie and Martin! They are UK expats living in Abu Dhabi – massive F1 fans and fabulous company! Josie and I are now having ongoing conversations about Mercedes, Max and the racing – gotta love Whatsapp!! Josie has also been really helpful with Saudi info. We’re looking forward to seeing them again at the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.

F1 fans are very serious about the sport and very passionate about the teams and drivers. Waiting for gates to open at Saudi GP, huddled in the only (tiny) shaded area are a group of European fans (and us). Great, lively conversation and sharing of knowledge on getting to other Grand Prix, getting around this one, which team is doing what etc. We are joined by a lovely ex-pat currently living in Jeddah from Zambia. He and I instantly recognise one another’s’ Southern African accents and spend the next 45 mins discussing everything from politics, sport, life in Saudi to F1. Turns out he and his wife have tickets for the same grandstand as ours although they are only there for the actual race. On Sunday we catch up with them (too briefly, sadly), hello to Eleanor and Nick, thoroughly enjoyed meeting you!