Tales from The Shire

maggiem

Such good news about the visas. I will really miss your regular diary though, you've helped me to try some lovely new recipes and made me think about more creative work too. 

Hope the family settle quickly. 

ruby_eskimo

So happy to hear the visas have come through and wishing you all the best with the exciting plans to give yourself a little more freedom.

Fortune_Smiles

Goodbyes

Our Sunflowers are leaving us today to return to Ukraine.  Their husbands expect to be conscripted into the Ukrainian Army imminently and there is an elderly granny who will be left without care if that happens.  It's been a big decision for them and not one made lightly.  They may have to return to us as food, medicine and work are hard to come by in Ukraine at the moment.  However, that's unlikely to be within the next fortnight which means they will lose their places on the Homes for Ukraine Scheme.  So, if they do return it will be on a different basis.

It's been an amazing experience hosting them.  I have been constantly in awe of their resilience and good humour in this most trying of circumstances.  They are lovely people and we have a great deal in common.  We have become the best of friends.

Hosting refugees was not something we'd planned of course, it just felt like the right thing to do at the time.  We put our personal goals on hold whilst we concentrated on providing the support our guests needed and we'll continue to help them in any way we can.  However, now they have made the decision to return we'll need to make some plans for us.

It's a new chapter... and that calls for a new diary - https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6371077/holding-on-and-letting-go#latest

Fortune x

Cheery_Daff

Fortune! Hello! Lovely to see you, I'll head over to your new diary in a minute. All fingers crossed for your Ukrainian friends. A colleague at work is also hosting and there are all manner of complexities but they are fast becoming firm friends too.

Right, new diary!