August 2014

The July blogging interlude was unintended true enough – but taking a short break due to social commitments and such, has proven beneficial in order to reflect on life in general, and friendships in particular.

For a few weeks there…our small, normally quiet home, was a hive of activity as we welcomed our long-standing friend, his lovely wife and their three kiddie-winks to stay.  But I’m starting at the end….so please bear with me for a quick recap on how we arrived here.

It began in Africa (West Africa) in the late 1990’s,…when two young men from opposite ends of the globe were thrown together with a common purpose of testing rocks (lots of rocks) for gold content. Trying to make a profit for their employer; trying (and oft-times failing miserably) to conquer all the challenges that working on the dark continent brings…they were also occupied with trying to keep their precious sanity intact!  It was a job….an existence – that above all else, and believe it or not, required a master’s degree in “Jerry-rigging”.  Seriously, if you didn’t have this qualification going in….you soon would!

“Friends for Life!” the three of us declared…one drunken night on a beach in Accra, Ghana – almost 20 yrs ago now. Too busy with our respective lives since then to be avid Facebook or Skype buddies, we’ve fallen into a pattern of face-to-face visits every 5-10 years – and it seems to work for us!

Clearly this is not the usual photography challenge, wherein I try (often without much success!) to express my photographic creativity – it is in fact part of my (our) life story…simply stated…it’s real!

Pete (aka: dear husband) getting around and overseeing (precariously) the building of things.

…dear friend (JP)…enjoying one of the fleeting connections with expat colleagues – and so the friendship of two grows.

 ….the perfect African work vehicle would be an…’aqua car’!

 ….and then there were three…an Aussie, a Canuck and a Brit!

Above (Oct 1996):  first dinner with now dear husband (in the middle) and good friend (JP),….it was a fun occasion in Accra, Ghana, with a squad of really cool work colleagues.

 …and so it came to be…us – that is!

 ….out of Africa for a break and enjoying the bustle of City of London

….Pete caught the flu and wasn’t feeling up to the Thames River Cruise.

 …the flu turned out to be a near-fatal case of malaria – sometime early 1997 I think (tried to forget!)

 ….back in Vancouver and a visit from dear friend (JP) and his lovely new wife (circa 2001-2)

…and then along came the kiddie winks!

….friends become family!

 …here we are – and what fun! (July 2014)

….and friends stay friends…through an irrevocable connection – we say…. and believe, it’s lifelong!