A week to forget!

Well folks, apologies for the lack of info over the last few days but it has been a pretty miserable time.
After training last Friday I got back to the hotel with a list of missed calls and texts.  The general message was ring home a.s.a.p.  The second I read the first message I knew what was up, something in the pit of my stomach knew what happened.  I got news that nobody ever wants to hear whether it be family or friends, my Granny had died.  The first person I was talking to was my sister and through the tears see told me the news, next on the phone was my dad who told me what happened, how and when.  To tell you the truth it didn’t really sink in at first and even over the next few days but the horrible feeling still comes and goes. 
The next problem I had was getting out of Palma in a hurry! I didn’t have my passport as it was away getting a visa on it and it was Friday evening and there was no one to ring and ask.  With no passport I took the gamble and booked flights for Monday afternoon hoping I could sort something out that morning.  Thankfully Andy couldn’t have been any better, he told me to do whatever it takes to get home and forget about the training, in the end of the day it’s only bike riding and I’m not sure what I would have done if I missed my Granny’s funeral.  The rest of the weekend was spent trying to train and trying to get all the correct phone numbers and addresses together that I would need to get in touch with the local embassy.  The embassy opened at 8.30 Monday morning and I planned to be there as they unlocked the door.  Palma being Palma though everywhere looked the same and the address I had turned out to be the wrong one.  Last resort for me was to ring them and find out where they were, turns out I was miles away.  Once at the embassy I was amazed at how quickly they got me sorted and issued me with an emergency passport, I was back at the hotel by 10am and had time get out for a spin before heading to the airport.  Before I knew it I was sitting at the gate ready to board the plane and had no trouble getting there with my funny looking passport, next stop London.  In London I had a 5 hour wait and that’s enough to annoy anyone, overpriced food and drink everywhere and plenty of things to waste your money on.  Finally the flight was ready to go and by the time it would land it was 11.15pm.  I’d been on the go since 8am this morning and let’s just say I was pretty tired.  Grace met me at the airport, gave me a big hug and took me straight home, I couldn’t have been any happier given the circumstances.
I’m going to skip over what happened the next day but what I will say is there is nothing more finally than seeing someone you cared about and cared about you being lowered into the ground, it’s horrible and not something I what to happen again anytime soon.
As I type this I am actually in the air heading back to Palma, I have tomorrow to get my head back into gear and then it’s onwards to Beijing.  I’ll keep you all posted on what the next few days bring and hopefully it’s all good.
R.I.P Granny, I’m going to miss ya!
M

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