INTRODUCTION

When I was young, people often asked me "What do you want to be when you grow up?" Having lived in five different countries, I still seem to be making it up as I go along. At the age of nineteen, I packed my bags and left my home in England and headed for South Africa. A strange twist of fate then took me from the comforts of Durban to the mountains of Lesotho where I expected to stay for a period of three months. My departure was somewhat delayed however, and twenty three years later, I repacked my bags and moved across the border to a derelict farm in South Africa where I and my second husband worked to create a home and raise a herd of beef cattle. Eight years on, and with both security and financial situations equally precarious, we sadly sold up and moved back to England. We had begun to grudgingly settle in to a rather dull existence when the offer of a relocation to Miami came to us, and without a second thought, we packed our suitcases once more and headed for Florida. Is this the end of the road for us - who knows! With children and grandchildren now living in Australia and France, I have my doubts. I have discovered that the trick is to travel light, keep our options open and make the most of whatever life offers.