Scott and Barbie

We had a Christmas letter from Australia this morning. Christmas is brilliant, the way it brings with it news of old friends.
Barbie was a close friend when we were both young mothers far from home in a refinery camp in Venezuela in 1965/66. Scott and our daughter were just two weeks different in age, so Barbie and I shared the worries and joys of motherhood together. While Scott and Anna played happily we became firm friends, despite our very different backgrounds, Barbie from Brisbane and me from Surrey, UK. When we were both finally repatriated we kept in touch by letter, mostly just at Christmas time. We have met in the intervening years, when they were posted to The Hague and, more recently, when they were on holiday in the UK.
Barbie was probably one of the closest friends I have ever had, so it was brilliant to hear from her today.

I have given you the location of the refinery so you can see how remote we were.