Hi everyone!

I bet you didn’t expect to see me here…? After much thought, lots of back and forwards with my parents in Sydney and with the Australian government saying it is unlikely to change mandatory quarantine rules for the rest of 2021, I decided - no time like the present and I got on that plane.

It’s been one very strange journey! With only 26 passengers on my Singapore Airlines flight leaving Heathrow on Tuesday morning, I knew it wasn’t going to be a “normal” trip home. I still got that butterfly feeling that I get every time I fly into Sydney, its twinkling lights and beautiful harbour at night, the Harbour Bridge and Opera House lit up like beacons, reminding me in a very Dorothy way…there is no place like home.

Once we touched down though it couldn’t have been more different to my other arrivals. We were greeted with health officials in Hazmat, friendly faces and Aussie voices behind the surgical masks asking me lots of questions on likely symptoms. We progressed through a “process” in an orderly que, going through the motions of border control and customs. It all got a little weird after that - the Police took over at this point and to say the last part of the process left me a little anxious would be a bit of an understatement! Then began a magical mystery tour through the streets of Sydney, wondering where I was going to be taken, where I would spend my next 14 days in mandatory hotel quarantine.

Above is a picture of my room. I was desperately hoping for a view of the Harbour, my worst fears were that I would spend my 14 days looking out a brick wall ! In the end it was neither - a street scape of people living normal lives, something I hadn’t seen in England for such a very long time. How could it be that life was going on as normal here, when all of our lives in the UK and other parts of the globe were in complete shutdown? Normal life here seems to have hardly missed a beat… I think I will find it very strange when I emerge butterfly-like from my quarantine chrysalis in 12 days time.

So far so good, but I’m only on day 2. You may find me posting a little differently on day 13!

I am going to try to focus on all the great things that I am going to do when I get out of here…like seeing my family and friends, my parents especially. I am also looking forward to meeting up with some possible Australian suppliers for Island Home, hoping to find a few gems to bring home to you all for this spring/summer. To get us all in the mood for some sunshine and warm weather that is surely just around the corner for us all in the UK, I am also planning a few sun, sand and surf photo ops with some of our current Island Home products and a few new items that I have been working on as well…

Just to let you know, Island Home is in safe hands while I spend this time in Australia. My wonderful husband Paul and my brilliant staffer Catherine will make sure all your orders arrive safely to you in a timely manner, just as you have come to expect from us.

So, its likely I will be a little more chatty on the blog front in the next few weeks - I hope you all don’t mind! As travel is a rare thing for all of us at the moment, I will try and share some of the best parts of my travels with you all, get you all in the mood for the brilliant UK summer we have to look forward to - with all of us able to finally spend some precious time with family and friends.

Stay safe everyone, and looking forward to speaking to you all again really soon ! x