Hello all…I am writing this from my parents house in Plymouth..feeling rested..well fed and glad to be home again!We spent our last night in Delhi in a revolving restaurant which was lovely..and made it to the airport on time.We said our tearful goodbyes to Javid and Kirsty..awful to leave them..but very grateful for them coming to Delhi with us..they have to travel all the way back now..its quite a trek to Goa.We had a problem getting onto our flights they said we needed to pay them 50 pounds each because we had changed our date!!it was thier mistake and after lots of phonecalls to virgin..we were ushered onto the plane(jumped lots of ques!!great)at 1.15 the time it was supposed to take off!!it took off at nearly 2 and we had a great flight which landed early!Watched lots of films and the kids behaved really well..had roast chicken and mash on the flight..lovely!!So thankfull to land safely!We were met by my sister Esther and Dave..she ran straight through the no entry barrier and screamed her head off when she saw us..fantastic welcome home!!!!they drove us down to Cornwall..where we were greeted by my parents and welcome home stickers and balloons!!!lovely to see them..but felt like a dream!England looks so green and is so quiet compared to India..everything is so clean..and enjoying the cool air and light evenings.We are soon travelling to see Hamish`s parents in stroud..cant wait to see them..then up to Southport so the kids can start school Friday!!mad week!We cant quite believe this amazing year is over..but thankful for the time we have had..its been great for us as a couple, as a family ,to do something adventurous..I hope everyone wont be too bored in a couple of weeks!WE are thankful to God for keeping everyone safe and well it has been like Veronica said at the start..A year of favour!!its been great and we have learnt so much!!We are excited to be back and get stuck back in to life here..church..songwriting(dying to play the piano again)and see what presents to us……cant wait to see friends soon..thanks to all who have emailed us and prayed for us..we appreciate it… it has kept us going on the days where nothing went to plan or made sense!Hope you enjoy the re union photos and the last fw ons of Delhi..Love to you all Rachel Hamish and children.XXXXXXXX

Well we survived the 36 hour journey to Delhi..the train was an hour late but arrived 2 hours early..tell me how that works!

Delhi has lovely green parks grand buildings and feels very different to Mumbai…but the general traffic chaos is the same. We saw some interesting sights on the train…people living in all sorts of imaginable…and at times unimaginable places..along the tracks are communities who collect rubbish t hat has been thrown off the train…mainly plastic bottles that people collect and recycle for money…food and allsorts.

It felt so awful to do it but apparently we will be helping people. Every available space is lived in..

and people can sleep anywhere!!in the middle of the central reservation on the main highway!!the noise and pollution is amazing!!we all have blocked noses from awful air quality ,apparently breathing air in every major Indian city is equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. We all piled in a taxi..but the boot space was taken up with massive state of the art speakers..so luggage was held on knees and the roof..I have come to the conclusion there are many DJ`s trapped inside taxi drivers bodies here!!the bass was ace ..could feel it pounding in your chest(or was that the luggage?)then he started dancing with his head..what a mover! Everything is so entertaining here..anything goes!!Beggars are everywhere..some are ok ,but some are crippled or look extremely unwell..and always sad seeing very young toddlers on the streets..its horrible but you do get used to it..and almost put it on a sliding scale..the problem is..it is on mass..like nowhere I have seen…where does the help start? it is very daunting. That said..people seem happy and contented and there is amazing community and human spirit which is something the west has lost to a certain extent..they can live on the streets and be happy with it..because they have a strong community network..yet us westerners have more than we ever need and are depressed and lonely(gross generalizations there..but you get my drift).We went to the Taj Mahal yesterday in a taxi!!it was 4 hours there..the roads are hilarious and terrifying!!camels and cows pulling things..rickshaws..human and animal..things coming down the wrong way..across..people crossing with herds of animals(this is a major motorway!)no lights…on many of the cars..and even though it was 2 lanes the Indians manage to make it 4!!lots of bumps happen and no one gets cross..they just carry on..apparently someone dies on India’s roads every 6 seconds!!I am surprised its not more!!I am thankful our driver was very good….and we were safe! The Taj was utterly beautiful..loved it..so romantic….stunning place..it is a love memorial….had a wonderful time. The children and I got constantly asked to pose with Indian families..which was weird..Flora got fed up of new found fame and flatly refused after the 15^th photo shoot..cant say I blame her!!Hope you enjoy the photos of the sights and sounds(sorry I cant send some smells!)that are India. India is a place that has left me wanting to see more even though I don’t know why..a unique country!!and a great one to take young children to..there is something interesting to see everywhere you look….it can make you laugh and cry in the space of a few short minutes. And now back to England..what a contrast it will be!!will write when we get there..just one more plane ride to get through! pray for our safe travels..love Rachel Hamish and children!

More Taj Mahal

Seths Pics

Click collage pic for photo album

Click pic below for loads of pics.

Some pics.

Click image below for album

Don’t forget to check the album

Hi an update from oz

Well we enjoyed travelling down the great ocean road..beautiful…camping improved ..no more sickness in the tent.We made our way safely to Victor harbour in the south..and were greeted by Linda and Colin..who are extraordinary people!!so hospitable and welcoming we had a wonderful time and feel we had known them for years….they also introduced us to their church southern gateway and we had a brilliant time..a great bunch of folk doing a great job there.We left for the desert with our tent and a blanket..aircraft cutlery(stolen for survival purposes)rested and looking forward to our trip.It got very hot ..very quick..sleeping in a sauna on gravel in coober pedy was interesting..what a strange place..people live underground to escape the searing heat..and we choose to sleep under two layers of polyurethane!the pool really lifted our spirits in the morning.It took 3 days driving to reach uluru(ayers rock)and we were beginning to wonder if it was worth it..It was…we had a great time here in the desert..so different a landscape and culture..we loved the desert so much..gorgeous colour and light I just wanted to get my paints out!We walked around the base of the rock…in great time to see the sun setting all of its colours on this amazing monolith that rises out of nowhere.We also walked in the olgas..forgotten the aboriginal name…and Kings canyon..amazing.We did plenty of real bush camping..a little jumpy to me who isn’t a great lover of huge insects and snakes..we saw lots much to the children’s delight..Seth wont shut up about the creatures we found for at least another year!We headed on to the coast another 3 day drive..kids getting really fed up on the last day..6 hours in a hot car got the better of all of us..we ended up shouting and deciding we were going home to comfy beds..food(peanut butter and noodles..I will never stock in my cupboard again!!!)and sensible weather!!!!it was all over when solace was found in an ice cream and the kids were friends with Australia again.We travelled through mining towns and met lots of drunken men in swimming pools which seemed to attach to me for the whole evening..Hamish sits on the side grinning or reading his book!We went through Alice springs which was an interesting place..lots to see..loads of aboriginis live here it felt very different to anywhere else we had been.I.was drawn to the didgeridoo shop there…and the guy did workshops in the afternoon..the children and I went..I wanted to stay all week and learn it..the guy was an amazing player I could of listened to him forever..fantastic..I have one at home so when I return I will be harassing the neighbours with dulcet towns of Austrailias outback!Townsville in the tropics was good..had a great sea front with water parks for the kids spent a few cooling off hours there and got too much sunburn.Down the coast to Airlie beach a great camping ground lagoon on the beach..and we treated ourselves to a trip to the great barrier reef…fantastic to see this underwater world..Flora reckons she saw a reef shark…but no one else did..but she got out pretty quick afterwards..so who knows!Another few days down the queensland coast..(very flooded)and we eventually arrived near Brisbane..at Dee and Davids House..again an amazing couple so busy yet allowed us to recoup in thier home..we are so very thankful to God for all these amazing people who have been so hospitable..it has helped us so much.We took the kids to Steve Irwins Zoo yesterday..had a brilliant day..saw alsorts from cute koalas to Crocs..we held pythons alligators Kangaroos..a fantastic zoo everyone was so friendly and up beat..like the man himself…the kids had a wonderful day they wont forget..some lovely photos to follow this blog soon..just cant do it at the moment..so keep an eye out.We fly out to Singapore tomorrow night..and our trek around Malaysia and Borneo is to begin….then on to India in a few weeks.I think this is the scariest bit we are not familiar with Asia but are told its very cheap which is gonna help..we are going to leave our tent here(I`m personally distraught our camping trip is over…)Cant wait to come home now..keep us in your thoughts and prayers..lots of love Rachel Hamish and children,

Swan Hill was hot and dry, but they had a great outdoor pool where the children enjoyed doing stunts off the diving board… and enjoyed watching us try too!

We got involved with a small church there, lovely people, full of faith and made us feel so welcome.

We even met a crazy but lovely (i say crazy in a complimentry way) artist! just before we left. We visited her just as were leaving and saw her work which was fanatastic… I love it, her name is Toni Jessop check her out. She gave us a painting for my CD’s we were both delighted with our swap our painting is gorgeous and will be treasured!

We visited the local art gallery and in the centre was a full size Stienway Grand Piano and Hamish asked if I could play it and I did and they said they would love me to play it any time how brill so been writing some new stuff in an art gallery on a fantastic piano!! I am so blessed!

Left Swan Hill for our friends in South Australia south of Adelaide but we went via the Great Ocean Road. A great drive it was beautiful!! Photos will follow and the Blue lake at Mt Gambier.

Long drives and near the end of our budget so we have been camping!!! and it is OK the kids very excited about it. But the first night was a typical Macdonald tale!!

We camped near a beach and had a walk on the sandhills saw a Kangeroo and then an Echidna( a wierd spikey creature with a large snout…very cute.

So our first night of camping was a spectacular one but for all the wrong reasons!! We settled into our little tent (a warehouse bargain!) on our charity shops (called here Op shops short for oppurtunity shops) blankets and sleeping bags, feeling very pleased with ourselves…..Then our Darcy said she felt sick….well those of you with kids know there are kids you have to lie with and comfort for ages when they feel sick and there are kids who give you a 2 second warning!! Well our daughter is off the latter variety!!!

It exploded like a volcano…over our beds…. you would had thought there was a Croc in our tent at the speed we all got out!!!

After a shower and a major overhaul of availiable clean blankets…we had a cold nights sleep and awoke to pouring rain!!!! It felt like we were in the Lake District!

I do think camping is a necesary evil and most definatly overrated!!

We are now with some friend and have a room to ourselves and a bathroom and been made to feel so welcome… we are thankful toGod for peoples hospitality.

I sang in the church last week and again tomoorow, which is a great oppurtunity to share with other people.

We will write again soon, honest!!

Click picture to open photo album

Hi since we last wrote we traveled to Coffs harbor..and took lots of evening beach pics..of the surfing beaches after Sydney which was wet but great fun..Check out the fruit bats in the park!then we traveled to the blue mountains which were beautiful..great canyons and waterfalls..just lovely.As you can see we spotted lots of kangaroos..and Flora and Seth fed one!We have driven miles of flat scrub land..you can easy drive a good few hours without seeing any sign of life..(apart from the wildlife).We have had a wonderful time 2 hours north of Melbourne with friends we have been made very welcome..and its been really relaxing.Went along to a church last Sunday and were invited to dinner..then went out on the Murray river in his little speedboat and fished(got 1 much to our kids delight).They invited us to Kangaroo lake yesterday and we had such a laugh in the boat..swimming..being pulled on a huge donut thing behind the boat..called a biscuit!!and then had a go at knee boarding..the Australians and their weird and wonderful sports are quite mad!!we had a fab time.Also the kids went kayaking…a great evening ended with a most amazing sunset..hope you like the pics..catch you soon..love Rachel.x

Photo Album