When life took a dive we took the plunge

1:45pm Monday 21st January 2008

IN July 2003 I did something that I didn't think I would actually do. I left my home in Langdon Hills and moved with my husband, daughter and my husband's parents to Tobago to set up our own diving business.

Like many other people, we wanted something more for our kids - or kid at the time. We were fed up with 12 hour days working in London and felt that the only time we could really relax and enjoy what we had was when we were on holiday.

The wouldn't it be nice if this were our life conversation happened over and over, and, eventually one Sunday afternoon in 2001, the conversation occurred over a barbeque with Marks' parents, who already ran a diving business in Fobbing. I suggested we all move abroad and set up a dive business and as we discussed it more and more we kept coming back to why not? Although there was never a time frame put on it and no firm plans laid down.

Then several things occurred which were completely unrelated. My mum had been diagnosed with cancer in late 2000, and although she seemed to respond well to treatment, all of a sudden she went rapidly downhill in July 2001, and died in Southend hospital at the age of (almost) 62. She never looked her age, never acted her age and was the most fantastic person, full of life until it hit, then she aged fast. That, in itself wasn't enough to make me leave - after all, I still had the rest of my family around, and it bought us all closer still. It did, however, make me realise that you don't know what's around the corner, and that you can work really hard all your life, then sit back to enjoy it, only to find that you're not in a position to enjoy it.

That was in the July. 2002 came and was heading rapidly towards 2003, with more whimsical conversations, though at this point, they'd definitely started to become less fantasy and more logistical. Mark was working in London and really wasn't enjoying his job at all, though as an IT Manager, he made great money and we'd managed to get some savings behind us, which was very fortunate, as he was made redundant on December 7th 2002. By December 9th, we had a plan.

We came out for good on 23rd September 2003, and we've not been back to the UK since.

As to what I miss most about England, I left some amazing friends there, as well as family, and that's what I miss, but thank God for webcam and internet messenger. I speak to both sisters and my dad at least once a day and with webcam I can physically see them.

One last thing, I may be thousands of miles from home but one of the first questions I was asked when we got to Tobago was Is it true what they say about Essex Girls? We're infamous!

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