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  • Suzie

Travel - It's in the Genes

Updated: Feb 23, 2020


My Mum - Sally. She had a motorbike in her 20's and lived on a small boat on the Thames in London, where she worked as a makeup artist for the BBC. Following that, she moved to beautiful West Wales with my Dad (where I grew up) and trained as a Medical Herbalist. Later, when they split, she met another Tony who had a long history of love for motorbikes and a thirst for travel, having worked as a teacher in Australia for a while and travelled all over Australia in a 4x4. Mum has travelled a lot with Tony since then and they've been together for over 20 years. They regularly go away travelling on a Junk Rig sailing boat 'Ron Glas' that they brought back to life by their own hands. She now sells her vibrant paintings, inspired by places they have travelled and beautiful photographs she has taken - Textures In Motion.

My Dad - Also called Tony, he had travelled all over the globe and as a child spent some time living in America with my cousins, and attended Howe Military School in Indiana. He travelled all over Europe and also worked in Ghana, Africa for a time. His last work was as a magazine editor in London, for Hot Car Magazine, Car Mechanics Magazine, Sports Car Mechanics and Boating Magazine. He did some testing out in Morocco, and when we lived in Wales he bought a Triumph Herald and taught me to drive up and down our bumpy country track when I was about 11 years old. He did love the Triumph Herald and wrote many articles about them! He had also lived on a boat on the Thames for some while, which is how he met my mum. Sadly, we lost him suddenly and unexpectedly on 18/01/2009 and he will never be forgotten.

My Grandma - Margaret. Now 90, she has travelled from a young age and also rode a 125cc motorcycle in her time. In 1945, just after the war ended, she bought a one way ticket to Kenya. She managed to get a job as a secretary in Nairobi, so very brave for a young woman back then. She was there for a while and then returned to the UK, and met my grandfather (sadly no longer with us) at the Mary Ward Settlement in London.

My Brother - Ben. He has travelled to Finland several times, he has travelled to the USA on multiple occasions including to New York, Oregon, Michigan and Indiana, and has also spent several months travelling around Europe in a VW Transporter fitted out as a camper van. He recently raised money for Bobath Wales, which is a charity close to his heart. He kayaked with his best friend Tom from North Wales to Cardiff as part of Sea Beyond Disability, which they set up together to challenge Disability perceptions. I can't wait to hear what's next on their list.

My Step Sisters - Sian and Megan. My eldest step sister Sian now lives in Kenya, Africa and is the director of Education Matters in East Africa. She is married to a lovely Kenyan man, Issa, and has a gorgeous son, Caleb. She has been in Kenya for several years now and absolutely loves the culture and her work. Megan, my younger step sister has also been travelling a lot, and spent a couple of years living and working in Canada, including at the Winter Olympics 2010 in Vancouver, and recently travelled to Colombia in South America. Both of them also carry dual nationality to the UK and Australia, thanks to Tony, not that I am at all envious.


Kelvin's Mum and Dad - Val and Derek - His mum has lived in San Fransisco and together they have travelled to many countries all over the world on various trips, including Peru, Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay in South America, Canada, USA, Mexico, Egypt, Iceland and throughout Europe. They have also visited Southern Africa including South Africa, Zambia and Botswana, so travelled quite extensively.


Kelvin's dad Derek has done a significant amount of Ancestory and family tree research, and has discovered that they have several family ties to South America, we may even get to meet one or two of them.

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