As with most people whenever I look forward to something (like a holiday) it takes ages to get here but whenever I’m dreading something (dental appointments spring to mind) all of a sudden it’s there. Before we knew it our six remaining weeks had shrunk to four and there was something horrible about being within the last month of our stay. 
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Everything became temporary. Friends were starting to talk about Christmas and the upcoming Christmas-do at the Fleet Pav; all of a sudden (and with no fault of our wonderful friends) we just felt out of it all. Mentally we were having to leave Gibraltar before we were psychologically ready to and so our world virtually shrunk overnight and morphed into a dreadful sort of void at times. Within the realm of work I was aware that my replacement was due to fly in any day.

(1977 A final trip to Morocco)

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Although we ‘felt’ quite isolated at times we weren’t really; it was more about our feelings than our friends actions because they all continued to be very understanding, caring and supportive of us. In fact Sandy and Penny (who had always been our closest friends in Gibraltar) organised a final trip to Tangiers with us which was really lovely of them. Once again Carol had another opportunity to enjoy a camel ride and eat her favourite Moroccan food which I loved.

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Sandy and Penny, along with our other close friends Funky and Claudia Gibbons, also began arranging our leaving-do in the Fleet Pav for us with all our friends which was lovely too because it took all the worry away from us of having to plan that with everything else we were coping with. That invisible clock that had been ticking time away in my head was now down to just its last few days….and getting louder and louder and louder.

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