On the final straight

Thursday 9th August

We were awake at some point very early in the morning. We left at 7.30am and headed towards Billings. Although this has been the most stressful delegation I have ever headed, I do feel sorry to be leaving Lame Deer behind. Although I confess to be excited about returning home too.

The trip to Billings seemed to fly by (no pun intended). We said goodbye to Emma and she headed back for the Rez. There were no problems with boarding, although the wait at Minnasota was too long. I hardly slept on the flight home. I was hot, restless and had a headache.

I was seated next to a delightful little girl and her mum on the flight. The mum was English and had an American husband. She told me she still missed England. I watched her little girl curl up in her lap, and I thought how Cassie used to do that- but now she's 15 she's a bit big!

We arrived at Gatwick, itching to get off the plane, but were kept waiting on the tarmac. Is there anything more frustrating! Got through security, palmed the Venturers off on their parents and headed home with Kaz.

She let me sleep for two hours...yes two bleedin' hours! Then we went to a party. Surprisingly I managed to stay awake!