Thanks to @taj51bg and the warmth of friends and supporters and all the other hotel guests who joined in, we had a truly memorable flag-off experience from London!The excitement began the evening before with a conversation hosted by @thenehrucentre and facilitated by @shefprakash, allowing me and the girls an opportunity to share our hopes for both the rally and the social causes we support through this rally. It was so heartwarming to see so many friends come out in support and celebration, and so grateful for this circle of warmth!

The next day we drove down to Somerset, Cornwall and back up to Bath. We grabbed two @polesofinconvenience along the way, and if you are wondering about it, yes, it WAS inconvenient!!The highlight of the day was spending the evening with a former colleague and dear friend @suecoulthard in Bath, our rest stop for the night! A lot has transpired since we last met and it was a truly heartwarming and nourishing time with her catching up on work, life, new homes, and our wandering adventure, ending the evening (starting with the one before too) with a contemplative thought on what it means to be loved in this world. The more I thought about it, the more I realized that its not a set of words, its not an eloquent poem, its much simpler than that. It has something to do with the company of old friends, the strange ways in which time passes when we are with them, the way their company shapes us, and the way it makes us feel strong in a very non-physical way. The very simple nature of this being-loved-ness makes me feel that it is a very accessible thing, no matter how inaccessible the world might seem. And a gift we can all offer to those around us. Non?

For now, here is a picture from the ceremonial flag-off of our rally car in May, before we put it on the ship over to London!