From Paris to Lagos in All Good Things

Paris ended up not really happening. We caught the Eurostar there, set up our equipment, the job cancelled, we packed up our equipment, went to bed and caught the Eurostar back in the morning. I was so relieved, since I hadn't really wanted to go, and now I have a whole day at home to prepare for Nigeria.

Last night I got an email about our "security arrangements" for Lagos. We have to have a bodyguard! We were sent his name, number and photograph so that we can recognise him at the airport. Actually, he's just the head of our "security team". Wow. This is a lot scarier than I'd anticipated.

Judging from his name and the country code for his mobile phone, our bodyguard is South African. In his photo he looks so much like Will used to, back in his bodyguarding days. Last time the office wanted me to go to Nigeria, about two years ago, Will wouldn't let me go without him, so I didn't go. Now that he's an artist instead of a bodyguard, he seems perfectly happy to let me go - although he was happier when I said our security team will be run by a South African. He's known a lot of people from that world and, in his professional opinion, the South Africans are usually the best.

So we shall see what happens. I'd be a lot more excited if I was going away on a fun trip instead of for work. I really don't need this added stress on top of work...

Yesterday the Eurostar sped home across France through thick sheets of silver rain. The rain reached London in the late afternoon. I was sitting on my bed watching the sunset out of my huge bedroom windows and enjoying the sound of the rain on the leaves of all the trees around our flat. It was one of those perfect moments, and I was extremely happy to be at home watching the sunset (in the distance beyond the clouds) rather than working in Paris.