We had now been in
Saudi as a family for two years and Karen had reached the age of 18. Disaster
unmarried adult females were not allowed to stay in Saudi. I am not sure
whether this was a Saudi rule or a company one and it was applied a little
unevenly but Karen had to return to England. None of us were happy about it
most of all Karen, there was no problem in England she would stay with Syb’s
Mum and Dad in Eastbourne. But tearing the family apart was heart breaking and
would eventually lead to Syb and me leaving Saudi. As I said at the time we had
no close Saudi friends to help us out, much later on a very good Saudi friend
got her a visa to come out again but by this time she had settled down in
England had a good job so she refused and has regretted it ever since. Sadly
had she joined us I believe we would have stayed there until I’d retired but
life doesn’t always allow us to travel the path we would prefer.
She was not short
of Saudi expatriates visiting her in Eastbourne when they were on leave. They
would arrive in a large Lotus car or on a turbo charged motorcycle; she rode in
the car but turned down the pillion. One guy even brought his mother; it was a
crazy world she lived in at the time. Fred of course visited her there and
impressed Syb’s Mum. It provided great entertainment for her after her husband
died there were one or two of the guys over in Saudi she knew the name of and
if you mentioned them she would make an appointment for you to see Karen. Karen
stayed in Eastbourne or nearby for the rest of her life and she is still there
as are our grandchildren and their families. But that is an entirely different
story and one Karen will have to tell.
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