Who’d have believed we’d be organised enough to have 30 minutes left before the taxi arrives to take us to the airport? You know what that means. We must have forgotten something.

Impossible to pack for two months of travel from sultry Hong Kong to autumnal Frankfurt. I’d hoped to leave with an empty suitcase and pick up clothes to suit the various climates along the way. But my suitcase is large and hefty as ever.

 I feel incredibly honoured to be included in Frankfurt’s legendary book fair, the world’s largest. It’s fantastic New Zealand is Guest of Honour this year. I’m not prone to outbursts of patriotism, but when a dinner invitation arrived emblazoned with the Kiwi flag, my vision went temporarily hazy. I hope New Zealand seizes the opportunity to celebrate something other than prowess on the rugby field. I’m not sure why our homeland continues to produce highly creative people with unique perspectives. Perhaps it’s  to do with our distance from the rest of the world, the exquisite landscape or the absence of a large range of industries forcing clever people to dig deep into their souls.

A friend told me she always weeps when a plane lifts her off the tarmac. Tears of joy mixed with sadness, she said. Strange how departures are invariably accompanied by regret. To be missing our younger daughter’s debut as Lady M. in Melbourne University’s production of MacBeth is a wrench. Over the years I’ve had enormous pleasure watching her in various school productions – Wild Bill in Calamity Jane, Bert Healy in Annie. This is the first time she’s landed a big role in a grown up production – and as a woman! The director promises it’ll be filmed, so I’ll have to make do with that.

Jonah is romping around the house, leaping into our bags and begging us not to go. He doesn’t realise the Cat Sitter will probably spoil him more than we do.

Passport, check. Itinerary, check. Speech written for Guam FAWA (Federation of Asia Pacific Women’s Assn) annual conference next month…uncheck! My subject is of all things Women in Education…ironic considering I had hardly any. I’ll just have to pray for a sympathetic audience.