Welcome to Roaming Brit

AI insights

Eleven years ago, I began a journey I am still on today. Through adverse times, I started writing about a period that very nearly ended my life. Bullying, abuse, and anti-social behaviour left me and my husband, Darrell, of 30 years, unable to see a future. Dark clouds of fear, rejection, and depression had descended across our lives, leaving us shadows of our former selves.

We decided to leave our home in the UK for a new life in Gran Alacant, Spain. My first blog, www.roamingbrit.com, charts our life in Southern Europe, as we recovered from events that ultimately shaped our destiny together. Spain was a lifesaver in every respect. We forged new, enduring friendships and learnt to live our lives again. The sun, sea air, good food, and friends taught us the importance of long-lasting bonds in a welcoming, embracing environment that was impossible to replicate. Within a few short years, we had forgotten the deeply disturbing circumstances that forced us to leave our home in the UK in the first place. As a couple, we could breathe again and were happy with the new life we had built!

Through family illness, Darrell and I went our separate ways to be with our respective parents. Brexit, COVID-19, and geopolitics conspired together to end our new life in Spain. Relocated back home with family in Portsmouth, I tried to navigate the strange new world I was now part of, with Darrell living thousands of miles away in Perth, Western Australia. COVID-19 was indeed a dark time, but for both Darrell and me, it meant living completely separate lives, while the pandemic raged across the World.

Eventually reunited, we rebuilt our life in Britain until we made the momentous decision to leave the UK and immigrate to Australia, where we are today. I have lost count of the times we have moved during our 30 years together. Even today, we are suffering from a system that rejected our same-sex relationship all those years ago. When two people fall in love from opposite sides of the planet, nobody tells you how difficult life will be. At 23 years old, you are invincible and can achieve the impossible; at 55, I can now reflect on three decades that have made us the couple we are today.

Luke