AN UNEXPECTED ADVENTURE

Riana Avis

The year was 1998, two years before the Millennium bug* was due to hit computers worldwide.

Back in sunny South Africa, letter upon letter poured through my letterbox with job offers in Canada, Europe, Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. Companies were desperately recruiting talent to fix the Y2K* problem.

‘Can you do any of these?’ my son, seventeen, wanted to know. Flicking through the pile, I’d comment, ‘Yes! This one, this one, this one. Not this one. This one.’

‘Why don’t you go for any of them, then?’ ‘Boring. Y2K jobs. Besides, you’re both at school. And I don’t want to move to another country.’ ‘It’ll be an adventure!’ he persisted.

Where would I go? Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom?

The UK, obviously.

How will you manage without your family?

How will you cope with the weather?

What about your dad? He is not getting any younger........................