21 Comments

This was brilliant, I could feel the emotion and those photos of the winning brought tears (mistyped teas, the amount of tea I’ve been drinking it could be more accurate) to my eyes.

I didn’t even know there was a right way round for the uk flag till I played spot the difference! I wonder if your Irish blood had a policial statement with it being upside down, or the uk farmers like the French farmers who’ve been turning their town signs upside down.

I love love loved Nana’s green T-shirt and fluffy sheesha hat photo! What a legend!

Your family are all so beautiful 😍

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Aah thank you Sheila!! I also wondered if my Irish blood inadvertently inverted the flag!! So funny. Yep, there's never a dull moment with Nana 🤣❤️

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Nana sounds like a hoot and yessss to our Irish roots 🇮🇪

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Haha she’s one of a kind that’s for sure!! 🇮🇪☘️😍

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Loved this so much and on so many levels! Your travel writing is brilliant but with the warmth of your love for your family made this such a beautiful piece. As for Nana with the shish pipe 🤣

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I mean I’m just going to say Nana looked VERY comfortable with the shisha… 🤣🤣

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And your family photos are gorgeous

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Beautiful writing. You described it all so vividly it definitely transported me there. Travel writing is for you. Amazing coincidence that the place no one had heard of is now in the news. And what a fascinating place it sounds Great read Emma

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Thank you so much ❤️

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Loved reading this, Emma. It makes me want to visit Baku!

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I would highly recommend!!

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Nov 11·edited Nov 11Liked by Emma Simpson

Fascinating and wonderful. Reminds me of why I loved my job, taking me to lesser-known parts of the world. Tales such as yours still make me hanker! xx

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Oh that travel bug… it never truly goes away. I so get much more anxious travelling these days, although not necessarily for the ‘obvious’ reasons. I have a piece on this coming up. I like to think that when my birds have flown the nest I may get back out there…❤️

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This was marvelous! God, I love your family. My traveling days are probably over but after reading this, I can entertain dreams of a group tour to Baku. Your mother smoking a shisha while wearing the hat (I bought a similar one in Kashmir eons ago) is the priceless.

xx

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I don’t know if our travelling days are ever over..perhaps more locally defined but I also look forward to exploring wonders nearer my own doorstep. Thank you for your lovely words as always ❤️

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What a fantastic time you had! Congratulations to Taz on her bronze medal! Happy 18th birthday to Fiver.

My first ever car was a red Lada back in 1996, your photograph has triggered so many memories!

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Aaw thanks so much 🙏💕. Love that you had a Lada - quite the driving experience!! 🤣🫶

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Wowzers! What an experience for you all. The photos are incredible. I love Nana!

And the foooood. That’s enough to make me want to visit 😍

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Oh the food was wonderful… 😍

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Amazing! Thank you for sharing.

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Loved this! I’m glad you all had the trip you needed ☺️

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