I had never heard of Petworth in West Sussex, when I ended up getting a job there as a live in Nanny. By the end of my stay though it became a place forever sealed in my heart, and even now I have a fond affection for this quaint English village in the middle of the picturesque South Downs.

As in Rupert Brooke’s war poem called “The Solider” – If I should die, think only of this of me: That there’s some corner of a foreign field that is forever England. In my case there is a sleepy English village, that is forever Australia to me, for it is where part of me will forever remain.

Oh my goodness when I landed in England I actually thought I had made a huge mistake, I was sick throughout the flight, and when I landed and went through immigration my passport had the wrong visa in it. I had visions of myself being put back on a plane back to Perth, Western Australia, and kiss my new life in the UK gone.

Thank goodness it was corrected and I could finally step onto English soil, so many years brought me up too this point, and I felt so very overwhelmed by it all. I finally was where I dreamed too be, and it was exciting, but scary all at once.

My new life had began in England and I was totally jumping into the unknown. It was however a good kind of scary excitement, and very much a whirlwind, as I met my employer and was taken by car to my new home in Petworth, West Sussex.

The car ride on the Motorway was something I wouldn’t forget in a hurry, it was madness and I truly lost all direction of where I was or even going. All I know that it was a pretty chilly morning, in a strange country and my head was still stuck in Australian time.

Beautiful green hills and fields raced past my window, and at one stage my employer point out the car window, that over there was London, I nodded a little shellshocked and simply saw tall buildings on the horizon. It wouldn’t be until a few weeks later that I would see London proper for myself.

I was totally speechless when we came into Petworth village, after coming through Surrey way. The roads were so twisty and round blind bends, that I felt I was sailing on a boat, even though we were on dry land. The Surrey and West Sussex countryside was absolutely beautiful and coming from Perth, West Australia so very green to what I was used too.

These pictures below I got off Facebook, and show pretty much how beautiful Petworth actually was and still is, I definitely feel a little homesick, when I saw these photos. It doesn’t matter what season, Petworth is pretty in all four indeed.

Petworth at that time was all new too me, as well as England as a whole, and don’t you worry explore and travel, I did about the countryside. And that was before I even got to visit London, but hey I get ahead of myself.

All I could think about was meeting my family, who I would be their Nanny, and as well as stay awake feeling so travel weary, as I did. Outside my car window rural English countryside jetted on by, scenes that would become backdrops of my time here in England. Names and places I would come to know so very well indeed.

Ciao for now Kitty-Kat xox