During the night five men entered the camp, beat up, disarmed and tied up our guards. Then they entered our chalet with guns and machetes. Luckily, my wife says, I was unable to reach my weapon in time. We were gagged, bound and pepper sprayed. We lay helpless for what seemed like hours, weapons pushed into our skulls as we prayed to live. Everything was taken. After freeing ourselves and our guys we hid, waiting for the gunmen's possible return or the safety of morning, whilst rum helped me combat the coming desire to kill people. The next day, after hours with police and chiefs and conversations at the bar in our friend's sanctuary, I woke to an attack of what we found out later was hypoglycaemia. Whatever happens in Africa, one should not forget that water keeps everyone alive. After two days with the Sisters and three days at another sanctuary, the malaria attacked in a way I thought was only a myth. Death dropped by for a quick visit again. Whilst my wife and I lay in opposite beds in our small hospital room we decided we needed to return home. We had borrowed clothes on our bony bodies, no money; our state of mind was in a mess. We needed to re-group and re-start living.

And now, not a day goes by when a moment is not mentioned. I still snigger when I think about the guy who fell off the church roof being pulled left and centre by would be helpers as he staggered in the road; the old men jumping out of their Sunday best when they passed the dead crocodile on the beach; the walks through the bush with my fellow fans, singing and drinking Shake Shake, to the next village for football matches that ended in farce and violence. Not an idea on how lives are lived is put over without an, 'Ah yes, but in Africa, '

Living in the developed world, it's not often we take the time out from the constant barrage of inducements to 'Buy, Buy, Buy!' and the mantra of 'self-improvement through consumerism'. That's one reason why travel is so important. How many other times in your life will all your worldly possessions fit in a rucksack? For my wife and I the way we try to conduct our lives and what we hope to do in the future has a guiding reference point now. We've moved to a farm in my wife's native Czech Republic, and as we again start work on re-building this and fixing that, we appreciate what we have a lot more and, more importantly, what we don't need.

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