So amazing to be able to travel again to Belgium after Coronavirus lockdown...but the day I was booked to travel on Eurostar was Thursday 3rd March the day of a London Underground strike. I needed to be able to use the underground with lifts up & down to platforms with my luggage. Luggage as always filled more with gifts for my Princesses than for me. I spent days worrying how to get there in view of strike and wishing had booked a flight from Heathrow near me. But 2019 my 4 visits with Eurostar had been good with connecting train to Oostende from Brussels Midi. So what to do ..if you remember from March 2020 I had been booked but both UK & Belgium like many had gone in lockdown so could not travel the day booked then. 
I had an idea to go to Eurostar on Wednesday 2nd with my vaccination papers passport and luggage on the off chance I could travel that day. Prayers answered and whosh was helped by an Earth Angel Sharon at the Eurostar... once she knew of my Family Link Up project was treated like diplomat, helped with ticket change, online locator form escorted through passport control and helped on a train getting ready to go to Brussels.. It gives me goosebumps writing this and moved to tears that my love and care for my Syrian refugees had been seen and respected. It was important to go as I also had an invitation to meet with volunteers in Oostende and the Mayor to see the care they give to help settlement & integration to the community. In this I needed to know what was being planned for the new refugees from Ukraine. I put some of my knitted baby cardigans in my bag for mums in need of help with newborns to keep them warm .
I messaged Bushra and she met me at Oostende in the evening arrival and took me to a Syrian family where a little boy was having a birthday party ... ( its been a time of birthdays including mine in this month of March.) So from worrying to magical time with Syrian mothers. Was like a dream and so so grateful of Eurostar help.
💗💗💗💗💗💗💗💗
