20 of 24 - Doha is a long way from Camborne Denzil
Empty nest syndrome doesn’t discriminate. Our children had long flown, and the settled routine of life had begun to grate—not unhappiness, just a slow itch of boredom. One day, driving down the motorway, we both felt it: a psychic click, a shifting of tectonic plates. We looked at each other and asked, “Did you feel that?” Soon after that in early 2013, out of the blue, an email arrived from an old friend and colleague. He asked if I knew any safety person who might want to join him working in Doha. We ummed and ahhed, and decided to set the fates a challenge. If we could complete a crossword in a long-owned puzzle book, we’d go. We chose a page number based on the salary I would earn in Doha. We worked through the clues, slowly, stubbornly. After an hour, we were stumped on the very last clue: gear item (anag) (8). Then, as if summoned, the solution revealed itself. Emigrate. It hit us like a lump hammer. The word hummed with intent and upheaval—unequivocal, scary, final. Like t...