The Scriffiths

The national animal of Scotland is a unicorn. While most countries would choose a real animal as their emblem, it seems befitting for Scotland to be represented by a mythical creature. This is, after all, a land so steeped in myth, legend, folklore and superstition. And in more recent years, the magical wizarding world of Harry Potter. I love Harry Potter. I generally don’t read fiction that much, but it’s a story that has had me enchanted since I first read it nearly 20 years ago. »

After two months of hotel (and country) hopping we were looking forward to finally settling into some longer term accommodation again to live a “normal life”. Our chosen location was Bucharest, in part, due to the lower cost of living and because it is not part of the Schengen zone, where there is a 90 day limit for travel without a visa. Dylan was particularly relieved to get back into a routine as the travel was starting to exhaust him and keeping on top of work was a real struggle. »

We went to Istanbul for a long weekend, leaving late Thursday night from Bucharest. It’s a short one hour flight. On the Friday morning we went to the Grand Bazaar, which I’ve been desperate to visit for years. It feels incredible to walk through a market place that has been trading for nearly 600 years. The floors are tiled and the ceiling is painted in yellow with beautiful blue and red mosaic patterns. »

It’s a warm evening and the sun is setting over the savannah, casting a golden glow behind the marula trees. A cloud of dust appears on the horizon — an open safari vehicle comes into view, carrying a pair of Aussies eager to see the African animals of Kruger National Park. One of the many beautiful sunsets in Kruger But only a few hours earlier, Dylan and I were sat on the side of the road somewhere between Johannesburg and Kruger National Park. »

We arrived in Cape Town for the GitLab Summit after our 11 hour overnight flight from London feeling as you do after a long haul overnight flight. But after a good night’s sleep we were ready for a busy week. The Summit brought together over 300 GitLab employees and their SOs (significant others). The Summit is a very important event for GitLab as it provides the rare opportunity for all the remote working employees to come together in one place. »