So M is the packer of the family and he always likes to do the tetris and get things packed in with minimal wastage of space, which is great… until you go and buy stuff (bling crocs that don’t pack down, kids’ wedding outfits, long pants etc) so we decided to invest in a fourth bag for check in.

After a frustrating experience with Amazon India (feel free to ask him about it but it might require some time and a stiff drink) he and the kids got one from a department store while I was at yoga. And I’m not sure how exactly but it got named “Samantha” by Z. 

Then, of course, the other three bags needed names too. So without further ago, I introduce to you (front to back):

• Samantha, 
• Minerva (from Harry Potter, because it looks like Professor McGonagall) named by Z
• Kaitlyn, and
• Edith, named by I

Samantha is handy as she’s got a hard case so things like whisky go in there but she’s already got a few dents so we’ll see how she goes long term.

Minerva was bought for this trip and my choice. She’s going well so that one will be coming with us for the gap year. 

Kaitlyn isn’t ours so we’ll need to return that one to its rightful owner when we get home but it’s been good to try it out.

And while I love Edith, a duffle bag is not suitable for airport travel. (It’s much better suited for a weekend away where you chuck it in the boot and that’s it) So Edith won’t be coming on our gap year but we have had a chat and she’s OK about it all. 🤣