Cathedral Lodge Hotel Lichfield

... decision to reside there has been entirely mine (albeit a decision born of convenience). It is perhaps to be expected that leaving Stoke once and - effectively - for all, has brought it home once again that, actually - this is a pretty big deal! All I was feeling was the sense of vertigo that is caused by the shape of one's life changing radically - and rapidly. It's like being on a fairground ...

Wow - only one week to the day before we make our way down south to London town to stay in the very affordable 'heathrow' travel lodge.

Liz in in Manc saying goodbye to friends and family and i'm sorting the last bits out for the fresh box before we go.

Just wanted to say thank you to Ron and Sue for ...

... stuff is arranged as follows:

Pannier 1: Tent, Waterproof clothing and riding accessories
(Pocket: Puncture repair, inner tubes, diary, camera stand)

Pannier 2: Sleeping bag, Mattress, First Aid Kit, Miscellaneous items such as tape, cord, chargers and wires)
(Pocket: Toiletries, Spanish Phrasebook, Hip ...

Well, my little adventure begins here, in Stoke-on-Trent!

I found out about going to Denmark in September, and since then I've been planning how to get there. At first I look at getting the plane straight to Copenhagen, but that's a far too mediocre start. Instead, I'm travelling (with my Mum and Brother) via train on the following route -

1st Class train from Stoke-on-Trent to London
1 Night in a London Hostel
Eurostar to Cologne via Brussels
1 Night ...

So I'm back in Stoke after my brief trip back to Cumbria (where, sadly I did not see everybody that I could have). I would just like to say now that if I didn't get a chance to catch up with anyone during the whirlwind that was the last couple of months then I'm sorry and I'll see you down the road.

With a little over 10 days til departure three goals need to be achieved:

1 ...

So there we have it - the ferry is booked! I will be taking the 'King of Scandanavia' out of the country at 1700 on the 5th December. It's another one of those milestone events that forces one to reflect on the reality of the situation; however fear has given way to anticipation on that score.

For a few hours yesterday I considered "copping out" with the Dover to Calais crossing - being cheaper ...

... A new form of fly away hair mine was fly everywhere.
I am dreaming of sitting on my parents decking in the morning sunshine eating a whole fresh mango (juice dripping type - yum) for breakfast reading the morning paper (prob be the Geelong Addy as thats Dad's usual, which I don't luv but at least its not footy season so I won't have to read just about the Cats). Bring it on I say.

... 45 minutes while he takes his break, what a joke! We stop at a service station and I wait around while he takes his break and we get on our way again. Finally I arrive at Helena and Phil's house at 00:30 and sneak in a get straight to bed. What a day!!!

... the "tube" in London though! Robin and Ann had two other guests from the States staying with them while I was there. We went to the local pub for a beer... I had a sip of Robin's it was pretty good and not too strong. We went into Lichfield on the 5th and wandered around the market and again looked for a shop that had Lilliput Lane ...

... trade unions. This could in part be due to the influx of more than 660,000 migrants that have arrived in the UK since Poland and seven other Eastern European countries joined the Economic Union two years ago. I doubt whether these people escaping from the low paid, high unemployment hardships of their own countries have much use for Union representation in what must seem like heaven in comparison, and with an estimated 140,000 more prepared to head here when Bulgaria ...