The Tillington Hall Stafford

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

Last working hump day today so am on the home straight now. 2 working days left. Fly off in a weeks time (less than actually as leave Weds in the morning) so its 7 more sleeps to go.<br><br>Already this week is picking up speed and final things are coming together which is a relief - I am really quite organised (shock horror that won't surprise many of you). Finished yesterday at one clinic ...

... t be bothered with the shopping crowds. Having to fight your way through the likes of Primark (hell on earth in terms for shopping and I'm a shop-a-holic so it must be bad) or on the escalators in the Bull Ring just didn't appeal today. So I saved my pennies for a rainy day - that will probably be tomorrow.<br>Ok get some sleep - with 10 days to go I need to keep the battery charged. More to follow in the next few days .......<br>

... for a few days; thanks Steve. :-)<br><br>This week will consist mainly of waiting for my next vaccination and another set of goodbye drinks but the process of refining the contents of the pack is practically neverending. Tonight i started filling plastic baggies with spices and wondering idly whether or not they will get me arrested at customs... might have to reconsider the larder options.<br>

Finally worked out my route.<br><br>Fly to Armenia, travel through Georgia to Turkey and fly from Istanbul to Mumbai. Work my way across to Calcutta and fly to Bangkok. Through Thailand and Cambodia to Vietnam, then onto China.<br><br>I am setting off early September 2010 and aim to be in China early December, maybe.<br><br>And then I have to get back...

OMG, I finally finished work on the 20th October and have been off now for almost 2 weeks. Lady of leisure you say ... pfff, no chance, far too much to organise, but on a positive note I have my flights booked, so I am definitely off on the 15th Nov!<br><br>So much more to sort out, so much more bureaucracy to live through, but not for much ...

... and visited the oldest inn in England (built in 1189AD!) which is built right in to the cliff-face around the bottom of the castle. We took some photos with Robin Hood's statue and wandered around some of the older parts of town. We will probably go back to Nottingham at some point to take some of the more detailed tours within the castle and also a fantastic looking tour of the old court-house and jail. <br> <br><br>So there you have it, a ...

Afte a lazy start to the day we headed out to go see some locals of the New Forest starting first with the donkeys then the ponies, cows, pigs, squirrels, ducks and geese - oh and manybe some sheep too! <br><br>We headed up around Frogham, over the High Corner Inn to the pub at Fritham, the Walter Tyrrel and the Rufus stone, thru Beaulieu and back up ornamental drive before heading home to have dinner at the George! Great day not too rainy and very entertaining!<br>

V festival was wonderful - Neily and I had such a good time. I love music festivals - five years is definitely too long between drinks. V was unreal - so so many of my faves were there, James Morrison, definitely the highlight, though The Script, Lily Allen, Fat Boy Slim, Pete Murray, Natalie Imbrulia, Snow Patrol, Oasis &amp; The Killers definetly make the ...

... one third filled with sensationalist news such as you see on a Today Tonight type show, one third filled with "celebrity" news of who's doing what and with whom, and one third sport, mostly English soccer news, although there is little reporting of the sport and mostly sensationalist stories relating to the players and managers. There is little or no reporting of anything that happens outside the UK aside from major incidents such as a terrorist bombing, and in our short ...