After re-reading my last blog post, I've been considering getting into scriptwriting. What a drama queen! It ended on quite a cliff-hanger, too! I really had no idea how things were going to turn out though. All I knew was that England was NOT part of my year-long travel plan! Nor, for that matter, was having surgery to remove a freaky dermoid cyst (seriously freaky - check out these Google images, if you dare....but not while you're eating). And my only option w...

I've been to some weird and wonderful places on my travels so far, but none more so, perhaps, than the one in which I find myself right now. It's a small island in the Northern hemisphere, with a cool climate - a very cool climate actually, particularly at this time of year. The people are friendly, the scenery can be breathtaking, and there's lots of cultural stuff going on. It's a bit expensive, but I've organised a homestay, and my 'hosts' speak really good En...

2014 was the year I turned my life upside down, shaking out the contents like I do with the zip-up pouch I use to carry around everything from my penknife to my rolling papers (thoroughly, not missing even one tiny piece of a sweet wrapper, or a shread of tobacco). To begin with, I didn't really know how I was going to refill that metaphorical bag, but when I sat down on New Year's Day with an A3 piece of paper, and wrote the word 'Travel' in the middle of the pa...

I believe a blog is supposed to be written just after the event, or when the thought occurs, but as anyone reading this will have gathered by now, that's not quite the approach I'm taking. Luckily, the events that took place during the first weekend of August still stand out very clearly - several weeks (okay, months) on, as I sit in the tropical heat of Sri Lanka - which perhaps says something about the impression they left on me. Initially, there were six of u...

Well this clearly isn't going to become the multi-million pound, best-selling book (and subsequent film adaptation) I had in mind! They'd need a bit more substance for a start. It's weeks since I last wrote a blog entry, and I've also been neglecting my journal. Or at least, I was - until this week, when I finally got chance to catch up with myself. It's nice to now be writing about events that have only just happened, and not having to scrounge notes off more di...