going all in on plan A

Glastonbury Festival

I am back in the UK and it is amazing to be in a place where I grew up, with friends I played up with, in cities I've seen with a rekindled appreciation for her buildings (is that a sign of age?) and with weather that makes the countryside glow. England is such a lovely place in the summer sunshine especially when we do well at sports. No wonder Australia is so good at sport. So the whole country is high on Vitamin D like junkies in a medstore, with beers, pimms, picnics and cheers. There are music festivals and bike rides and there's the great realisation that some things stay the same despite an economic downturn, war and a country that's not had a proper dose of sun for years or at least professes not to have (source: my Facebook feed) the country knows how to be merry. If we can't whinge about the weather in England, what can we whinge about?

I didn't 'plan' on being back in the UK. In fact I had to cancel a flight from Antigua to Venezuela after Chavez decided to pop his clogs and the country became too unstable for this explorer. I was only a little bit tempted by guerrilla journalism tweeting the resistance, however, reading an email from my Venezuelan mother titled "Change your flight" and having the opportunity to work on an Atlantic crossing as a galley chef came along and I felt called to the challenge and prospect of seeing my family again while braving some stomach turns at sea.

Dad in Croyde; bike rides, tea, scones & chatter

Being back in the UK however, brought up some interesting ponderings. I thank my Dad and his rational, groundedness however they sparked thoughts of "So what are your plans NOW?" and "So will you stay and get a job?" etc. etc. All rather sensible questions to ask someone who has been on the road mostly perceivably unemployed for quite a duration now while tentatively veering close to the 'corporate dropout' category unintentionally.

However I realised I also made a promise to myself when I began this trip to continue until 'money runs out'.
Such a brazen and irresponsible statement in hindsight, however, thankfully my pension is in Australian Superannuation Funds which means its a minefield to retrieve.

And so despite a conditioned part of me wanting to settle, get back on my bike and go back in to a 'career', I have decided to go "ALL IN ON PLAN A" inspired by Mastin Kipp from the Daily Love.

I have however managed to inspire my family to realise that they deserve more space from the comfort zone or stresses of life. We all do. The novelty of a plastic beach-bed and swimming pool eventually wears out and we are lucky to live in a time when the world can be so small and visit places where people long for rain and the heat can be too much. Arguably perks to globalisation.

May the force be with you. (Bath Spa)

Even though the future-oriented, organisational time constraints of British society does trigger a few "oh shit should I just get a job?" moments and England is very much a home for me, I'm going to carry on these explorations, photography, writings and bouts of stomach shifts... There are still a few dreams in the pipeline, dollars in the savings account and passion for adventure in the soul.

So with a new found passion for architecture I will keep enjoying life on the road living out a bag and crapping myself every now and then to the Universe's sense of humour.