Home from home!

Dear UK,

Weather here! Wish you were beautiful!

The view on arrival

I had intended to update "Blogland" more often en France, but a combintation of lethargy, extreme activity (well not so much activity, but rather sun bathing and intermittent vinyard visits) and a somewhat sporadic internet access has meant that rather than bore you all with the things I have been doing (or more to the point things that I haven't) I thought it sensible to update you occasionally.

What a sight to wake up to!

As it is I have arrived at what is a home from home. There are no pressures, life is so relaxed and time has no real meaning, with the peace and quiet forming a complete blanket from the world at large. If you wake at 7a.m. then you can cycle (yes I know somewhat stereotypical for France) to the boulangerie for the fresh bread, take the dog for a walk and swim in the Garonne, pick fresh fruit and vegetables straight from the trees or vines.....yet if you do not wake until 11a.m. (depending upon the volume of alcohol and food stuffed into you the night before) it really isn't a problem either and the countryside and sun is there to welcome you when you do walk through the door.

I have had a lot of homes up and down the UK, but nothing feels more like my parents' home in Hull than the house in Barie. It is such a warm and friendly atmosphere that immediately makes you feel relaxed and at ease. There is so much space around that even when other people are around you can still take the opportunity to be at one with yourself, and I have used this time to regain a little piece of myself that I had lost recently.

After the last 6 months this has been a balm that I did not realise I needed, but has been a complete break from all the troubles in the UK. I am just sorry that it has taken all the problmes to make me appreciate what I am fortunate to have.

I wont go on, but enclose a few photographs and wish you all Bon jour!

P.S. - I will add some photographs, but unfortunately at present the uploading its says NO!

Watching the World go by!

"Sitting in a cocoon of hush,
surrounded by life and it's hectic fuss,
watching as society runs by your eyes,
caught up in unnecessary pressure and confusion,
stepping away from that pain to unwind"

I'm sorry poetry is not really my forte! Was never really interested in it at school, other than the poets of World War 1 or dirty limericks!

But what I am trying to say is that over the last few days I have spent quite a bit of quiet time, by myself or with others sitting and watching the world racing by. Sitting outside Ruby Lounge on Newland Avenue (with Sister I), in Manchester (waiting for friends watching the complimentary entertainment of two buskers dancing outside Piccadilly station) or at the airport, killing the four hours until I can check in.

The Ex and I were always very interested in our environment (when we got out together). I think you could probably call it being nosey! It was a great game to work out the back history of other people when we got out.

"What do you recon that argument is about?" indicating the couple three of four tables over, where there would be a definite air or disagreement.....he obviously with a few beers to many in him.....she making her displeasure quite clear.....or the four women out for a night! Where did they come from.....what was their history......where were they going.

I love just stepping out from the constant pressures of modern life. We spend most of our lives rushing around without really stopping to enjoy the moments that we have. It is one of the reasons that I love France and Edinburgh so much.....there is such a cafe culture, where you can spend two or three hours just sitting and watching (okay that sounds very creepy! I don't mean night vision goggles in the shrubbery kind of thing!) Watching as the rest of humanity does exactly what you would be doing were it not for the fact that you had stopped - taken those precious moments out from the rat race!

Okay hands up! Think I've probably spent far too much time in this Costa coffee! Should probably have stopped after the fourth latte!

Thank God for remote access

Today was supposed to be a day off, to finalise the flat, and then to relax after a hellish few weeks of constant running around. After a weekend (extended) which saw me racing from Manchester on Thursday night, home to Hull to then travel to Birmingham for a wedding on Friday and then back up to Hull for a re-enactment event over the weekend the thought of a lie in sounded fantastic.

This was until Friday evening when the landlord telephoned to say that The Girl had returned her keys early and they had been round, and could I just pop back to the flat to re-clean the oven and wipe over the shower screens again! (pretty sure that the place had been spottless when I moved out....but not going to argue when they have my deposit money!)

“Sure, is Sunday evening okay? I can then drop the keys off at 9.00am on Monday morning!”

“That is was fine” - so a start slightly earlier than I had hoped, but the keys were handed in and the relationship was finished! Dead! No More! There was nothing else now that would be part of US, and I could become ME again! (Word to the wise though……apparently it is hugely inappropriate to say thank you to your friends for their support as a status update on “Stalkerbook” – was accused of publicly bitching about her, at which point I received the lash of her friends collective tongues).

The only thing left to do with the flat was to collect the final meter readings for electricity and water.

Advice from the agents - call the property manager.
Advice from the property manager – speak to the agents.
Further advice from the agents – Oh yeah we took over the keys about 2 months ago!

Another trip to the agents to get the keys to the meter cupboard, and the flat keys back, and another two trips through town and I was again saying goodbye to the flat (I hope for the last time!)
Okay I thought……it’s now time for me…..just check my work e-mails so that I am not faced by four days worth tomorrow morning (really should learn not to do this, as it means that they can contact you, and the emergencies just happen a day earlier!)

Having spent the day off, running around sorting other peoples problems, I fancied a coffee……okay I am addicted to the stuff (the first one usually hits the system shortly after 5:00am and then throughout the day they keep coming! I think it is a defence against work mechanism…..the longer I can spend making coffee……the shorter the amount of time I have to spend at my desk!) I have to say that nearby we are really spoiled for coffee shops, especially down Newland Avenue. So with my laptop, and a latte it is amazing how much you can get done! The environment is far nicer than home…..the coffee is fresh…..and if you want a break you can watch the world go by for five minutes (alright you can spend 30 minutes watching the world go by, trying to listen in to the very interesting conversation at the next table without them realising, and then doing five minutes work!)

So as it is, I have solved the problems from work….restored my caffeine levels to around that of the gross national export of Columbia…..and updated you lovely people about my exciting (okay not really that exciting at all!) life. I can only say god bless remote access working…..and caffeine (now I only need to convince my bosses to let me telecommute everyday and I would be a happy little bunny!)

Toad Trail comes to an end!

I'm sorry to say that tonight I will collect my last two toads. Surprisingly, for some reason they are two of the closest to my current address, and yet they are still the last to be spotted (not really sure how that happened!)

In total I have walked (and admittedly driven for Toads 39 & 40) about 50 miles, visiting and collecting photographs of the toads. At almost every one there has been a group of people, all very excited about the them and I believe that they really have achieved some community spirit. Most of the groups are families with kids having their photographs taken with the toads, although I have seen couples, both young and old, out exploring , on bikes or walking with their dogs, and even strange single people (like myself) who appear with camera in hand (and often a map) and try to compose the best picture possible before heading on to the next one. I readily admit that I mainly fell into the last category. The whole concept started out as something of a joke. I had taken some of my first photographs and shown them to my 4 year old niece. She loved Punkphibian and wanted to see more so I agreed to see how many of them I could find and take pictures of them.

In the end I became more excited about tracking down the toads than she did. It became a really nice way of spending an evening. I take my camera with me to work, and once I got back to Hull station would set out to find the next days allotted spots. It was almost a military exercise, with journeys on the train spent with a map sat in front of me, trying to work out how if I turned left at this junction I could then come up on two toads relatively easily and then backtrack to get a third, and if it would be possible to collect six or seven in the evening!

This culminated in yesterday's crop of photographs. I was on my usual train to Manchester when on approaching Leeds we discovered that there had been an incident further up the track. Not being able to get any further, I decided that with remote access for my computer and the ability to work from anywhere, I would head back to Hull. Having been dropped off at the station, and with the weather being so glorious (something of a change) I decided that I could probably spare 45 minutes (which I of course made up over lunch and by working late) and wandered round Hull city centre, collecting those that I had not found before. With the sun shining it was a really nice way to spend some time, when I could let my mind relax and stop thinking about my relationship (or recent lack of one), The Girl (who I admit I still think about an awful lot, but who I understand has moved on with someone new), and work.

Some were quite difficult to find, including the first which is located within "the Deep" an aquarium, or to be precise an submarium, nestled on the banks of the Humber (very sneaky I thought putting it inside a building!), but as the sun continued to shine (even more remarkably) I walked along the banks of the Humber towards the marina, where the last few were situated. Standing looking out over the river, and at the marina filled with tall masts I realised how beautiful Hull can be (yes I know that we have some rough areas and places of municipal greyness, although we also have huge areas of green parks many of them really peaceful and the local Council does do a really good job of keeping flowers planted around the city throughout the year!) and how much I loved the place. It hit home how much my proposed move to Manchester is really going to change things (I know that I can always get in my car or jump on a train and be back but it's not quite the same!)

Unfortunately not everyone has taken to the toads as well as others and there has been vandalism (Punkphibian has had his Mohawk ripped off, and Kasey toad has had something like a fist or foot put through the side of it [ I really can't understand why people would do such a thing…..whilst I accept that they are not everyone's cup of tea, they are still attempting to brighten up what can at times quite a dull, grey city]), but all the comments that I have heard whilst walking around is that people really love the toads.

If you are in Hull or can get there, I would really recommend taking an hour or so to walk the trail. I wouldn't suggest trying to see them all in one walk (impressive if you can do it considering 39 is in Melton and 40 is in Beverley) but a walk around those toads in the city centre take you through some really interesting and beautiful areas, including Queen's Gardens, the riverside, marina and the 'Old Town'.

I hope that you enjoy the toads as much as I have. The only problem is that with the conlcusion of my 'OCD' like search for toads now looming I am quite concerned at to how I fill my evenings? The x-box and television has nothing to compare with the tranquillity and peace that being out walking (with friends, family or on your own) with the sun setting around you! I would welcome any suggestions of walks that I could take (ideally in the area!) :)

PS - please no suggestions of a long one of f a short pier!

PPS - I will put the last photographs up this evening!