Moving on ...

I left Nelson at 0915 enjoying a typical balmy golden day & have arrived
in Blenheim which is what ? - 100k away amidst a howling gale & grey skies. Murray !!!!!

Because we were unable to horse-ride yesterday, I have arranged with Murray
that I will call in at his on Sunday on my way back north. It made leaving
this morning slightly easier, as it was 'See you again' rather than 'Goodbye'.

I found myself at a bit of a loss for how to say ...
'Thank you for the hospitality, the use of your computer for hours on end,
for letting me sleep in your van, eat your food, use your hot-water, borrow
your dog, your bike, your buggy, your kite & oh yes - sorry for crashing your
kites into your van, when it was the only man-made object for 10 acres'

I hope you got the gist.

The sad thing is, I can't imagine you ever wanting to visit Kingston-upon-Thames
for me to repay the hospitality. And I don't blame you either.

I have 5 hours to kill before pitching up at Mal's & when I left Nelson
it was with the idea of reading a book in a sun-dappled park somewhere.
I can't do much in the way of looking around, partly because I know Blenheim
very well & partly because I am being followed by a small, rectangular,
purple thing.

Note to Blenheim town designers, pavements with mosaic tiles look very pretty
but if you're pulling a case on wheels, the noise starts to pi55 you off
pretty quick.

I spoke to Mal last night on the phone, he made me laugh by asking

'Is that it ? Are you here for good now ?'

I explained about the whole emigration thing & reminded him I'd said I was
looking at a 3 year time scale for returning. He was very put out to hear
I'll be going h, ho, h, nope can't say it but you know where, next week.

'Seems like 3 years' he said.

Although I'd love to go to the farm today to see Mike & the animals, I'm
in no hurry as I understand the kids have broken up & are at home,
not to mention the one that doesn't get mentioned. It's a tricky one.

I'm being charged $2 per 15 minutes for this, so I'll sign off for now.

I don't know how regularly I'll be able to get to an Internet Cafe over
the next few days, so take it easy everyone & I'll catch up with you soon.

Cx