As I got on the train out of Nottingham two things occurred to me. First that I was leaving the place that I had called home for the last six years of my life. Second, that I no longer owned any keys - no car keys and no house keys. That surely renders me homeless. Of course I don´t feel homeless. So long as I have family and friends I´ll always have a home. This was evidenced by the kind people who took me into their homes and made me feel welcome during my last three weeks in England. So I now follow the maxim "wherever I lay my hat is my home". Maybe I´ll travel the world like the littlest hobo - doing good wherever I go. I like the sound of that.
Leaving England was easier than I thought it would be. There was never a shock moment, no wake up call, no sudden realisation. I think it´s because I'd been mentally ready to travel for a long while. The thing is, I was expecting shocks. Handing my notice in, buying my plane ticket, moving out of my flat, leaving work. All of these things came and went without any heart fluttering moments or hesitations. I thought that maybe I was not too good at projecting myself in to future situations and emotions and that it would hit me when I was on the plane. But no. I just flew away.
People ask me where I´m from. I´m not entirely sure of the answer to that question. Nottingham - that´s where I´ve spent the last six years of my life. Lincolnshire - that was the first eighteen years. I was only three years at Lancaster, but those years were so influential upon me. I am what each of these places have made me. But I´m not any one of them. So can I tell people where I´m from without giving them my full life story? How about we grab some beers and settle down for a while...
