Leaving London (again, I know, again) - 26 August 2007 - London, UK

Taking a cat called Trevor for a walk round the neighborhood before a curry in Croydon.

Holding an inpromptu dj-ing session on the train to Manchester when we were trapped for three hours in the August floods.

Seeing the sun come up walking to work through Kensington Gardens...

... and finishing work at 2:30 in the afternoon.

Narrowly avoiding a night of clubbing with one pre-op and one post-op trannie in Exeter. Followed by a night of just as narrowly avoiding the wet boxer shorts competition (eventually won, I believe, by a naked man in a paddling pool).

Working for a patissier from Normany who was obsessed with Big Brother 8 ("that Charley is SUCH a b*tch"), followed by a pastry chef ex-theatre director (specialising in the Greek Tragedies...) from Tel Aviv who engaged me in detailed discussion of kangaroo birthing (obviously too much National Geographic Channel).

Really, life outside a law firm in London is very interesting. I was nearly ready to stay.

But I couldn't take over Matt and Mark's spare room forever, I was getting close to illegal immigrant staus, my parents were getting edgy, and I strongly suspected that the glimpse of good weather we've had this month - between the floods, natch - was about to disappear right down the throat of a horrible cold winter. So with a stern lecture to the boys about who owned and would be keeping Princess Kimmie the Cat (that would be me, although Matt has stamped his little feet and pouted no end), I'm off on the Eurostar first thing Wednesday morning to begin the various train journeys that bring me to Moscow two days later.

And so it's back on the travel road - this time it's overland from London to SE Asia, and back in Melbourne in time for Christmas. Look out for emails from vodka-fuelled card games on the Trans-Mongolian, busting through borders into Myanmar (with due Buddhist detachment), some temple viewing in Laos between river tubing, or - with any luck – some serious beach time in Thailand to recover from it all.

I'm looking forward to seeing everyone back in Melbourne, and for everyone else, it'll be time you all came and visited - I'm sure I owe most of you food and drinks and beds.

And - for those of you who'd like to text or call (and really, who wouldn't??) I'll have the following new number whilst on the road. I think it gets routed through Estonia or Alpha Centauri or something slightly dodgy, so bear with it.

+372 53261088

all my love, as ever, from the year of caroline

xxc