I’m sitting in my old house in Bristol – it’s completely empty and feels very weird. I’ve mowed the garden front and back – I have to keep it tidy for when I find tenants – it’s slow because of the dreaded credit crunch there’s a glut of houses to rent but I’m sure someone’ll come along.

The house in the country is gorgeous and I’m enjoying the peace and quiet though it really feels strange after a lifetime in the city – I’ve lived in Bristol for 30 years and London before that and now I’m not even in a village and the nearest shop is 40 minutes walk away.

Don’t get me wrong – I’m loving it – but it’s just a huge shake up and change of lifestyle which will take time to adapt to. Fortunately, we know quite a lot of people round about the area and yesterday evening I went to a local meeting of the meditation group I belong to and that was lovely to find so near in Banbury.

This weekend we went up to Cheshire to collect an engine for the boat P’s working on in London and I met old friends of his which was lovely – the weather’s superb (it was sweltering mowing today!).

I’m spending a few days sorting out things here in Bristol and return home on Friday morning – there you are – I’m already calling the new place HOME!