42 Degrees South: Post 3 : Hasta Luego...!

Sniff, sniff. Somebody pass me some tissues.

Goodness, it's hard to know what to say at this point. We returned after a fantastic week's holiday in Greece yesterday and today we set off for Tasmania (via Malaysia) in only a few hours. Bags are pretty much packed (although we're waiting for some washing to dry - come on British weather, give us a break!) but I keep thinking of things that I need to do before we go and my mind is working overtime.

Whilst at the same time I feel like a walking emotion, red raw and ripe for picking. Our good friend Mark just sent a farewell note with a You.Tube link (see below) which certainly struck a highly strung chord with me this morning after an emotional farewell with my parents and Sarah at Gatwick at 2 am yesterday morning, many "goodbye's" to lots of amazing friends yesterday during the day, a Last Supper at the Hare & Tortoise in Putney and then waved my brother and sister off to work this morning.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DArtWpCU-IE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DArtWpCU-IE

So it's with a very mixed bag of feelings that I (attempt to) zip up my over-stuffed bags, clear out my room (for the first time since we moved in to the flat back in 2001) for Sam to move in to, feed Teedle some special treat cheese gratings, consider how on earth we are going to avoid extortionate excess fares at Stansted later today (yes, I know - Stansted!!) and cross fingers that we haven't forgotten anything absolutely vital.

But as fragile as I may be feeling today, I am also very excited and I am so grateful to be embarking on this adventure together with Brierlie, safe in the knowledge that we have a whole host of friends and family waiting to meet us on the other side of the planet and ready to help us to get stuck into this next chapter...

And as I keep reminding myself and all our friends and family here in the UK, it's not "goodbye" at all. I have always hated "goodbye's" and will do what I can to avoid them. And ever since my first Spanish lessons back in 1994, I have had a particular affinity for "hasta luego" which translates (as I'm sure you don't need to be told) colloquially as "until later" which sums up perfectly how I feel about things as we face down the barrel of the Air Asia* flight that we'll be boarding in a few hours' time.

* Perhaps we will provide a review on this relative newcomer to the air industry (it's allegedly the Easy Jet of long haul travel - could be painful

Speaking of the flight, it's a strange one thinking about it. It's the first one-way itinerary that I have booked since my flight over from Hong Kong to London back in the summer of 1995 on my way to start at Warwick University. Looking back on the last 15 years, it's very easy to feel very nostalgic and I could easily get lost in thinking back over all the incredible experiences and adventures I have enjoyed whilst based out of the UK. In short, I have loved my time here and I feel like I have evolved (in both positive and less so ways) significantly since I moved to London in the back end of 1999. I have loved the weather and crowded tubes and roads a little less if truth be told but it has been a blast and I'm far from done with it yet. I cannot wait to come back soon and enjoy new adventures down the line. But what's absolutely irrefutable (sorry, no time for spell-check right now) is that it's the people that I have shared this period with that has really made it so incredibly special and memorable (aside from the Spoof evenings ;-)) for me and I will miss them dearly and I cannot wait for them to come and visit us (did I mention free accommodation?) and for when we come back to visit them...

It feels fitting to offer up some snaps with this particular blog capturing just a few of the fantastic evenings, trips and experiences that we have shared with some of my favourite people to say our "hasta luego's"...

After dinner at Busaba Ethai with Mark, Oliver, Phil, Rory, Simon W, Anna and us two

More of a Goodbye than an Hasta Luego - whilst I have made some very memorable trips in this fella (and loved this car in the way I now understand how a man can bond with a car), I do hope that we manage to sell it before I return in 2011!

Feeding Teedle some very creamy (grated) cheese - her favourite! I will miss Teedle and I'd like to think she'll miss me too! Even if just for the cheese supply.

Hasta luego Putney Lawn Tennis Club (PLTC) - for the relatively brief period I've been a member, I have loved my time at the club. This is me and my coach Stu after a particularly sweaty (for me) last coaching session.

The family in Greece on our week long sports and action-fest on Kos and the surrounding islands. Great trip, huge fun and lots of amazing memories!

On our last day of holiday, trying to re-create the infamous Toyota ad.

And some shots of London that we took when we drove ourselves round on our own late night London tour - an amazing city and somewhere that finally felt like "home".