I’ve been putting this off for a long time. This is my first post on the domain I’ve been paying for – how much I don’t know, but worth using from now on. So, hello!

The weather is hot and there is no sign of rain for the next couple of weeks. This is a good day to get a hair cut (done!), visit the Natural History Museum, and the Science Museum. These are all things that were well overdue.

There is a habit I have of taking something good and turning it in to something not so good. One of the good things is that I have a couple of days off soon. Not long after that, I have two weeks off to go on a proper trip and finally visit Europe. With Brexit, this might be my best chance before needing a travel visa.

The long trip away brings it’s own anxieties. The first one is having the tech with me. By that I mean this little laptop which was dropped from a height, got neglected, and still works. Tick! The battery seems fine, which is fine. Then there’s my 4G MiFi.This is fine too. Good camera would be useful, or a new phone with a working camera. Or perhaps, I could take a few disposable cameras and use photos that other people have taken. These people may well have been professional photographers. That’s sorted. No new camera. I’ve saved some cash and have made a decision!

Now that I have old fashioned cameras, why do I need the laptop? It’s to do this. I’ll be on my own and need to fill my time. In a way I’m forcing myself. This can be my hobby. Is it discipline I need? I have no idea. This is serious though. I want to travel, and I’ll be mostly, if not all the time on my own. I need to fill my time and not feel alone, and there’s a limit to the amount of coffee and beers I can drink to keep myself busy. Doing this would just be repetitive and the same thing I’m doing when I’m not travelling.

My little laptop has 63% and 2hrs 21mins battery left. I think I can live with this. And I have more data than I can shake a stick at. But I may buy a new phone with a working camera. No! I’m falling in to the new digital age of posting everything.

I’ve just broken one of my unwritten rules. or maybe I have written this down. That’s to check things on the web. But as this is saving me money, I’m going to buy the best disposable camera from my one and only search: Kodak 35mm One-Time-Use Disposable Camera (ISO-800) with Flash and for £9 plus a couple of quid to develop the film, I think that’s a bargain. And I can scan some of the best pics too. Let’s not return to this subject again.

I’m feeling much better now. I have a budget of about £1500 for a two week trip, and I’ll find out what my bonus is for the first half of the year. I will stop worrying about the fact that I’ll only have three days leave left from Sept 3rd until Dec 31st (all of which will be taken over the Christmas break. I’d have wasted them anyway. This means that I must make the most of my two weeks away. Not doing this would be letting my friends the last three days, down. I can’t do it, I will do it for them!

Next choice. How do I travel? Train, or flying? And another choice. Budget, luxury, or semi-luxury? I want to spend time in Paris, visit the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia, Florence, Rome, Budapest, and Bucharest. Suddenly, I don’t have enough days! I have sixteen of them. I can’t do this on my own. I’ll have to speak to people! This is a long time not to do something useful. And I really need to plan.

Watch this space!