Traves Tangents

On Friday night I dined on High Table at Sidney Sussex .  I was rather intrigued by the ratty looking animal on the right. The Master told me that is was a porcupine , and the arms were those of the college foundress, Francis Sidney . It appears that the Sidney's adopted Louis XII 's emblem after a diplomatic trip to France. And why the porcupine...because it is a formidable enemy (apparently).

  The weekend saw me in Cambridge , catching up with some old friends. I was rather taken with this floral display... ...and the sky on the way home across Midsummer Common .

 Panic not dear reader! Le Petit Marshal Ney has a loving billet for the duration of my travels. He will be staying with a lovely friend, who is already referring to him as His Royal Highness. He may not want to return home....

It's strange...if you'd asked me a few months ago where I'd like to travel I'd have murmured a few things about various places in Europe. However, because my wanderings are primarily about catching up with people I love, it's turned into a far more of an odyssey (or Royal Progress). The plan such as it is: Christmas 2023 - visiting friends in France Jan - end of March 2023  - temp work and trips to see friends in the UK End of March 2024  - head over to North America, and try and visit: New York (with a trip out to Long Island) Chicago (with side trip to Milawaukee)  St. Louis New Orleans Denver/Boulder Edmondton (CA - which may mean a stop in Seattle) Vancouver (maybe) San Francisco End of May 2024 - travel on to New Zealand (possibly via Sydney) Late May/Early June 2024 - travel on to Australia and visit: Sydney Melbourne Hobart Perth Late July/Early August 2024  - start to wend my way home via: Kuala Lumpur Bangkok Japan Mid-September 2024 - walk the Cami...

The die has been cast and I've handed my resignation in at work , and it looks like my house will be let from the end of November....which means the PACKING.  I mentioned to a friend that I needed to sort out the garden. "How on earth do you pack a garden?" he queried. The answer is like this... Basically, I'm a fuchsia addict, and the tender ones need to be inside during the colder weather. I won't be able to bed them down in my greenhouse, so I'm sending them off to nestle in my Dad's. It was strange ti think that I probably won't see them flower next year, as I'll be on the other sidee of the world.