So, last Thursday was my last day in work until mid October! Hurrah! I would be even more excited about it if I hadn’t been cursed with a horrible cold which came on within hours of me leaving the office.

I’ve been hankering for a proper break from work for a couple of years now. My working life began aged 18, straight from finishing A-levels, and one job has followed another without a gap between. So that’s now nearly 17 years of mostly office based work, with just the regulation 5 weeks’ break a year. High time to stand back and take some time out for myself, and luckily the end of an attachment gave me opportunity to take a six month sabbatical, and now I can’t believe it’s actually here!

I’ve got a list of things I want to do with the time – get to the gym regularly for a start, as well as getting on with lots of photography and film projects, and generally having a bit of a relax. I’ve got no major travel plans other than going on the Trans Siberian railway in July, Moscow to Beijing via Siberia and Mongolia, something I’m finally getting around to after having it in mind for a decade, so that’s pretty exciting.

Now that the time is here I’m already slightly panicking that I should have had a bigger vision and bolder plans for this period, but at the same time I didn’t want to be burdened with all the time being allocated and scheduled ahead. For the first time in my life I want to be able to do whatever I want, when I want, money allowing. The only things I’m set on doing are keeping track of what I’m up to on this blog, and making sure I do at least one photo to Instagram every day, for whatever it’s worth.

Anyway, so with this horrible cold I’ve not had a particularly productive or exciting time so far. I got back to Banbury to see family for a day at the weekend, and most of the rest of the time I’ve been at home alone, the odd jaunt to the shops excepted. Assuming some sort of recovery, this week needs to be mainly about finding a new gym and sorting the flat out a bit. Thrilling stuff!

Oh well, this is just the beginning.

Here’s today’s jolly Spring Instagram picture, taken of Queen’s Park…