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Curtain call

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Andrew

on 21 March, 2010

in Life stories and Travel

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Molly curtain call

A year ago this month Molly Cat came into our lives. A lady who saves cats from the “kill list”, i.e. those that cannot be found homes by animal charities and are put to sleep, had rescued Molly and her siblings and was displaying them outside a pet supply store to try to find them new keepers. When Molly reached out and put on an act, Tina’s heart melt. She phoned me and asked if we could get another cat. I was not convinced. I feared that Hadley Cat might object to sharing her home and there was all the extra expense. But I caved in because ultimately I knew I was fighting a losing battle. There was no way Tina could walk away from that cute three months old bundle of fluff.

Now I can’t imagine not having Molly around. After seeing the photos a year ago I was anxious to meet the new addition to the family. My six months in the USA from last May onwards gave me plenty of time to be with Molly. I had no choice really, she adores me and follows me around demanding attention. I missed both cats badly when I returned to the UK. Molly has identity issues - she chirps like a bird and acts more like a dog. She will play fetch, likes constant fuss, wants her tummy tickled, and loves sweet foods. Less refined than her “sister” Hadley, Molly was happy to sleep in the litter box, a plant pot of soil (having killed the plant), and she shreds any paper that is left lying around in view of her mischievous eyes. If she is not sleeping on a cushion next to me, or playing with her toys, then Molly is usually found in the window sill watching the world go by. So here’s a recent photo of our daft as a brush Molly in honour of her first year with us.

Time flies

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Andrew

on 16 March, 2010

in Life stories and Politics

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It has been some considerable time since I added an update to this blog. Back in September 2009 in fact, then still still a couple of months away from ending my Florida adventure. Maybe with a hint of appropriate consistency I am once again sat at the table in the Jacksonville Beach apartment, this time just for a brief two weeks holiday, the very place where the last blog entry took shape.

A great deal has occurred since that last blog post. The arrival of my parents in Florida in July provided a lot of potential material to post, photos to edit, and yet limited the available time to carry out such tasks. I fell behind with the entries and apart from a couple of retrospective postings, lost the drive needed to catch up and continue a regular offering. Furthermore a restructure at work turned my attention to submitting a job application, preparing for a video conference interview via Skype, and the days in the local Beaches Library were dedicated to retaining my own job rather than the observations of Florida life. Once the interview was complete Tina and I then spent ten days in Italy, attending her brother’s wedding in Siena. Those ten days provided more items to write about but little free time, the most notable event was proposing to Tina in St Peter’s Square in the Vatican, Rome on 23rd October. She accepted by the way!

Leaving Tina and Florida in mid November and returning to the cold, bleak Leeds streets, and a workplace where staff morale was the lowest I have ever encountered, was as hard as it was painful. I had obtained a position in the restructure, a promotion in fact, but no joy could be taken from it when colleagues and friends were unsuccessful and in danger of losing their jobs. Most shocking was the tragic news that during the six months I was away two colleagues took their own lives. The mood at work was sombre at best, sometimes mutinous, motivation absent, and the feeling towards management close to outright fury. This atmosphere, the cold weather, and the returning to an empty house every night left my mood very dark, and the last thing on my mind was writing a blog.

But there are positives. Tina and I have, with her ex-husband’s co-operation and support (in fact he suggested it), decided to live in the UK. Tina came over for Christmas which was a happy time, and we looked for wedding venues, settling on Temple Newsam House in Leeds. We now are embroiled with the frustrating and complex task of sorting out the application for settlement in the UK for Tina and two of her boys, so they can be over in time for a September wedding. Having been used to having Tina, her boys, and the cats around for six months, not to mention being in a location where mid November still allowed cycling after dark in t-shirt, shorts and flip-flops, it was remarkably hard to go back to Britain to the solitary life. Furthermore the need to save money has necessitated a frugal life of simple pastimes, staying home reading, watching TV, or browsing the internet. I have so far failed to see a Stoke City match at the Britannia this season, my football fix obtained from a few trips to the now defunct Farsley Celtic FC.

One distraction I have embraced enthusiastically is a greater involvement with the Green Party as the General and local Council Elections loom. I helped during the unsuccessful campaign in the Leeds ward of Hyde Park & Woodhouse byelection in February, and have been leafleting around the Farnley & Wortley ward with the aim of getting Cllr Andy Parnham re-elected and helping Cllr David Blackburn’s Parliamentary campaign for the Leeds West Constituency. Leafleting has a rather soothing and stress-busting effect. When striding up an unknown driveway, one’s concentration is locked on folding the leaflet correctly, the potential awkward letterbox that makes insertion a chore, and the possibility of some slavering beast waiting on the other side to remove any straying fingers. All worries of the day at work, or the months ahead are gone, the mind is cleared and focused on the simple task of getting the paper through the slot without incident, and the exercise is also good for body and soul. While this blog as suffered, I have been busy updating the Farnley & Wortley Green Party website and have also assisted with the Headingley Green Party’s new site too. I have also agreed to be David Blackburn’s election agent during the General Election campaign.

While this latest holiday in Jacksonville Beach affords me the time to restart blogging, I must give credit to another source of inspiration. A contractor called David has been working in our office since my return to Leeds. Stoke born and bred, a similar age to myself, and a great fan of Stoke City during my favourite era - the Lou Macari Years in the early 1990s - so no wonder we have stuck up a rapport and shared plenty of laughs. David discovered my blog by accident, and has apparently been working his way through past entries. It was his compliments about the stories and enjoyment of them that gave me the impetus to write something new. Sometimes the thought of “what’s the point” flits across one’s mind, but if other people do appreciate the efforts made, it is flattering and galvanises the resolve to continue. I find writing fulfilling, people seem to enjoy reading my observations, and if I can provoke thought and positive action from just one person then the whole exercise is worthwhile. So thanks David, and we must keep in touch when you move to your next contract.

In the meantime I think I should make the most of the sunshine and head outside. Who knows what things are going on out there that are just asking to be written about!

Going Downtown - Jacksonville

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Andrew

on 29 July, 2009

in Life stories and Travel

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After an enjoyable meeting and meal a few nights before, a trip downtown with Tina’s father and step-mother Lloyd and Rose was organised for my parents. First we visited a local thrift store as it was “seniors’ day” and many items were marked down even further! I found what appeared to be a brand new Jacksonville Jaguars cap and swooped for it to add to Dad’s birthday present collection. A proper souvenir that could be worn with pride rather than the usual tourist offering!

There’s never a dull moment with Lloyd and Rose and so it proved with the parking. A church friend of theirs had offered free use of a bay on a private car park where they had several reserved spots. Firstly there was the drama of finding the car park due to incorrect directions, next was realising all the bays we could use were full, and then finally getting in to the tightest of spots at the end of a row which was not one we were actually allowed to park in. All this to save $3, and leaving me hoping that the traffic wardens were not as vigilant as in Leeds. Meanwhile Tina was joining us on her lunch break which involved tracking us down and finding her own parking spot. Eventually the two of us settled for a nearby public car park but could not find any sort of pay and display meter or attendant. Fretting about the likelihood of a ticket we joined the others to stroll towards the river.

First up was a wander over the Main Street Bridge which was opened in 1941 and has a centre section which lifts up vertically to allow vessels to pass underneath it. It was a piping hot day and the 1680 feet crossing was proving hard going for Lloyd already. At the other side we made an unplanned stop in the Maritime Museum next to Friendship Park where for a small donation we hid for a while in the air-conditioning so Lloyd could sit down and so Dad could give the curator a lecture on the Titanic!

From the Maritime Museum we braved the afternoon sun once more to make a ten minutes walk over to the San Marco Skyway station. For 50 cents a ride (10c for seniors) the Skyway is reasonable value if it actually went anywhere of use. Sure it links the Rosa Parks Transit Station (Bus station to you and me) with a few downtown locations that are within walking distance, the convention center, and some parking garages over the river, but you get the impression it is more novelty ornament than actual use. On the couple of occasions I have used it most of the small group of patrons seemed to be tourists or homeless. If it could extend down towards historic Riverside in one direction and out towards the football stadium and beyond it might be more useful. It’s total length is 2.5 miles and the initial section was completed in 1989. The elevated monorail is fun to travel on, getting up to speeds of 35 mph, particularly enjoyable when it crosses the Acosta Bridge to give views down the St Johns River. We initially rode over the river to the Prime F. Osborn III Convention Center terminus because the night before I’d seen a news report about a steam loco on static display in the car park. The center was once the old Union Railroad Terminal, a fine piece of architecture and thankfully saved from demolition in the 1980s.

Just Dad, Tina, and I went to see the loco as it was a fair walk to the car park entrance, an indication of how large the station complex was and how many platforms there once were. The others waited and rested keeping out of the sun. The Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) #1504 was built by American Locomotive Co. Richmond Works in 1919, one of 81 “light pacifics”. It saw service on the ACL for over 30 years, mostly hauling 10 to 12 car passenger trains at 70 mph. After diesel power was introduced, these engines were put into freight service, and #1504 continued to work in the Tampa area until withdrawal in 1952. Surviving in almost original condition, she was selected for preservation and put on display at the Prime Osborn Convention Center, which is the old ACL depot. The local council are to vote about making the loco a designated official historic landmark, offering it protection and possibly a new permanent and more prominent home.

Back at the Skyway we made the short trip to Central station to walk over to the Jacksonville Landing. Opened in 1989 the Landing is shopping centre, with restaurants bars, and an open air stage for events. It is the only retail centre of note in the downtown area, most of the shopping experiences are out of town malls. No sooner as we entered the heavens opened with a torrential downpour. While Lloyd and Rose sat down to take a breather on a bench opposite a bizarre Zoltar automated fortune teller (which had the annoying habit of speaking to you), the rest of us went upstairs to the food mall to find something for Dad to “keep him going”. It was now nearly 3pm and past lunch time, the culinary delight in question turned out to be a hot dog.

The storm passed and the sun back out we wandered the few blocks back to the car parks. Thankfully neither car had earned a ticket and on departing we discovered a strange wooden honesty box where each car parking spot had its own slot to insert three dollars. We had neither the bills or coins to make that, and as far as Tina is concerned if it doesn’t take plastic it’s got no chance! My change had gone on the Skyway. We departed feeling guilty and hoping the car number plate hadn’t been noted. Back at Lloyd and Rose’s place late lunch was served and then Lloyd, after much persuasion it has to be said, treated us to a tune on his electric organ. Then rather unwisely Lloyd attempted to teach me to play. The audience and my inability to remember the notes sent the frustration levels rising but luckily I managed to refrain from turning the air blue! It was a tad Eric Morecambe - all the right notes but not necessarily in the right order!

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The Fourth is not strong in this one

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Andrew

on 6 July, 2009

in Life stories and Travel

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Friday 3rd July gave me a taster of what was to come. The neighbourhood was alive with fireworks of a volume I have never experienced, and these salvos carried on into the early hours keeping me awake until at least 2am. So I was not in the best of moods when I eventually rose, which added to my general dread about the 4th July. Patriotic banners and decorations had long appeared outside houses, (someone had even spray-painted the US flag on their lawn) while cookies with red, white and blue icing adorned the “specials” displays in supermarkets. There’s normally a large number of “Stars and Stripes” flags around the neighbourhood on any normal day, in fact if I saw those many Union Flags back in the UK I’d think I’d wandered unwittingly into a BNP convention. But as the 4th July approaches even more are unfurled. America tends to be far too self-congratulatory at the best of times in my view, so I was expecting an über expression of fervent patriotism. Thankfully Tina is open-minded enough to believe that America is far from perfect, there is much room for improvement, and shares my view that the outpouring of a pride bordering on arrogance in many cases on the 4th July is fairly over the top.

So therefore you might expect that our 4th was fairly low key and you’d be right. The day was dissected by a trip over to Tina’s employers’ to let their dog out for some exercise as they are away on holiday. There was fear that this trip towards downtown would mean crazy traffic and no parking when we returned to the beaches, the most popular gathering spot for the celebrations. But it did give some cause for some celebration of our own. During a visit to an Arlington thrift store, Tina unearthed a brand new dress with store tickets still attached (showing $140) for only $10. Meanwhile I found a shirt, again brand new with store stickers in place for just $4. Plus we found several CDs at $1 each. I was warming to the 4th July. Another bonus was that many of the shops were nearly empty of shoppers, so it was a good time to stock up on weekly food goods. (But not patriotic cookies!)

Back at the beach we had a traditional American meal of burgers and hot dogs (both vegetarian of course) in honour of the great day. But in an unpatriotic move we selected a bottle of Australian Merlot rather than a Californian red, and adjourned to the table in the apartment garden area. It was a sultry evening with no breeze, but enjoyable out there talking to some of our neighbours, and watching the increasing number of revellers staggering by on their way to the beach for the firework display. I enjoyed proffering the opinion that America might be a better place if Britain had actually held on to it. It was all taken in good heart. Just before the fireworks were due to start at 9:30pm we wandered down to the boardwalk to watch the spectacle through the waving sea oats in the dunes. It seemed most of the apartment block residents were there, joining somewhere around 100,000 other people. I left the “oohing” and “aahing” to the natives, I’m not overly fond of fireworks. I think they are in the main a waste of money, scare the animals, and if I wanted to be kept awake all night by loud bangs and flashes I’d have holidayed in Baghdad. However they do make an interesting and challenging subject to photograph. The majority of the photos I took were disappointing but here are the acceptable wheat from the chaff. Back at the garden seat we watched the traffic jam crawl southwards until well past midnight, and I stayed out further into the early hours drinking with the neighbours. An uneasy truce? Nah, good friends and willing parties to banter.

Under the old oak tree

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Andrew

on 17 June, 2009

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Tina’s Mum Linda is getting married in October to long term partner Shawn. At the moment the couple are investigating suitably romantic locations for the ceremony. On Tuesday, which also happened to be Linda’s birthday, we all met up at the Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens in Riverside. Tuesdays evening also happens to be free to the public due to a sponsorship deal, giving us the opportunity to appraise the gardens’ suitability without parting with a few dollars! The gardens were beautiful and included a 150 year old oak tree with a huge canopy. Sadly there was little time to examine the art treasures too (something to do another quiet Tuesday evening), and photography inside the building is forbidden. However here are a few photos of the gardens which overlook the St John’s River.

City Wildlife

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Andrew

on 14 June, 2009

in Life stories, Travel and Walking

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Finding reasonably priced and engaging entertainment for Tina’s two youngest boys can be a challenge, but a bit of internet research had turned up the option of Tree Hill Nature Center, so on Saturday we decided to try it out. Remarkably given that it is short distance from downtown Jacksonville, Tree Hill is home to 50 acres of trails through woodland, a Florida Natural History Museum, butterfly and hummingbird gardens and native animals. Furthermore, Tree Hill attempts to provide environmental and energy education to the local community, and has been doing so for over 3 decades. As a “Green” and someone who likes trails it seemed a good choice for a family outing. And the entrance fee was rather cheap

After a picnic in the company of a rooster and a few hens, we visited the butterfly enclosure, got friendly with a pen of aimiable goats, and then headed off to do one of the longer trails. It seemed like it was going to be a fairly uneventful walk until an armadillo was spotted as it scuttled under a boardwalk leading to a small pool. Waiting quietly paid off and the armadillo eventually made a break for the undergrowth at some speed, but not quick enough to evade my camera. About ten minutes later when we paused for a rest another armadillo scurried its way behind us, too quick for me to swing round, switch on the camera and snap if before it became obscured. I enjoyed the trip to Tree Hill, and I intend to return probably on my own so I can sit patiently somewhere with my camera and see what turns up. There are meant to be raccoon and the occasional bird of prey. A remarkable nature enclave amidst the busy city, and Arlington district.

The trip ended as the skies threatened rain, and sure enough the drive downtown was through heavy rain as we crossed the St John’s River. The intention was to have a ride on the monorail, and at first a lack of quarter coins and the rain made it look unlikely. But in a scene uncommon in Britain, a friendly hot dog salesman changed some money without a grumble and we were away. The photos from the ride were disappointing because of the murk so I intend to dedicate another blog post to a repeat experience some point in the future.

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This is a biscuit…

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Andrew

on 30 May, 2009

in Life stories and Travel

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…in the southern states of the USA. What the British call biscuits are known as cookies as many will know, but while I’ve had them before at the Cracker Barrel restaurant in Titusville, I got the chance to observe the southern biscuit more closely when Tina made some the other night. They remind me more of the British scone, and they are very tasty.

Biscuits are apparently a common feature of southern US cuisine and are often made with buttermilk. They are traditionally served as a side dish with a meal which is how we had them, and mighty fine they were too y’all. But they can also be had as a breakfast item, often eaten with butter and a sweet condiment such as molasses, light sugarcane syrup, sorghum syrup, honey, or fruit jam. I can vouch for them with honey. However less appealing in my view, biscuits and gravy (biscuits covered in “country gravy”*) are usually served for breakfast, sometimes as the main course. Gravy? Tsk! It’s just wrong!

I found this recipe for the southern biscuits.

*Country gravy is made from the drippings of cooked pork sausage, white flour, milk, and often bits of real sausage, bacon, ground beef, or other meat. It’s a bit like a Béchamel sauce. The gravy is also often flavored with black pepper. In some parts of the South this is also called “Sawmill Gravy”. I’m not surprised, it sounds foul!

Memorable Memorial Day

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Andrew

on 27 May, 2009

in Life stories, Travel and Walking

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Monday 25th May was Memorial Day here in the USA. It is to commemorate those who lost their lives fighting for their country, and is a national holiday although many stores stay open. Tina was also off work so we decided to do something with her two youngest boys. But before we picked them up we had an early morning bike ride for an hour or so before it got too hot, taking the back roads down to the start of Ponte Vedra Beach, admiring the colourful and impressive houses along the beach front. We came back along the beach for most of the way until the combined force of the sun, and the resistance of the wet sand enticed us back to the easier roads for the last stage of the journey.

The afternoon was spent at Fort Clinch State Park, home to a fine 19th century preserved fort. Although no battles were fought there, it was garrisoned during both the Civil and Spanish-American wars. We picnicked, wandered around the battlements, and then ventured out on one of the trails that runs through the park grounds. We were disappointed not to see alligators and armadillos like last visit, but nature is not like on demand movies, we dance to her tune. Here’s some more photos of the day…

More photos from May 2009

A new day, a new country, a new chapter

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Andrew

on 21 May, 2009

in Life stories and Travel

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When I started this blog I was determined not to litter it with the mundane aspects of life like going down to the supermarket, or hoovering the house. I wanted to post items that might be interesting to the reader, provoke debate, or deliver amusement. Any regular visitor to this blog (if there are any left!) will have noted that I’ve not posted anything for a good while. This is partly because recent life has been taken up with the day to day stuff that isn’t interesting copy, and when I’ve had subjects I wanted to write about, it’s been an effort to find the time. The reason for the sustained activity and lack of time is what leads me to be sitting in an appartment in Jacksonville Beach Florida writing this now - what I nicknamed “Operation Jax”.

Don’t worry, it’s not some covert operation to threaten world peace, but a determined and organised plan to spend six months living with Tina in Jacksonville to see how our relationship progressed. It has seen much saving of the pennies, obtaining a career break at work, a mortgage payment holiday, visiting the US Embassy in London, and selling the car. I won’t bore you with the details but suffice it to say I had about a eight or nine page project plan by the time I’d finished. There’s so much to think about, more than you initially imagine. The US Visitors’ visa is a particuarly complex process, and while I’d expected potential issues at work, my line manager shocked and delighted me by agreeing to my career break within seconds of the request leaving my mouth, something I’d feared might be far harder to obtain. Maybe that says something about how much they’d actually miss me! Most people at work seemed more concerned about whether I was throwing a leaving party or bringing in goodbye cakes! No it’s actually quite humbling how many people seem genuinely pleased for me that this has come off, and the best wishes I’ve received from so many people is rather touching. It’s taken longer than I’d hoped but I think it will be worth the wait and the modest sacrifice.

So after one final night at my parents’ house, on the morning of Tuesday 19th May we set off to Manchester Airport for my flight to a new chapter. My churning stomach wasn’t helped five minutes into the journey by a surprise tailback on the A500 caused by an accident. A quick diversion round the northern towns of the Potteries, and the scenic route along the A50 through Cheshire saved the day and had me at the airport with bags of time. An emotional farewell later I was at my gate when the ex-footballer and manager Graeme Souness appeared on some stairs, wandered straight past me, urging his companion to hurry up or they’d miss the plane. There’s something about plane travel and me seeing celebrities, I can add Souness to Angus Deayton, Lisa Stansfield, and Paulo Wanchope as people either seen in departures, or actually on the plane. The rest of the journey to Atlanta was fairly uneventful, I couldn’t sleep so watched two excellent movies of differing genres, the moving “The Reader”, and the simmering “Gran Torino”. Clint Eastwood back in top form.

The real drama started in Atlanta. The Customs & Border Protection Service have a laidback attitude to processing the queues of new arrivals, our side of the hall had three officers, while the other side appeared to have three times as many, despite supervisors patrolling the floors. The result was a long wait to see whether I was going to be granted my six months permit. It turned out to be a longer wait than I initially thought. Eventually arriving at the usually routine passport and fingerprint check, I was informed that my “processing” (sounds painful!) would be completed in another office, my documents were placed in a large yellow trimmed transparent folder, and I wandered disconsolately with them to the double doors I’d been directed to. In this back office I waited around an hour to be seen with a wide range of visa / residency seekers of all nationalities. The whole plan came down to what was decided in the next few moments. A bit like a football team’s season resting on a penalty shootout. After what seemed an age my time came, and a friendly officer questioned me for some while, and eventually was satisfied that my story was truthful and didn’t even wish to see my supporting evidence, the presence of them piled on the table was enough! With a smile, a warning to behave myself, and a “good luck” the officer granted me the six months visa and let me out back into the main hall to collect my bags. The plan had taken into account this possibility, I’d factored in a four hours layover between flights, so I still had two hours to make my connection - easy! A huge falafel and hummus wrap later I was boarding the plane to Jacksonville.

Apart from the fact the weather was awful and the landing was a tad fraught, that journey passed easily with the anticipation of seeing Tina. I ran the last few yards along the arrivals route so we came together like the scene from a romantic movie - I think black and white film and a steam filled railway station would have been most appropriate! So I’m here, and I’m here for a while. I hope to make regular posts if I have things of interest to report. As I complete this the rain has seemed to have stopped for the first time since I arrived. It’s been heavy showers all the way so far. A quick sprint from the Regency Mall to the bus stop yesterday resulted in a right soaking I can tell you. I am getting used to my new surroundings, and the fact that I’m not off back after two weeks this time, there’s drawers for my clothes and I’m no longer living out of a suitcase. Hadley Cat is also adjusting to me being here, she doesn’t like disruption to her routine, while Molly Cat is quite the opposite, delighted to have another outlet for her particularly cute brand of attention seeking. Tina is now at work, and the cats are having a moment’s peace after a session of grappling and hissing. I think the sun is trying to burn through the haze, and it’s now time to leave this, shower and get out of the house for a while. More to follow soon.

PS A huge thanks to family and friends who have helped this all to come together whether it be looking after the house, my scooter or whatever. You know who you are and I’m grateful beyond words. Thank you.

Reflections on 2008

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Andrew

on 1 January, 2009

in Life stories

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It’s a few minutes into 2009 and I sit on my sofa back from a New Year’s Eve party I attended almost out of a sense of compliance because to be honest I don’t particularly enjoy New Year celebrations. However 2008 was such a remarkable year personally that I feel it deserves some moments of reflection. It was a year of many highs, a few lows, but it was never dull, and provided some very special memories.

The year 2008 actually started in a sad way. After spending a wonderful couple of weeks around Christmas with Tina over from the USA, 1st January 2008 was the day I had to take her back to Manchester Airport for her flight home. We didn’t know when we would next see each other, although it was likely to be late March or April when my Annual Leave entitlement was replenished. December had marked the flourishing of our relationship to something stronger than just “friends with benefits”. On the way back from the airport I tried to cheer myself up with a trip on the East Lancashire Railway, but the drizzly day, and the feeling of missing someone special beside me prevented a real upturn in spirits. The house seemed empty, I felt like a part of me was missing, and the year was off to a bad start.

Yet there were plenty of highs too. I lost almost a stone in weight, getting myself fitter and leaner for when I next saw Tina, and making myself feel more positive about my appearance. I started being mentored by our Head of Department in February and the first session alone went a long way to raising my confidence and increasing my positivity. In early March I obtained a worldwide recognised qualification in software testing, and later that month the wait was finally over - I was heading to Florida to see Tina. Those 17 days opened my eyes and I went from showing general disdain for all things American to contemplating a whole new lifestyle for myself over there. Tina and I did some touring around, some highlights being the Ocala National Forest area with Juniper Springs, the JFK Space Center, and walking in the Apalachicola National Forest.

I enjoyed myself so much that I returned home and immediately booked to go back in June. In the meantime I went to Coniston in the Lake District and was taught how to drive a 7.5 inch gauge steam locomotive for the first time, something I’d continue to do regularly for the rest of the year. Furthermore I had a fantastic trip to Brussels in April, meeting fellow Stoke City message board users who have since become friends, and with them experienced the quite surreal moment of being introduced former Stoke manager Johan Boskamp. A week later I was in Scotland walking in the Cairngorm mountains when news trickled through that Stoke City had won promotion to the top flight of English football for the first time in 23 years.

May was finished off by a trip down to the South West walking in Exmoor and Dartmoor with my friend Jen, and taking in two preserved steam railways during the Bank Holiday period, while the final Saturday of the month presented a beautiful day in the Lake District walking up 4 peaks around Buttermere. Then came another trip to Florida in early June. Another Stoke message board name became a face as Tina and I met Calvin and his wife Margaret for the first time, and another friendship began, while again there were road trips to see parts of Florida neither of us had seen before. I also met a new addition to the family - Hadley the kitten - and Tina’s youngest son. The trip was enough to make me decide I wanted to spend much longer in Florida, so plans were made to rent out my house, ask for a sabbatical at work, and spend several months with Tina to see how the relationship developed.

This is where the year took a bit of a nose dive. A new boiler and double-glazed windows were needed to get the house up to scratch to rent it out, and I hoped this work might be done by August and October was suggested as a best case scenario for my arrival in Florida. However delays with projects at work, the complexities of arranging finance and the availability of the contractors meant that the house improvements were finally completed at the end of October! I still had decorating and minor DIY work to finish too. I was not in Tina’s good books. The excitement of meeting Johan Boskamp again when he brought his team FCV Dender to a friendly game at Leeds Utd, plus Stoke City starting their first ever season in the Premiership punctuated the downturn. But when it became obvious that Tony Pulis was going to deliver his usual brand of negative football, it took the shine of things. The obstacles in the way of an extended stay in America seemed to becoming more difficult to overcome, leading to a growing malaise and a growing waistline as I put back on the weight I had previously lost. Still I did turn some of my energy to positive things like discovering my political activism again, joining the Green Party and attending an anti-war demonstration in Manchester. Overall the tail end of the year was bleak, and I was angry with myself for not achieving what I had set out to do. Self doubt had returned.

Yet the year ended on a positive note. Tina secretly arranged a wonderful gift for my birthday in November - a ticket to see Leonard Cohen live at the M.E.N Arena - and I also decided to spend Christmas in Florida, luckily managing to obtain a cheap fare. How can anyone complain about a year that saw three trips to Florida?! The final visit in many ways was the best of the three. There may have been no road trips but there was plenty of quality time with Tina and two of her boys, seeing Calvin and Margaret again, and spending time with Tina’s family. It reinvigorated my desire to spend some serious time over there, and strengthened my belief in our relationship at a point where I was beginning to wonder if it could actually work.

The year 2008 has been memorable. I have been exceptionally lucky to experience what I have. Only a perfectionist like me would pick fault with it. Despite the achievements and experiences I still feel a certain disappointment about not being able to see though all my plans and not completing what I intended. This coming year has a lot to live up to, but if I do manage to achieve those dreams then 2009 will be equally memorable. Now it’s time to strap myself in and enjoy the ride however choppy.

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