Osaka to Liverpool, day -4 or so

This is the first part of my retrospective of my journey from Japan to the UK. It seems like a god idea to fill you all in on the background before I launch into the whole palaver of getting across the landmass.

In the space of just over five years I had gone from being a bemused graduate of the Microbiological Arts, through purveyor of English at a high-street corporate conveyor-belt operation, distracter of children and occasional language tutor and into the much more apt role of unemployee. I was in Japan. I was an English man. I was nearly broken but free and intact.

Let me gloss over the rapidly replaced passport and slide past the six trips to Osaka, needed to obtain Visas. Doubtless it would have been easier to get a visa card, as Tricky tells me it isn't hard nowadays. I was nearly packed, had almost boxed or binned my gear: One for the postman, three for the dustman. It was something like that ratio, anyway. Likewise, I will spend little time on the farewells, sincere or otherwise. There is just one big ups to Kenny, whose site is here and is a master of the needle and thread. He makes stuff from old kimonos. Have a look at his site.

So I was packed, ready to go and I had four days left in the realm. I went to bed.

The dust is settling...

So here I am in Poland, in beautiful, sunny, humid and muggy Krakow.

I actually quite like the look of the place. There are lots of old churches that are nice to look at and not go to. There is a huge square where the beers are massively priced at half what they would cost in England. Shopping is cheap, travel is cheaper. The people are very friendly and always deign answer my English in lieu of an Polish.

I've started my course. I'm glad to say the course is challenging and different to what I had done before. I was a little worried, before I came, that I was wasting a month and about a thousand pounds in fees and living expenses. In fact, I am being taught a bunch of stuff which will augment and extend what I already know. Great news.

This narrative was supposed to be mostly about my travels from Japan to Liverpool and there is some good news on that front, too. We have found, treated with, warred with and defeated the wireless router we found in the flat. All being well, the story begins from the beginning sometime tonight or tomorrow.

Interim message

New times call for new blogs - the old part of my life is over, the new not yet begun. This is about the bits in between.

Soon to be released:

Retrospectives of my journey through Asia and Europe.
Running commentary on my CELTA course in Poland.
Details of introducing the missus to life in England (terror).

and many more gripping and exciting things for you delectation.