Blogs from Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, United Kingdom, Europe - page 2

Travelling can have a huge impact on many aspects of your life. It broadens your horizons and enriches your experiences. I get frustrated with people who feel that travelling is not a sensible way to spend your money and their perception that because you have nothing tangible at the end of it, the money has been wasted. Often these are the same people who will happily buy a new car despite the huge depreciation of its value as soon as it is driven off the forecourt. Obviously travelling leaves you with photographs and memories that will last your lifetime. Then there are the people that you meet and the communities the world over that you begin to connect with. There is the deep-seated realisation ( a confirmation of something many of us feel) that people the ... read more

Here's the long, long overdue final blog! Yes, we're home now and for once I've had unlimited time to finish the blog, however if I waited too long I'd never do it. After 5 months, travelling felt like it was everyday life and now we're home, I wish we’d gone for longer but there's only so much one can afford! Jessie however, is mostly glad to be back; maybe her travel bug has been squashed! Not that we both didn't have an amazing time... so I wrote two and a half years ago! Here it is finally completed; hope you enjoy what I have endured to finish after much procrastination. So then, the good old U S of A. Very much the modern world. The cities instantly drew images from the movies we'd grown up with, ... read more

With a week to go we have packed, and surprisingly seem to have a little room too - which bodes well. We have been dumped by the TV crew , which Nicky and I are mighty relieved by, but the boys were excited about it and were a touch disappointed. Overall we are happy to be free to do what we want without over analysing or having to fit in with other peopple's schedules. I have been surprised by my students' reactions to my news - had a couple of spontaneous rounds of applause and a few tears which were unexpected. My year 11s have added "We Get Abandoned" to the calendar in my classroom for the date I fly! We are beginning to get really excited as all of the other things seem to be ... read more

With our departure date 3 weeks away we are as preoccupied with preparations here as we are getting excited about going. Nicky is inevitably taking care of the details of the trip, she is today muttering about ordering and paying for our malarone. Jake is excited about the TV project, whereas Elliot is struggling with suddenly being everychild's best friend as they plead to get onto TV. He was met at the school gate by a gaggle of girls, not half as attractive to a 7 year old as it might be to a 17 year old! I am desperately trying to get ahead of myself at school and finding that the harder I work the more someone turns up the controls on the treadmill we are trying to get free of. It has been a ... read more