OK, I’m off! Bags are packed, tickets printed, taxi is booked for four thirty tomorrow morning, and several alarms have been set.
I’ve got some great guest posts lined up to run during the next few weeks, but you’ll hear nothing from me until the middle of July. I thought about taking my laptop, or going to internet cafes, and then decided just to have a complete break. No phone, no internet for a month. It’s a nice prospect.
Let me be clear: I love writing this blog, and chatting with all of you, and reading your own blogs, and tweeting and emailing and all the rest of it. Communication has come a long way in a short space of time, and we’re lucky to be living through these times.
But sometimes it just gets tiring, for me at least. Maybe it’s because I’m an introvert by nature, and have always enjoyed spending large chunks of time just gazing out of the window or lying in the bath and staring at the ceiling. When I’m online for hours, checking for every new email or tweet, I tend to neglect that sort of thing and then, when I do make time for it, I find it hard to relax my mind.
I’m also aware that the really interesting stuff in our blogs, tweets or novels comes not from the time we spend staring at a computer screen, but from the time we’ve spent before that, living life.
So the prospect of a total break is enticing. I hope to return refreshed and with lots of stories to tell, both here and in my fiction.
We’re flying to St Lucia first, then taking a boat to Martinique, Guadeloupe and Dominica, before flying back to Barbados again in a month or so. The plan is to stay with people we’ve met on Couchsurfing, a network of people worldwide who volunteer to have people stay in their homes. We’ve hosted people before in London, but never travelled, so are really excited about it.
Thanks for all your wonderful comments over the year so far, and hope you get along well with the guests I’ve invited to stand in for me over the next few weeks. I’ve got writers and readers from as far away as South Africa, Denmark, Brooklyn and Tufnell Park, all set to wow you with their perspectives on life. I’m really happy with the quality of the posts people have submitted, and hope you enjoy reading them and connecting with their authors. Would be nice if some new blogging relationships were formed as a result of me going on holiday!
Look forward to catching up with you again in a month or so…
There are 8 comments
Have fun, Andrew, enjoy your holiday!
I’ve heard of couchsurfing and know of people who have used the site to travel – it will be interesting to see your experience.
Does “total break” mean no old fashioned notebook & pencil either? 🙂
Have a wonderful break! I know just what you mean about the internet being tiring. Much as I love it and the people I know here, when I’m fatigued and worn out I need time away from the screen. I’ll bet you will feel completely refreshed for the proper break.
Bonnes vacances! I wish I could leave for a month like this. Have a nice trip in France, since La Martinique and La Guadeloupe are French.
I completely agree, all the conversations and engaging with the community is great, but you need down time. The last couple of months it’s taken me a while to get to sleep with all the information in my head and with the freedom I’ve got from study now I’m taking the same advantage, even if not on holiday. Have a wonderful holiday, and may you return with a lot of ideas for both books and blog posts!
Have all the fun you can and hope you return with a big bang! Cheers!
Thanks for all the good wishes! I had a wonderful time, thanks. The couchsurfing worked out really well, and I met lots of great people. There’s something very powerful about one person giving to another with no expectation. I have to admit, I didn’t even take an old-fashioned notebook and pencil 🙂 I just wanted a complete break. Lots of ideas stirring around now I’m back, though! Look forward to reconnecting with all of you.