I Stay In Wellington

My Dear Princess & Dear Fellows,

One year ago, this was my last full day in Edinburgh. I remember it well, I went to the Lothian Bus shop on Hanover Street and got a refund for my bus card. Then I met Cazza in Mailboxes Etc on Rose Street, so she could get some of her stuff couriered over to Feefs in Papamoa.

This was stuff she didn't want to pack and take with her, but equally she didn't trust it to the shipping company (we'd heard some dodgy tales). Mainly it was her designer bag collection.

"We'll need to know how much it is worth for insurance purposes," said the bloke behind the counter.

Cazza turned white. "Errrrrr..." she told me. "Turn around and don't look."

"HOW MUCH??" said the bloke behind the counter when she had finished completing the form.

I just laughed. There are some things one is better off not knowing.

I don't think there was much else to do after that. It was a weird little hiatus this time last year. We had been scurrying around, getting stressed, but now nearly everything was out of our hands and there was nothing left to do. We ordered one last take-out curry and watched "Survivor Australia" projected onto the bedroom wall (the telly had gone with the shipping by this point).

I do remember feeling desperately sad, yet also excited. I'm still sad, one year later. I think about you every day. I'm not kidding. Every single day. 

There's a bloke who practices his Dudelsack in his house, somewhere near the botanic gardens. Sometimes I hear him as I walk home and it brings a bit of a lump to the throat.

Mind you, I don't want to give the wrong impression. While Wellington does not yet feel like home, we are getting there. Having each other and Jasper and Punky helps. We have mates in Wellington now, and one day soon I'll find a pub I like, I'm sure. The curries are okay, though I've yet to find a really good curry shop. But I know that it will happen. 

Still and all. I wish I was there to give you another last hug, and have another one for the road with you. And that is the mood I am in tonight.

S.