The trip back from Costa Rica went off without a hitch. Only two things of note: the first was the delicious hot cinnamon bun I had at San Jose airport, made all the better by the preceeding 2 months of endless beans and rice combinations. The second was the fact that I managed to accidentally smuggle a knife onto two international flights.
My carry-on bag was checked by security normally in San Jose (X-ray machine, cursory search by the man in gloves) and again in Houston (more X-rays, more poking and prodding). It was only after I’d cleared security that I went to get out my phone and realised my Leatherman was in the bag, complete with 3-inch razor sharp blade.
Considering how much of a hassle security is, you’d at least expect them to find a large, lethal block of metal in an otherwise pretty empty bag…
Back in England, I went pretty much straight to my niece’s naming ceremony near Nottingham. A nice little excuse to get the whole family together and see the Welsh contingent who might otherwise have been a stretch to visit. The newly named Bea was very chilled out throughout the proceeding, as all the kids were I suppose. Perfect nap timing by the parents left them all in an angelic daze.
I spent Christmas with the parents up in Bury which was nice and relaxed, although there’s not really too much to do up there any more so I left to come down here to London pretty sharpish.
I’ve managed to wangle a free place to stay in Mayfair, which is pretty sweet. The offices of one of our investors has a spare bedroom which was available over the holidays. It’s actually not particularly convenient as most of my friends are either in Hackney or Canary Wharf – pretty much the other side of town – but I’ve enjoyed mincing down Oxford Street, delivering dismissive snears to as many mono-lingual tourists as possible. I went to Cambridge, dahling.
New Year’s Eve was relatively low-key, compared to some of the craziness of San Francisco, but great fun. I spent the evening in a bar with a bunch of friends and friends-of-friends before heading back to a house party, staying up till the early hours sipping peppermint tea.
My plans for the next few weeks are still pretty unclear. I know I’m going to Cambridge tomorrow, and Winchester after that. Depending on how quickly my lawyer can get the visa application in, I’ll then either go back to Central America – maybe Panama – or head straight back to San Francisco.
Looking forward to leaving this climate! It’s pretty much a 30ºC temperature difference Nicaragua to here, and getting more… -10ºC in London today!
