I’ve just returned from a few days on Mull for New Year, and I’m bedridden with a bug which I think I’ve caught from one of my friends (damn you, Conor. And sorry Tim for passing it on further). This means my productive day before returning to work on Monday hasn’t been given much of a chance. I can at least do something, so meal planning and writing up a blog post or two it is. Please excuse the photo quality of some of these as a number are very, very, old and taken with a bog standard digital camera or phone.

This weekend, my parents are moving. They leave behind the house in York which I have called home for the last 16 years. It’s the longest I’ve ever been able to call somewhere home (we moved around a lot in my youth, and since moving out I’ve not stayed in one house for all that long). I said my goodbyes to the house earlier in the week, when I stopped in on my way from Devon up to Scotland. My parents were starting their packing which I believe has been a tad stressful. My mother starts her new job on the isle of Mull on Monday, so she moves into their new home today, with my father following in the coming days. I wish them all the best with their move and have every faith in it being a success. Oh and if you’re reading this ma/pa; GET A DOG PLEASE, thanks.

The house in Appleton Roebuck saw me through my teenage years, which were mixed at best. I was bullied for much of secondary school and the house was a bit of a refuge. But the positives; I remember the first time I kissed a girl on the couch, the parties (sorry mum and dad), playing football in the garden, climbing the hedges & trees, whinging about being made to go on walks to Bolton Percy (that’s changed now, I love walking), having to live in temporary accommodation for a few weeks while the extension was built (and the bathroom that my dad started refurbishing but stalled halfway through for several years), bike rides to Bolton Percy or around Acaster Selby… the list just goes on really.

I often complain about York (I found the city a bit of a drag to live in, I mean sure, it’s pretty, but it’s a bit boring), but if I’m honest, I’ll miss being able to call the place home. So long York, I’ll likely be in you a whole heap less now (apart from when visiting my sister), I’ll miss you and your quaint streets.