I’ve talked before about the fact that I’m not a big traveller. My parents weren’t either and I was well into adulthood before I ‘travelled’ just for the sake of it… or to ‘see’ stuff.

After working overseas for a while and travelling quite a bit for work however I became almost antipathic about the idea of travel and spent a dozen years having staycations or visiting family or friends on holidays before finally renewing my passport in 2016 to see my bestie who’d moved to New Zealand. My travelling cherry re-broken, as I’d always dreamt of going to Italy, I then headed off on a writing retreat in Tuscany in 2018.

That was my first big European jaunt. I’d been working in international development overseas, so most of my travels (and places I lived) in the 1990s and early 2000s,  were ‘developing countries’. But as well as the cliched ‘villa in Tuscany’ fantasy I’ve long loved the idea of little villages or quaint seaside English towns. (Or Irish or Scottish I guess. Where was Ballykissangel filmed?) When heading halfway across the world to Italy I’d initially booked a stopover in England and planning to travel to Cornwall or Devon or similar.

Alas, the project I was working on at the time was delayed and like a good public servant I delayed my travel (losing some $$$) and 10 day English sojourn went by the wayside.

When I first planned that trip I’d fantasised about attending a well-known crime writing festival in England, The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate. Back in 2018 it unfortunately didn’t coincide with my writing retreat in Italy so wasn’t to be. I did however subscribe to their newsletter and observed from afar in 2019 and then in 2021 (it was cancelled cos of Covid in 2020).

I’ve started to get emails about the 2022 festival. In late July. And I’m tempted.

I mean, I’ve actually got a full-time job for a change. And… if I still have it in June or July I could probably save enough to head overseas for a couple of weeks. It would certainly give me something to look forward to. I mean, of course there’s the pesky Covid-thing to worry about, but ignoring that….

I clicked on ‘weekend packages’ the other day and let myself fantasise a little. A couple of weeks in England. My first visit to the UK. Perhaps my only visit to the UK. Who knows?

And then reality (or responsibility) hits…. For that amount of money I could probably replace my entire (dodgy) side patio. And that would be the sensible thing to do. The money could be spent more practically and in a way that will ultimately benefit me when I sell. (By not having a wobbly side verandah that is rotting. And did I mention wobbly?)

So now there’s the dilemma. I’m tempted to do the impractical. I mean, “Life’s short!” right?

Of course I could do neither and save money for a change, so I have a better buffer next time I’m unemployed so feel less poor and less prone to moan about my poverty on social media! Sigh….

Suggestions?

Linking up with Denyse and Life this week.