Life

Well, I'm not totally sure how to start this post. I've found since commencing my travels in November that you cannot expect anything for sure. No matter how I tried to plan, I just couldn't tell what event may occur next to challenge my carefully, fully risked assessed plans.

Yesterday I found out my nan passed away. She has been battling with cancer for the last year, and it just all got too much. This is just over a year after my grandad died of cancer also. Being two of the people I remember distinctly looking after me when I myself had cancer, sometimes it's a bitter pill to swallow that they died of this disease.

I know though, that nanny kept her sense of humour until the end. She quipped to mum about how she was going to sellotape me down when I returned from travelling to stop me buggering off all the time. I am determined to keep in mind only the times we baked cakes together, watched Emerdale and polished off many a packet of biscuits with a few cups of tea.

It's a bit of a shock, and it truly reminds you how far away from home you are when something like this happens. I was lucky to have met some great people, who fed me beer and rum and administered hugs; for these gestures I was really grateful. It's a strange feeling to get news like that with people you barely know, but they made it all ok.

I will be figuring out my new plan over the next couple of days, and making my way back to the UK to say my final goodbye to my nanny.