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Circling the Globe From New Zealand Back to Brighton

It's on the high seas somewhere. What is left of my household goods, chattels, bits and pieces, my sentimental clobber. I'm back from seven weeks travelling the globe to sort my 'stuff'. My belongings, thrown into Unit 17 have been languishing in the Waiheke Safe Storage, Ship's Chandlery and Lawnmower Repair Shop in New Zealand, for the past 3 years.

There was some concern, communicated via lugubrious Shane of, the Waiheke Safe etc, that mice may have taken a liking to my favourite armchair, nibbled their way through my books and nested in my carefully selected clothes, which I had folded, lined with tissue paper and tucked into a wooden chest. That's what made me return in person to New Zealand.

Deciding that a New Zealand address would no longer be my primary address was not easy. There is so much about the Land of the Long White Cloud to celebrate. New Zealand offers space, beautiful bush, a laid-back lifestyle, stunning beaches and a hard-wired pioneer 'can do' spirit. It's a fun place to live and I've loved my time there - but I'm moving on to a new phase, a new business. I need to shift my cabin to a stonier beach.

It's been a great trip. Great in every sense of the word - a not inconsiderable amount of time, an awesome holiday and a huge letting go of most of my belongings. I managed to halve the number of items to be shipped back to Brighton. Kettles, lamps, bookshelves, vacuum cleaners, sheets and towels marched up the drive of a friend's house, carried by happy buyers who really hadn't expected quite such a bargain. It all had to go and what was left was donated to the local community hall's fund-raising campaign. It's comforting to think my kitchenware is responsible for a new tea-urn.

Now I'm back after side-visits to Los Angeles and San Francisco on the way. My first morning back I walk up to the greengrocer's in Kemptown. I bump into familiar faces.

"Hello, I didn't know you were back. How was your trip?" from Anna outside Lloyds Bank.

"So pleased to see you again," a hug from Catherine outside the Kemptown Trading Post and Coffee Shop. "We must catch up."

Friendship happens anywhere in the world. I have left behind some wonderful kiwi friends - and I will see them again at some point in the future. I am blessed with wonderful friends on this side of the globe too. Whatever misgivings I might have about making the decision to transfer permanently from one side of the world to the other, dissipate in the morning sunshine and smiles of Kemptonians. Brighton opens its arms and says 'Welcome Home Penelope'.

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