A rebel without a clue.

Saturday morning has almost gone, and I've been on the go since sunrise, so I definitely need the remainder of the day to get cleared of all the fatigue from my recent walk in France, and the long, endurance sapping, journey back, to some semblance of restfulness and clarity. Today I'm up in Kirk Deighton to watch after Emma's dogs while they've headed to Spain. The weather is splendid. The dogs are happy and the nettle tea is on top form. There is nothing better than the first wash of tender tips. I took Charlotte out for a gentle stroll, as she's a little under the weather, and picked a large-ish arm full of the purple heads. The cows have returned to the Glebe, but not so many so far (I wonder if they are coming in stages), the bull is yet to put in an appearance. The field is lush and I know the calves will be getting the best milk direct from grass to teat! So far 2019 is a good year: and it's heating up nicely as they kick off the new cricket season on Mar...

Prophets become a means of profits for the untrue. Prophets are captured and put in reliquaries. Bits of bone and wood, Thorns and nails, Hair and things; they've touched, Contain nothing. Expensive to recoil in fear From Him who only Loves. Lay aside this worry and hear Reality requires emptiness; Clear.

Slightly burnt croissant. Good espresso and filter, but no Tartine and no jam! Bugger. I'm off back to The North via the Palace of Winchester and Clink. Vinopolis is no more. Fled up to the North side. Through Corum's Field and Chancery. Now waiting safely in King's Cross with a bag of goodies courtesy of Fortnum and Mason. ... Time flies and I am waiting for the X99 to see my girl, which has been too long. Leaving Lola is very hard to do. But I know she'll be expecting me this morning. It is back in its box, under the bed and forgotten for a while. It has to be left alone and quiet! It will laid dormant for aeons or until June!

It's full circle: YHA Thameside. A night in peace on my own in room 316 with a romantic view of Canada Water and a gas tower looking south west. What a day was Sunday. London is a great city and I'm certain that Samuel Johnson was quite correct. You know that for six years I had been bored of life, but I had just about hung on, and now I feel I've a gift to share. She was shaking like a leaf in frenzy, blown in gusts, but such a sweet girl: a little girl who knew I could offer only protection. Laid on the floor in the Swedish bakery Fabriqué, Hoxton I did what I could to show her not all men are the monsters she supposes! A Podenco Canario delicate and well mannered, but terrified. The wonderful darling: my heart lingered and was broken. They've stopped doing Tartine at Monmouth Coffee Co.! That old chestnut - too much waste! Is this Hard Times or is this a glowering accountant trimming pence of loss! Bastard's! We deal in more than profit and loss in our world. A...

Collecting Lotus biscuits for desperate times counting the waves and lonely gulls. Lavazza coffee on the dockside in Dieppe around ten. It's all good. Will be in London by 11pm and Thameside YHA by midnight. There are times I miss that place, but never the fire alarms which startled me awake at 2/3am when some git decided to have a shower or smoke a fag. Life goes on. Jean-Claude, Arunas, Raffa and Beverley are ever present. Life has moved on from them times and I wonder what became of all those good folks and the crazy lady who didn't know where she was or where she was going ended up. Andy, Craig, Marcin, Susannah, Nick, Pedro, Karis and so many names I forgot: Boomi, how could I forget Boomi... And Mo! Oh Mo, I know you went where you had to go? A Marché. The French do proper markets. True they still sell garbage, but they sell all the best AOC and AOP fodder you can stuff in a volumious 1980s Karrimor Jaguar. I've to return to there later for rillettes, cider, avocado ...

Dijon to Auxerre to Rouen to Dieppe to walk to monastery Saint Marie is a slow way to face the UK, but it's also extremely tiring. BlaBlaCar is truly useful for getting about, and really makes hanging around hitching less necessary, but it brought me back to another reality I'd clearly forgotten since I'd left Geneva on the 26th March: there are so many vehicles going everywhere carry cargo and people at crazy speeds great distances. Distance which it's taken me days to cover is a blink of the eye: you miss the details in the world by being shuttled too and fro, if you are driving, for the passenger the world recedes much too rapidly to take it in without a bad neck, headache or a feeling of fatigue. Two aspects of yesterday's trip from Auxerre to Dieppe brought me back into the modern world with a bump. Firstly, travelling into the western suburbs of Paris, and collecting another BlaBlaCar passenger at Versailles Gare, the traffic lights, cars bumper to bumper and...

Auxerre. I'm a little exhausted. Ran around trying to find accommodation this morning. After visiting the Mairie and Diocese Office I lastly headed to the Office de tourisme where I was told I could stay with a gentleman from 4:30pm. My body was switching off and my mind was distracted. The combination of wine and lack of sleep is making me feel old today. I've no interest in being here today, but I know this malaise will lift with a few days off the pop and a good night's sleep in my own bed. It's a beautiful town. Coming in was lovely this morning, but I lacked any energy to take it beyond surface detail. Now I wait outside 36 Rue Michelet and I hope my host understands how tired walking a Camino is and how demanding backpacking is as well. Even as a kid I didn't relish long days traipsing about look for a source of complete relaxation. The obvious place to stay - Maison de Randonnér - was full, but the lady of the house allowed me to rest upstairs where I almost ...