| The other day, I convinced myself that I should move to Wales and spend the winter windsurfing, walking and cycling, living off nothing more than a paltry freelancing/tutoring wage as I continued to attempt to make a career as an organiser of words. I got so excited about this idea – I was researching windsurfing spots, reading about what each town was like to live in, and romantically picturing a hardy, wind-swept life among the mountains. I then looked on rightmove, and was disappointed to find that the only property I could afford, even in the middle of north Wales, was an out of service public toilet. Genuinely. |
  I was pretty disappointed: my rural escape plan wasn’t going to work. I’m fairly open to alternative living situations – I lived on a boat for two years – but living in a toilet was a step too far. Where would I keep my bike? My stuff? Where would I sleep? Or cook? But then I thought about it some more. It had mains water and electricity, which was a step up from the boat. And it had four bathrooms. How many homeowners can brag that they have four bathrooms? The location was to die for. Right in the heart of Snowdonia. That beautifully clean mountain breeze would blow the stench of dried urine right out of the window. The best part is that I could restore one side as a public convenience, pop a turnstile on the door and get myself a nice little side hustle on the go! Winner! Sit back and watch the 20 pence pieces come rolling in, baby! I always did want a passive income. So, if you need to reach me this winter, I’ll be in my ex-public convenience in north wales.  Believe it or not, the pressure to find ‘the next thing’ is getting to me somewhat. The guests are now gone, the kit’s packed up: this really is the end. There isn’t another resort they can ship me to now. Just good old England, where it is, according to my mother whom I was just a few seconds ago on the phone to, cold, wet, and dark. I’ve got a few days left here, but (returning to this idea of Gromit laying tracks in front of his train) it does feel like I’ve run out of spare track. I’ve been thinking about what’s next almost constantly. The multi-step workflow goes thusly: 1 – Drink lots of coffee 2 – Come up with a cool idea 3 – Research it a bit 4 – Convince myself it’s my one true calling 5 – About 6 hours later, realise it’s probably not going to work 6 – Lull myself to sleep with a Sean Connery era Bond film It’s quite an exhausting process.   But there has been some smidgeon of progress: someone asked me to write a thing for them! Thanks to Cookie, I got asked to write a guest post in this blog, called Travels and Wandering. It’s a fantastic resource for tips, information and inspiration. Here’s my post. Nicole and her crew of writers produce some fantastic pieces – there are some cracking reads on there and a lot of great ideas for trips and activities. well worth a look. Anyway, flagrant self-promotion out of the way, I hope you all have a lovely week. I’ll be back in the UK on Thursday and in London the 3rd weekend of November so giz a shout if you’re around. I miss you all. Love, James |
Feeling Cute, Might Buy a Public toilet
