For various reasons, we, and I in particular, have been putting off telling people openly about the Shanghai move. It feels a bit like leaving a party early – a bit… awkward. And due to work and visas and people we might potentially upset, we’ve held out on a public ‘Facebook’ announcement until now that things are finalised (funny that Facebook can play such a powerful role in these major life decisions).

Out of the people I have told already, most are genuinely excited for us to go, some are disappointed, a lot are just shocked and some seem a bit put out. The put out camp mainly seem to be bandmates who were relying on my keyboard skills, but to be fair, are a minority. It will be hard to leave the musical connections I’ve built up here behind though and it’s something I will really miss.

Not long to go now…  I’m doing a lot of things for the last time already. Last gigs, last pints with friends, and now a last trip to France to the family retreat. I’m currently on the car ferry to Calais for surely the last time in a while: something I’ve done pretty regularly in recent years (pretty tame travelling perhaps in comparison to what lies ahead). On the way down to the house, I’ll be visiting one of my best uni friends in Paris, and also my elderly French aunt in Normandy. The girlfriend couldn’t come with me on the trip unfortunately, but she’ll be doing a similar farewell tour in Germany.

This is all getting a bit nostalgic, but it is nice to be able to finally appreciate the things I’ve somewhat taken for granted in recent years. Is that a slight lump in my throat… it’ll almost be a relief to get on that plane to China now! On another note, I am starting to get excited about this crazy move into the unknown. As I’m quite hungry after a long drive, the Chinese food I intend to soon eat in Shanghai is at the forefront of my mind. Somehow I doubt the ‘sweet and sour’ dish on offer on this ferry’s menu will be a worthy short-term substitute.

– Him