2805 minutes to go...

The sum of my European wealth. It's not a lot, but it'll get me through the time it takes me to find a cash machine to withdraw money from my Travel Money Card.

It isn't long now till I leave Preston for seven weeks and head over to France to start as an Activity Instructor for PGL at their Camping les Tamaris centre. Over the last few days I have been going through a mix of emotions; one minute I'll be reluctant to be leaving and then the next I can't wait to be in foreign climes. I suppose with it being such a big change to my everyday routine I am right to have some anxiety over what I am doing. However this should not hold me back and I am just going to have to overcome all these worries, get on with life and get settled in at the centre. It will feel like home after a week. Well it is going to be home for seven weeks so I suppose it will have to feel somewhat homely.

Since I last posted, Tuesday, I have been getting my head in some books so that I am prepared, to a degree, for this afternoon's Business Studies exam. In fact once I've clicked 'Publish Post' I'll be heading to the kitchen and then upstairs with a coffee to do some last minute cramming. Yesterday allowed me to get my finances in order before I set sail at 15:30 on Saturday as well as sort out some travel insurance for the 59 days I'll be away. Last night one of my best boating buddies came round for a chat over some coffee. It was good to catch up before I leave and it will be a shame I won't be able to share any boating missions with this particular paddler in the near future. In fact it is upsetting to think that I won't be having any more boating missions with the people I have come to respect and enjoy the company of on the water in the last four years. What is maybe even more upsetting is that I won't be on a river for a considerable time as my centre is on the French coast meaning I won't be able to have any river adventures with the French locals - that will have to wait till New Zealand. Obviously I won't be having any adventures with French locals there, it'll be Kiwi's, unless there are some French people over there.

I may just have to go and watch all my LVM DVD's before I leave for France just to get my fix of white water paddling before I settle down to some hard core sit-on-top work.

Good lines, stay safe and see you on the wet stuff...
Iain

Not long now

Monday night: some of my stuff laid out on my brother's bed ready to be packed into The North Face bag on the floor.

Today I sat two A Level exams, one in ICT and the other in 3D Design, which means that I only have one more exam in Business Studies left. That is on Thursday, but that also means I am that bit closer to leaving home to go and work for PGL in France. It's kind of scary to think that I won't see home for such a long time, but it is also quite a big step for me as a person who has never left the country before. In some ways I am looking forward to it, but at the same time it is quite daunting. After a couple of days I should be settled in and it will feel like second nature to be living in a tent in Southern France paddling a sit-on-top every day.

Good lines, stay safe and see you on the wet stuff...
Iain

Necessary Evils

Eventually I have the paperwork organised.

Yesterday I was offered a job, in fact I was offered two jobs. One was from Acorn Adventure and I was on the verge of signing the contract when I thought, I know we'll see if PGL can offer anything. They did, and the offer was considerably better. This has meant that the last two hours have been spent trawling through paperwork, crossing the 't's' and dotting the 'i's' on contracts and CRB disclosures all with PGL letter heads. It has been somewhat stressful and only now have I managed to get it all in some sort of order.

When am I going? Next Saturday, the 23rd June, leaving Dover 15:30.
Where am I working? Camping les Tamaris. It's on the Mediterranean Coast and I'll be working mainly from sit-on-top kayaks. Not my first choice, but it's enough to get my Gap Year started.

I think it is time to add some extra categories to the twenty I already have for this blog. I'll start with France and Work, but I will not be going through the past hundred or so posts adding these categories to relevant entries. I may add more categories when I see fit.

Good lines, stay safe and see you on the wet stuff...
Iain

Shameless Self Promotion

The postman came this morning - no it wasn't Postman Pat - and dropped some things through the letterbox. In the pile of things he popped through were my stickers from Bala Graphics. They look rather splendid when positioned on Roger in appealing ways. I've just got to decide upon a final position for them before peeling back the paper and adhering them to the shiny red plastic. They're a good advertisement for the blog during my gap year and a bit of shameless self promotion never hurt anyone.

Good lines, stay safe and see you on the wet stuff...
Iain