half term...

It's half term at last, in fact it's coming to the end of half term and as usual, I haven't done half of the things that I planned to do. Ideally, my week would have been spent sorting and organising and seeing my friends and family, and generally doing all the things that I don't usually get time to do. But, of course, nothing is seeming to go as planned recently, so I have spent most of the week sleeping, mopping around my flat, generally feeling ill and getting on the nerves of the people closest to me!

Now, actually, I suppose this isn't entirely true as I did go to the theatre on Saturday afternoon to see a great play 'Life x3' at The Watermill Theatre in Newbury (I have decided that going to the theatre on a Saturday is now one of my favourite things to do!) and I did go into work on Tuesday to help the little darlings finish coursework that should have been completed a year ago - not that I'm particularly complaining - little did they know that I was getting £30 an hour as a result of their laziness!

And today I went to the beautiful Town of Malmesbury, which is apparently where the Hovis advert was filmed, for a mooch around and a hot chocolate. This place really is lovely. The small High Street is packed with independent shops and has a everything you could need without being too commercial. The houses, which are mostly stone cottages, are well looked after and there are amazing views over the Wiltshire hills. Malmesbury is an example of one of the reasons why I love living in this part of the world. You can drive almost anywhere along a country road in Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, and it won't be too long before you stumble across a beautiful quaint village or small town, where life just seems just that little bit better.



I have come to the conclusion that where I live - the actual location and the building - is an extremely important part of me being happy. Don't get me wrong, living within walking distance of any shop you could possibly imagine and being within a five minute drive of work has its bonuses, but no matter what I do, my cardboard-walled flat will never feel like home. I need a garden, or at least somewhere I can walk to that is quiet and beautiful. I need a home that is 'me'. I spent two years decorating and dressing my previous house, so that it was my home - a home that was an extension of my personality, each colour and cushion carefully picked out.

Unbelievably, you can rent out a two bedroom cottage, with a garden and countryside views for the same price as a small, one bed flat in Swindon. How does that work? One thing is for sure, as soon as I can, I will have my home back - a place that I look forward to spending time in, a place that I want to be, somewhere that is me.