I’ve already had a few questions from friends who are probably more than a little surprised at my current Facebook status…
To try and stem the flood from everyone else, here’s what has brought this about:

Most of you know that I tried to start some teaching courses in January, and that there were problems with getting the two different centres I would have had to attend to get their act together. This meant that I was given a deferment for a year at Reading, and a chance to reapply at St Martin’s in Lancaster.

Following this, I decided to take a little time out – my last real holiday was two years previously.

I also started trying to find work – either something that I would be able to do in the year I had found myself stuck with, or something that I would like enough to think about doing for longer and turn down my course at Reading. This has proven to be quite difficult.

Anyway – my sister is getting married in Australia in a couple of weeks, and I had already intended to spend some time there so that I could be at the wedding and see my family.
I also had one outstanding job application.
I also had reached the absolute limit of my ability to stay financially solvent.

I’d made a deal with my parents so that they would help me out a little while the job application would be pending… and that I would get a holiday work permit so that I could live with them if I was unsuccessful… this would allow me to return to the UK for the teaching courses next January – and also save me a fair bit of money on living in the interim.

The only real problem was that, with the prospective interview dates, I wouldn’t know about the job until I was already in Oz.

Its now come to a crunch time – I’ve not heard anymore about the job interview, and my flight is booked for Sunday. I most likely won’t be back for a couple of years.

I kept all of this quiet up to now, except from a small number of people – I didn’t want to repeat what happened in January where I was going, and then wasn’t…

I apologise to those people who feel like I should have told them sooner – but I also hope you understand my motivations for keeping quiet.

I will be missing a lot of people over here – but this is just one of those things that I have to do. I’ve been thinking about when would be the right time to rejoin my family, and while the actual timing of it all is a bit sudden, I have to say that this is that time.

Well – you’re all invited to crash at mine (when I get a place) and to have barbies and beers in the South Australian sun whenever you feel like a break from the UK.