Five places I’m going in 2017
5x5 After a meandering 2016, I decided to start the new year with a list of what I’d like to do with 2017. After all, even I’ll get bored farting around forever, and I’m very good at it.
It’s not all fun — there’s work and money and where am I going to live next on the list — but I wasn’t surprised to see a lot of travel appear. Here are a few highlights. The gravity of London has already proven too strong in the latter half of 2016, so I want to get out of the city at least once a month, even if it’s just for a night. Aside from all the important people outside the M25 bubble there’s a lot to see in Great Britain and beyond.
1 Catch up with friends You can’t expect everyone to turn up in London, especially not when they’ve got a family and you’ve downsized to a one-bedroom flat. The past 18 months have taught me the importance of friends and family, and never taking them for granted. There should always be time for a cup of tea or a cheeky pint. So if I didn’t see you in 2016, I’ll try to find a way this year, whether you’re a short drive away or a much longer trip.
2 Dark skies There’s nothing like getting away from the glow of the city to a place where the stars really come out at night, setting up the telescope and seeing what’s out there. The planets are more vivid, you can see low-lying objects like Venus and Mercury, and there are stars you can never see with civilization humming away on the horizon. The UK has world-famous dark sky sites including Wales and Northumberland just a few hours away (and at least an hour closer once I’ve left south London).
All this relies on finding someone to fix my telescope who will respond to emails, preferably before the nights shorten too much.
3 Grand Prix Despite seeing two Grands Prix in 2016, I didn’t enjoy the season a great deal until the second half, when it immatured into a thoroughly bad-tempered battle of the brats. There’s a chance that 2017 will see competition for the championship between more than two drivers, I’ve never been to Monza and there’s a French race for the first time in donkey’s years.
It’s the perfect chance to put some miles on the MX-5, which is proving great fun to drive and delightfully impractical for trips lasting more than two nights, especially if you’re camping.
4 Diving Having learned to scuba dive in 2016, I’m now faced with the challenge of improving my basic skills and rehearsing all the safety mnemonics at least once a year, if not every six months. Not to mention that once I get under the waves it’s just wonderful to feel weightless amongst the fish and gaze at the reefs and wrecks. I’ve even got an action camera to record it this time. Hopefully I’ll find an exotic location to combine it with the final highlight:
5 Non-human primates My long-term affection for our furry cousins is turning into a thesis on the extent of non-human sentience. I’m hoping to start this journey with an MSc or MRes in September, and in advance of that I’m applying to take part in overseas conservation work with non-human primates to see if I like them as much in the wild as I do in my head. After all, I could be seeing a lot of them if I get stuck into this notion. Top of my list so far is an Orangutan Foundation trip to Sumatra in July, but there are other options.
