Things I can't pack...

"There's no place like home".
_ Dorothy Gale (Judy Garland), Wizard of Oz

Well I think I have finally succeeded in packing the suitcase. Weighing in at 21 Kg, just under the limit, I might even be able to squeeze another book in.

However there are some things that just won't fit so here are just a few....


















..and of course friends and family. I'm sure I will be keeping in touch with you all and hopefully seeing some of you in Vietnam... So take care, good luck and the next post will be from Hanoi.

leaving the safe harbour

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”
- Mark Twain

So the day has finally come when I leave the safe harbour of my employment to embark on my new journey of discovery as a volunteer in Vietnam. The experience at Varian Medical Systems has been great, working for a company that does so much good in the fight against cancer by producing state of the art oncology equipment to treat the disease. The people have been superb and their send off was lovely, my easily packable guide to the countries of the mighty Mekong will stand me in excellent stead. So thank you Varian for a wonderful journey and to any colleagues reading this good luck and all the best for your future.

However, as Mark Twain says, it is not the things you do that will disappoint, but those you don't. The opportunity to live and work in Vietnam will not come around again, so it is time to catch the trade winds in my sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.

Tomorrow, the preparations for this adventure continues with the completion of the legalisation of my documents. My passport should be back with me next week complete with visa and over the remaining two weeks the flat shall be cleared in preparation for my new tenants. The date has been set for departure, September 6th, and the initial arrangements for my arrival have been supplied by the VSO programme in Vietnam, the first 3 weeks will be exciting indeed.

Finally don't forget that the Prestonville Pub will be hosting a charity night this Saturday, August 22nd. It will be a grand night with live music provided for the Butchers of Blues. The music starts at 9:00pm, the pubs the best in town, the cause is VSO...so see you there..!!

The Prestonville Arms... the best pub in Brighton ..there certainly won't be one like this in Hanoi

Preparing to go...

"There is no moment of delight in any pilgrimage like the beginning of it."

Charles Dudley Warner

Hi everyone and welcome to my blog, this is my first entry so keep with me if things go a little awry.

I will shortly be going to Vietnam with VSO, (Voluntary Service Overseas), to work in their HIV and AIDS programme. The past couple of months have been very busy, my flat has had to be emptied in preparation for letting, a cathartic experience that finally meant donating some 20 years worth of accumulated books to charity. Together with medicals and vaccinations, I now feel as though I should be immune to most things, though the comprehensive VSO medical briefing has made me aware of the wide variety of illnesses and general hazards that I am still likely to encounter, including the rather gruesome bot fly maggot.

The past few days have been spent at Harbonne Hall, VSO's delightful residential training center just outside Birmingham. The time was spent learning skills that I shall need in my placement in Vietnam. These include a variety of techniques often based upon role play and theatre. I tried conducting meetings through puppets, a first for me and something I should have tried ages ago, as I have often been to meetings that have seemed like a Punch and Judy performance. It was also a fantastic opportunity to meet with other potential volunteers many of which were going to countries as diverse as China, Rwanda and Namibia. The skill mix and age range was also very diverse reflecting the variety of opportunities that VSO offers to fight poverty and tackle disadvantage in some of the poorest areas of the worlds.

VSO volunteers at Harbonne Hall, Aug 09, off to Ghana, Malawi, Namibia, Cameroon, Rwanda, China and Vietnam...can you spot me?

Another delight of Harbonne Hall is not only the resource centre, packed full of information, but also the delightful bar and the charming local Pub, the Bell Inn, which incorporates the village bowling green. A few pints of Summer Storm makes for an interesting walk through the olde worlde church graveyard after last orders. So now we have all departed and we will soon be going our seperate ways. I have come back to a newly decorated flat, well done to my decorators, Gary and Graham, it is only a shame that I shall not be living in it. In September I will be in Vietnam beginning my in-country training so you will be able to catch my updates and photos here.