The most frequent question I've been asked in the last couple of days has been "So, are you all packed and ready then?" Of course, the answer is a resounding "No" - on both counts.
I'm probably as ready as I'm likely to be - travel plans in place; most necessary things bought (or at least I think they are - I'll soon enough find out if there are other necessaries that I haven't yet thought of); accommodation booked for Portugal, Spain, & Italy; flights booked and paid for from Bristol to Lisbon, and then from Barcelona to Naples; car booked for England; UK accommodation checked for with Craig & Jenny in Marshfield, and Tristan in Saltash (Cornwall).
I know that some, like my brother Michael would probably suggest that I could (should?) be more organised than this, while others, like my wife Kim would probably suggest that I am way over-organised. So, hopefully I've reached a happy medium.
As for packing - well, I have a pile of clothes on the spare bed, and I have a bag to pack things into - so that's a start. I've even started with a bigger pile of clothes, and then pared that back - now I just have to look at paring back even further.
I trust and hope that Michael will continue to comment on my blogs, as I am sure that his will be the most-read part - thanks.