Dear readers, followers, and passers-by,
The last three months have been pretty cool. I felt inspired to run this blog mainly to prove my newly made friend Lucy that hitchhiking can and will work on the Isle of Wight, and the results have been immense. Not only does it work really really well, but I also have met some great people as a result, and, in my own little way, feel like I’ve helped bring the world together, just a little bit.
Last week was my final work week at the Neutrik electronics factory in Ryde. On Friday morning, when I was giving in my time-sheet as normal in the supervisors office, the supervisor said very casually “Simon we’re going to let you go”. It came quite suddenly, I hadn’t expected it as I’d only just had my second review in which I saw I was still ‘performing’ very well, attaining 101% for my timings, and getting faster again. I was popular in the factory, though focused solidly on my work.
“Aye??”, I replied, and took a seat.
Helen told be that the work is drying up a little now, and because I had no plans to become permanent there they couldn’t train me up to other jobs. Also, perhaps word had spread that I was already looking to leave to go into part-time work, I felt I wanted to be outdoors more now, and enjoying my life more.
So the next two hours until the end of shift were spent working still very solidly, and saying farewells to umpteen colleagues that wished me well. It’s a good place, where I’ve made plenty of nice connections.
I was expecting quite an incredible hitch home as a result. But, alas, the universe provided me with a very grounding first aid teacher, who taught first aid to royal navy recruits in Portsmouth.
I wrote a song about the Neutrik family, which can be watched:
I then had an absolutely incredulous weekend learning dowsing from Judith Lock (www.wightweekend.co.uk). This was a most amazing ride over the weekend, full of amazing discoveries about my ability to dowse (which I never knew I had), and very vivid dreams at nighttime to accompany the daytime wonders.
And, yesterday, Beltane, sharing a beautiful ceremony with Wake The Wight at Mottistone Longstone.
I don’t know what will happen to this blog in the coming months – because I don’t know where I’ll be working/living – but come late summer I plan to hitch over to Greece with my good friend Alex, accompanied with a mandolin and maybe guitar and drum and didgeridoo. Hitchhiking is often about finding home wherever you are. When hitchhiking as a travel, you hitch to where you will lay your head at night. This is just as much a home as any other, in that moment in time.
My Hitch Home shall continue….!!