So, it's been a while. Where to begin? Now I'm faced with drafting a witty and succinct summary of my wilderness years, I wish I'd started this sooner. At least before I started my marathon training. I could have droned on forever about that. And did.

Anyway, I'm back. Not sure how long for, but here I am.

A lot has happened.

I left Japan. I got a job in a prison. My mum left the planet. My soul left my carcass. My brother left home. The dogs got dumped on Mum's best friend. I obliterated a fair few months with some very middle class mild alcoholism (Malbec followed by Bailey's, anyone?). I wrote a novel. Or the bulk of it, that's still a story waiting to be told. I left Suffolk, the prison and my misery behind me and got a job with 'challenging' teens in north London. I realised this was not a great idea. I did a bit of running. And some other things happened. That's pretty much where I still am now.

I also signed up as an ambassador for Cancer Research UK and that's what brings me back to you: another ambassador has a blog and wants me to contribute, which I will, but greedy me wants to have a little bit of that action myself. Narcissism will always win out in the end.