To describe this post as overdue would be like saying the Crusades occasionally got a little rough. I had so much to talk about during May Week and graduation (and precious little time, it being my last proper week in Cambridge with everyone) that I couldn’t really face attempting it in one go. Then there was the actual affair of graduation (surreal, lots of hat waving and Latin that was surprisingly easy to follow, more surreality on holding an incredibly sparse certificate that apparently justified my last three years of overall thoroughly enjoyable existence) followed by flathunting in London (repeating the same spiel to almost a dozen estate agents and taking lots of photos when viewing so that Kirsten could feel what the E3 crowd would call “virtually there”).

And now I am blogging to you over the conveniently free wifi from a Holiday Inn in Philadelphia (the city, not the cheese spread). So it’s been a slightly hectic ride that resulted in me not really wanting to start an explanatory post that I could never really finish. So instead we’ll start afresh in the USA (just call me Pilgrim Father) and I’ll refer back to previous events as when I get photos sorted out accordingly! Incidentally a new camera is definitely on the cards while I’m here given the magnificent exchange rate (just shy of 2:1) so you’ll be able to enjoy the sights in even higher quality.

We flew out here on Air India which was distinctly lacking in terms of in-flight entertainment, unless one counts a large screen at the front of the cabin showing a Hindi film with subtitles placed too low for anyone behind the first two rows to read. The staff were friendly enough, despite a rudely unprofessional manager wandering around the Heathrow check-in desk. The flight was made more bearable by flying only to New York rather than inland to Dallas, chopping off a good 2 hours. Beyond marching down Orwellian hallways of one-way mirrored glass lined under the stern gaze of continuous CCTV surveillance, immigration itself was surprisingly swift and hassle-free, mostly, one presumes, given their relief in seeing a British Passport amidst a sea of Indian ones. Fingerprinting to “keep the US open” and for my security still left me somewhat baffled. Whatever makes them feel safe, I suppose.

Posts over the next handful of days will depend on friendly hotels, but expect regular updates once we reach Louisiana and a proper house.