Well this is it! It's just gone 8.30 and I'm sat in Heathrow terminal 3 internet thingamyjiggum (it actually says that above the entrance - nice touch) and my flight leaves in just under two hours.

I am currently:

- bereft of all above-the-shoulder hair (what's new about this I hear you ask? Well, it is significant because it took me an hour to shave all of said hair off thanks to boots' rubbish economy razors and I now have nigh on 14.3 cuts on my shawn head - a painful shower experience this morning confirmed this)

- feeling increasingly confident about going / leaving / arriving, but my insides are all tingly-tangly (i think that's going to be the first word I teach when I'm there)

- worried about my mum taking more photos in places she's not allowed to... i swear we're being taled by the SAS

- feeling really good to have got to see lots of friends before I left - bit of a whirlwind but brill. It included a little too much walking (I'm missing Bumpa/my bike already... please could you all partake of one additional cycling journey at some point over the next year to make up...). It meant all the grand thoughts of departure have kind of been pushed to the back of my head over the last week so suddenly wham bam here I am... but that feels good and as refreshing as a tube of refreshers (consumed in tandem with a gallon of water).

- thankful for all the advice i received from friends... I'll try not to be pushed down wells or mines by vengeful monks, I'll watch out for the LBs, I'll try my best to smile back at the world when all is caving in, I'll try to remain calm when the only in-flight TV in English is Bewitched - the late 90s pop beat combo from Ireland.

- smiling because I found an Amilie tape last night which made me keep my head when all benthoughts around me were losing theirs

- looking forward to learning Burmese. on this note the most important thing I've learned so far is (and bearing in mind the above) "sarn chi may" (phonetic spelling, for some reason this keyboard doesn't have burmese script) which means "I'll give it a go"

Anyhow, had better dash - off to do the goodbyes down by the departure lounge. Hope everyone out there has a great year - take care of yourselves and enjoy the ride wherever it takes you,

UK-Ben signing off,

xxx