At the weekend I went to Central Park. The lovely Mr. Wallace told me, after much prodding and poking, where they found my father this past summer. I wanted to see it. I wanted to be there. I’m not sure why, and yes I know it’s more than a little morbid. But I wanted to feel that place, maybe find some insight, some direction from the beyond…

This is what I found instead.

I suddenly felt so claustrophobic, so closed in (and closed off, both literally and figuratively), I came home, did a quick Google search of train schedules, packed one of my Soho knock-off bags, and walked right out the door.

And I’m glad I did.

It’s amazing what a few days in a different place can do for the mind. I’m just back from a couple of days “up state” as they say. I decided to have a little holiday from it all to get my head together. I ended up in a B&B in this small town called Hudson. It’s named after the river or the explorer. No one could decide which when asked. It’s a lovely small town, antique shops and bookstores (No AG books, though I always look) and cafes and ice cream shops. It was just the space I needed to think.

It sort of reminded me of home. Not London, but home home. I mean it doesn’t look anything like County Clare and it can’t really compete with the Irish countryside (what can?) But it had the same feeling of being able to breathe and slow down. The leaves are turning and it’s true what they say about the Northeastern part of America in the Fall – it is gorgeous.

I spent most of the time walking, writing, shopping, and drinking passable coffee. When will these people learn that scorching the beans in molten lava does NOT enhance the flavour. I finished The Wolf And The Wild. It got a very tense and remained incredibly dark. Many twists and reversals and me going back to reread chapters I thought played out one way but later realised something else was going on. I felt the need to go and buy a bunch of fashion and gossip magazines afterwards to cleanse the palate!

When I first got to Hudson I was certain it would be the place to push me over the edge to head home (might’ve even been my subconscious intention), but if anything it’s had the opposite effect. I’ve come back to the city buzzin.

So here’s the thing. I’ve hatched a plan. It’s big. I mean “it’s ‘uuuuge” as that awful man keeps saying. I don’t want to jinx it just yet and it is just a plan right now, but it’s going to be fantastic. I swear. I can’t wait to share it.

So, right now, I’m going to get my practical head on, iron out my thoughts, and see what it will take to make my plans a reality. The one thing I can say is, I won’t be going back to Ireland any time soon.

DGx