Bournemouth

Now down in Bournemouth, which is making intermittent attempts to be sunny. I started my TEFL course yesterday, and already it feels like a long time ago, as the course is fairly intensive, and even if you're not feeling under pressure, if most of the people around you are, it all adds up. I'm trying not to take it too seriously and wait for the tutors to give me guidance if I appear to be going wrong, instead of trying to beat myself up about making a perfect lesson. Lots of practice comes first. The day is from 9 to 5, with the expectation of 2-3 hours homework.

I'm staying in a homestay, 5 minutes from the school, with one of my fellow TEFL students, Polixeni who is Greek and the same age as me, and a younger Korean student who is here for five months. The family I'm staying with are very friendly but very busy. The food comes in lovely big generous portions as soon as you get in after school.

Following the last entries about my pathetic adventures in hospital, everything has now healed up/over, stitches out etc. I'm not lifting weights yet but I can manage to get out for a run and I sort of wish I had a bicycle down here, but frankly I can live without it for the month.

What I did manage to do was lose my mobile phone on the train on the way down, so I'm just not safe to travel on my own. I hope this attrition of possessions levels off before I start mislaying articles of clothing or parts of my body.

I'm enjoying myself. Everyone on the course is enthusiastic and interesting, and I hope that things continue as well as they've started.

Nantes

The day after the previous post, I tootled over the 2k bridge across the mouth of the Loire at St. Nazaire, then after meandering through a couple of villages beside the seaside I joined one of the trunk roads heading South. After a roadside picnic South of a little chi-chi fishing port called Pornic, I managed to hit a kerb and crash good style. Bike was virtually undamaged (lots of panniers), but I'd hit my shoulder (right), so 50k ambulance ride to Nantes, kept in overnight, fracture bound up and debridement, and then a round trip to Pornic Gendarmerie and back to pick up the bike, which had EVERYTHING - passport, cards, the lot, aboard.

I got lodged in a little 2* hotel but went back to the hospital on Wednesday because the elbow wasn't healing; the nurse started to sew it up; then got an intern; the intern had a go then got a colleague; they called a surgeon; and then my heqrt sank when they asked me when I'd last eaten... I ended up having general anaesthetic around midnight when they sewed me up, put a cast on, and I've been unable to do much for the past week. Cast is now off, I'm going to get on the boat on Friday, and chalk it up to experience. I've been bored as few times before because I haven't had the budget, the inclination or the physical resources for sightseeing. I'm glad the bike wasn't damaged, but as a holiday this has been a bit rubbish. Annoyed about the infected wound, I could have been on the road this week because the collarbone was only fractured and you can still ride a bike with that. I have made lots of observations but I'll save them for when I'm not paying cybercafe rates.