We started the month in Innsbruck, and from there moved speedily up to Liege (which proved to be a great spot to spend a few days).

A lengthy but very doable day's travel (by train and then by car) delivered us back to Derbyshire, where we chilled with family for a week or so.


Then we were homeward bound, but via Istanbul. A trip's not a trip without Istanbul... We had a brilliant day chugging up the Bosphorus, and spent the rest of the time pottering in Kadikoy.




And from there we flew to Kuching. We arrived on Saturday, which is less than a week ago, although I find that hard to believe.


I always find it a little difficult to come down after a trip away, especially a lengthy one. But the last week has been too busy for any pining for journeys past, or dreaming of journeys to come. And that's probably a good thing...

We've been REALLY enjoying catching up with friends, and beginning to tick off our Must Have foods.

And I've made a start on the dreaded medical appointments. One down, two to go. But that first one came out as positive as can be expected at this point. Definitely merited its celebratory cheesecake... Fingers crossed for the next two.

Today we moved out of the Longhouse Hotel, our initial landing spot (we gave up our flat before leaving in September, if you remember). This was our second successful stay at the Longhouse. It's the nice, traditional kind of hotel where they still provide you with tissues (not to mention a fridge, a kettle, and a desk). And the people there are lovely. I committed a major faux pas when I spilt an entire cup of black coffee in the bed... Yes, indeed... And I did a sterling job. Duvet, duvet cover, sheet, mattress-protector -- all coffee-doused. (Kopi tobruk, to boot, ie there was a thick layer of grounds in the bottom of the cup.) I offered to pay for the laundry, but they graciously declined, and gave us our full deposit back. Above and beyond...



We're now in a very pleasant little Airbnb just up the road from our previous pad. There was a burst of karaoke from somewhere this afternoon (mercifully brief), but what's really nice here is the birdsong (plus two of our tried-and-tested food stalls are just across the way).


The Velvet Cushion is still in its not-quite-caught-up state. I'm hoping March will clear the backlog.

Half of this month's entries were travel-related (at least kind of). Innsbruck meant I couldn't resist a nostalgic trip into my childhood, with The School at the Chalet by Elinor M. Brent-Dyer (I swear if more people had read the Chalet School books, we'd never have had Brexit...). And you can't be in Liege, the birthplace of Georges Simenon, and not take in a bit of Maigret, so The Dancer at the Gai-Moulin, which is actually set in Liege, was just the ticket. We'd followed D.H. Lawrence round quite a bit on this trip, so it seemed rude not to read something else of his. The ironically titled England, My England is a collection of short stories with a number of unifying themes, and as always with Lawrence, it's both intriguing and maddening. To celebrate Derbyshire, meanwhile, there was A Traveller in Time by Alison Uttley (actually a novel for children, but a thought-provoking and atmospheric read for grown-ups too).

The other half consisted of four books that belong together for their different qualities of hauntedness, and for the different light they shed on story-telling: Other Voices, Other Rooms by Truman Capote; Atonement by Ian McEwan; Wherever You May Be by Vietnamese-German author Khue Pham; and The Story of a Life by Holocaust survivor Aharon Appelfeld.



So, what next?

Well, we're booked for a week in this Airbnb. After that, we move into a friend's place while she's travelling (don't tell her about the coffee incident), and while we're there, we'll start serious flat-hunting.

There's that book catch-up I mentioned. And a long-lingering project that I really must pick up again.

Plus, I have 2 kilos to give away. Anyone interested?

Oh, and of course, we all need to work on not going batshit crazy over the stream of garbage that is washing over the world at the moment. Full-time job in itself, that one...

But, finally, there's the continuing-to-enjoy-Kuching thing, the easiest task of all:




Hope your March is a good one!