Here I am with the beautiful Tom on my first morning waking up in London.  It's possible this is the first selfie I ever took.

My sister had kindly organised for me to be picked up from Heathrow by a friend of hers, who fed me, let me stay the night, and helped me on my way out into London in the morning.

It was a big thing for me to move to London.  I'm the sort of person who oftens feels uncomfortable on his own in public places, indeed I was in my forties before I even went to a movie theatre on my own.  Still I didn't really like the idea of tourism, I really wanted to get to know places, to live somewhere and scratch beneath the surface a little.

To go to the other side of the world, knowing no one, with only a couple of bags full of things, was a strange life experiment for me.

Somehow though it turned out amazingly well.  I've reverted a little back to the shier person I was before I went to London, and can barely understand the amazing few months of my life after this photo was taken.

Now I recommend every young person I meet go and live overseas for a while.  It will change your life for the better.