Nicholas Quirke was unable to suppress a laugh on November 30th when he received a final wage from his former employer of £38.00 which would help towards the horrendous £130 Parking fine he also received. He found himself in The Marwood again for morning tea and a slab of their Vegan Biscuit Cake courtesy of Rory. Nicholas was gratified by the interest, envy and good will of his friends who all said they would miss him which made him feel a little guilty as he suspected he would be so busy on his odyssey that he might not have time to miss them. A big Rory hug goodbye and then it was off for a haircut. After discussing with Milo what would be easy to maintain He decided on length with an undercut. The vaguely Victorian appealed to him. Too much green tea meant that he got to experience the first outdoor kazi he had seen in years. Once again he found himself on a train headed to the Chinese Visa service to collect his passport. Despite the cost, despite the effort it was a wonderful looking thing to have in his passport. Nicholas made the unusual choice of taking the underground from Bank, a station that he had historically avoided since 1982, to Swiss Cottage. Miles of corridor and flights upon flights, up and down escalators; he deeply regretted his choice. Exhausted he emerged from the station and immediately searched for a pharmacy where he could buy some insoles to bring relief to his feet. A solo dining experience at Arabesque in Hampstead when he discovered less than half a mile away Dee was socialising with an old friend. Sadly they missed each other. As he went in to see Cell Mates at Hampstead Theatre he encountered Michael and Eileen’s friend Jane who works there so she joined him for a surprise selfie. The revival of Simon Grey’s play about escaped spy George Blake and his defection to Moscow was engrossing and strangely terrifying in the light of the collapse of the iron curtain, raising the question, what was it all for. It was long and he had to get the 22.50 train back, 4 carriages, Southern Rail announced the platform 5 minutes before departure and did not open the doors for 4 minutes, why? He did not get back to Brighton till midnight.