
Escaping the rain I said goodbye to Fiorella for a weekend in the Sunshine State of Florida, spending a beautiful time with my friends Zach and Dawin. Those Winter Blues had been beaten away in the respect our trip to New Orleans was amazing but the weather was shocking, onwards and upwards it was onto the next hype! Orlando benefited from warmer climbs, so much so I was able to wear shorts that January weekend. I met Zach during my Walt Disney internship in 2011, it was major for us to have one last kiki before I would return to England. Revisiting Walt Disney World was great because I could finally drink alcohol around the World Showcase. Darting straight for the Rose & Crown pub in the UK Pavilion had to be done for a pint of Strongbow Cider! We got turned up on the final night of my trip with a great night out at Orlando's Parliament House. We slayed! 2013 served some mixed weather but through all the shade it was a success until I arrived back to snowy England! No!

Canal Street showed me a night to never forget, I was so very excited to get my groove on within Manchester's legendary Gay Village! All that research led me in good stead for my extended project, I didn't exactly get any concrete findings during that experiment but I was able to get the feel of Manchester and its delights. Back to Birmingham I went, the final semester of my degree course had arrived. I had drunkenly decided to book an overnight trip to see Bath Spa and Bristol after to many gins on Christmas Day. Bath Spa was lovely with the Roman Baths and the timeless architecture that looked as beautiful as I had imagined. Moving onto Bristol, making my second visit to Bristol allowed me to see the city center because I was there before for a party and nothing else. January 2014 had my attention, I was happy and ready to take on the final chapter of my degree in Birmingham. Much like 2013 I had absolutely nothing to be Blue about, that Winter was a trifle too cold though B!

Taking to the skies I was on my way to Gibraltar, a British Overseas Territory that I had had my eye on for some time. I had nothing to loose, touching down into GIB I chose to stay over the borderline in Spain for hotels were considerably cheaper and I had missed Spanish culture since my Newark days had disappeared. Those Winter Blues had got me for a second, getting away from home gave me the chance to zone out for a little while to see somewhere new and to hopefully gain a clearer idea of how to get things together. My week was great but all good things come to an end, getting back to Bilston I got my job interview on and secured myself a job to earn some money. The early parts of 2015 did see me feel depressed and question the path my life had took after graduating. Yes, those Winter Blues got me bad however I got my life with an opportunity to teach English in China! The two previous years seemed so smooth, nevertheless 2015 saw me get things back!

The remaining parts of January have all been about staying close to Guanggu, I did take one trip out to Jiang'an, Hankou. Seeing another part of Hankou was great, I revisited the Jiang'an side of Hankou for the first time since November 2015 because I couldn't find the Gude Temple. Keeping my head in the game and my eyes on the road signs the second time around I found exactly what I was meant to find the first time. I had only been to the new Hankou Railway Station when I arrived into Wuhan from Suzhou, however I was curious to see how Hankou's former rail terminus looked like even a few years after its closure in 1991. I appreciated the former railway station as it sat underneath the new path of the Wuhan Metro, of course I wasn't feeling those Winter Blues then! Over the last however many years I have been fortunate to be going somewhere new when January comes back around. The Winter Blues are biting bad now, but everything now is great!
Wrap Up Warm!
Joseph Harrison