For me, it was the ideal way to cross the threshold to a new chapter of my life. I’d retired after 38 years teaching secondary age students in the state sector, and felt it would be good to have time to adjust to a new me. I felt a bit adrift without the timetable my career had imposed, and wanted time to discover who I was. I’d never spent so long or so far from my family in almost 40 years. How would I deal with that?