ESCAPING YOURSELF

Well we've got the replacement pedometers. These ones are supposed to be super accurate, so without further ado, the great competition we've all been waiting for... begins on Monday.

I thought it was for a month but apparently it finishes at the end of December! Can you believe it? I've got to monitor my steps until the end of the year!

Junko's already set up a daily reminder for the Deskercises. At 3pm every day, my computer is going to tell me to do some of the officially sanctioned Desk Exercises (all done sitting down, remember). I think she really wants to win.

Louise, currently in the Canary Islands, is going to have a shock when she gets back on Monday.

Golly, I wish I were in the Canary Islands. And I normally have no desire to go there at all. It's all rocky and volcanic, isn't it? Black sands and moonscapes, I've heard.

Nonetheless, escapism anywhere would be a wonderful thing right now. Sometimes getting away is much more about what you're getting away from than about what you're getting away to. I've often thought it would be nice if you could just switch yourself off and be someone else for a week.

This week I'll be fishing in the Amazon. Knee-deep in the cool mud and cold water, I'll swing the sopping collection of eels over my shoulder and trek back barefoot through the glistening rainforest.

The week after, I'll be hanging out with my buddies in New York, taking a root beer in a sports bar and watching the game. And after that, I'll be piping in the haggis at my windswept Scottish Castle while the rain lashes the ancient stones and the fire crackles happily in the hearth.

See, this is one of the things I don't like about technology - actually, taking your phone everywhere with you makes escapism much harder. Mostly because the thing bleeps at you all the time, reminding you that you're not somewhere else, you're not in the Amazon, or Manhattan, or escaping anywhere, even when you are. Hey, you know that thing you're worried about, that thing you're trying to get away from, that thing that winds you up... it's right here in your pocket. Switch it off, that's what I say.

I think I need a holiday, or maybe just a long walk to clear my head and get a bit of that adventuring escapism back.

"Don't forget your pedometer," said Junko.