I first went to Europe in 1979, in the summer gap between my Bachelor degree and a proposed Grad. Dip.Ed. at Sydney Teachers College. Having been raised by a very English mother, nothing spoke more energetically to me, in my unformed state, than a trip to Britain and the Continent. Where else would a young man, steeped in the prescribed literature, go?

After I got back, a friend asked me if he could peruse my diary, which I had written in daily. He was duly surprised (as was I, upon reflection) that it read more like a shopping list of costs incurred than a record of experiences, beyond the perfunctory arrivals and departures. At the time I put it down to the sheer pressure of staying within a very tight budget, though perhaps the cause goes deeper. I did write a lot of 'aerogrammes' home and those reflected more accurately my thoughts about my travels. Still no excuse. If I have written a diary since (this blog is an example), I have tried to stay away from balance sheets.

But what I did discover was that I had recorded many events on maps, in guide books and other traveller's paraphernalia, such as drink coasters. The A2Z of London and AA Road Guide UK, which I bought after hiring a car (sometimes trains don't go everywhere) were a treasure, with highlighted routes I had travelled and places I has walked in the Capital. So all was not lost.

Recently, I have begun watching youtube videos by posters who walk, ride or take buses about London. Sometimes they take a similar route to that which I took 40 years ago. Despite all the changes that have occurred since then, they are priceless reminders.