Author Archives: John Humphreys

The past month or so I’d spent still working, so there was no free rein to explore too far afield. The time difference meant European evening teaching was now morning or afternoon where I was, so that at least left evenings free to socialise a bit. A conference in Lithuania, in my final week, offeredContinue reading “Travels with Jackson – 5.1, Confusion and Change, May 2026”

The garden, or yard as I had to get used to calling it, was plenty big enough for all four to have a riot. It took a while for Jackson to pick when to pick up or leave the frisbee (or catch it and run off). His gymnastic exploits catching it were all very wellContinue reading “Travels with Jackson – 4.3 Friends, Frisbees and Finding Our Feet”

April 1st, Becky and I found ourselves sitting in a hotel room looking out at the New York skyline, anxiously tracking Jackson’s progress through the blue skies over the Atlantic. Due to arrive at 1pm we’d been updated by PetAir (often with accompanying photos) each time he took another step forward – arriving at Windsor,Continue reading “Travels with Jackson – 4.2 New Place, New Pack, April 2026”

Given that this vacation was immediately before Jackson’s impending trip, there was still a lot to do and to distract me while I was away – final arrangements and invoices to pay, mentally rehearsing the packing up and packing off I still needed to finish on my return to Scotland. And inevitably I kept meetingContinue reading “Travels with Jackson – 4.1 Flying Time, April 2026”

Plans were in place, as I’ve already said, for his flight stateside. The wonderful PetAir people made all the arrangements, I provided the details and documents with my new partner in the states making sure it all went seamlessly. Personal service, pickup from Perth was possible, but Cheshire seemed better to shorten his journey inContinue reading “Travels with Jackson – 3. Separation Anxiety, March 2026”

The return to Scotland was uneventful, Jackson as relaxed as ever in the car, even starting to check out the cars behind when he’d run out of z’s, and taking the motorway services and miles on the road in his stride. And soon enough he was back on familiar territory, in the house he’d spentContinue reading “Travels with Jackson – 2. Returning and Responsibility, February 2026”

Recently semi-retired, armed with a free bus pass and the emotional baggage of a marital breakup, I found myself at more than one loose end. My closest friend turned out to be my black labrador pup, Jackson, and together we set out on an adventure inspired by Steinbeck himself, who in the early 1960s embarkedContinue reading “Travels with Jackson – 1.1 A New Start”

We visited Mum, although a care home isn’t the place to take a dog with the unpredictability of a small child, so he stayed in the car, and after the visits we’d have some well-earned playtime in a park nearby. Paths, trees and shrubs, frisbee and tennis ball, what more do you need? Lunch inContinue reading “Travels with Jackson – 1.3 On the Wirral, and the benefits of staying longer. January 2026”

It has to be said from the outset that I’m a ‘love me, love my dog’ kind of person, but also that Jackson wasn’t meant to be my dog. I underestimated how attached I’d become to a canine companion essentially to make sure my wife was ok while I fed my travel addiction. It shouldContinue reading “Travels with Jackson – 1.2 First Adventure, January 2026”

It had to happen. Day 6 brought more typical Galician weather, with an early mist soon developing into rain and building to a downpour. The route roughly follows the ria then the river, and occasionally we saw or heard the boats taking pilgrims by water, as the body of Santiago had been carried many yearsContinue reading “Weather and the Camino Portugués De Santiago – Day 6”