Have you ever wanted to start something new but there always seems to be something else in the way like the day job or family duties?

So these great ideas or even dreams never materialise and you end up wondering what if.

Well, the idea of writing a blog has long been in my mind but the prospect of doing so would have been impossible a few years ago.

Okay, maybe just a bit more difficult!

Back then I lived in a different town from my son and daughter, Sonny and Lola.

During term time I spent 8 hours on alternate weekends, making a 500 mile round trip between Newcastle and Aberdeen to spend time with them.

And during holidays double that to collect them from and take them back to their mams.

The train conductor was my best mate, haha. I even got a free chicken sandwich from the trolley for travelling so many thousands of miles or something that year.

It was worth every penny and every second though.

But looking back, it’s no wonder that I was always knackered.

With my personal situation and business / working life being very different now, it just feels the right time to start sharing a little bit of my life with anyone who wants to hear it.

My current personal situation: closer to Sonny and Lola again and loving lockdown with them!

Especially given the current “situation” (COVID/lockdowns) where I think a lot of people are climbing the walls just a little bit.

The inner feeling of something feeling “just right” is something I’ve always listened to and followed throughout my life when deciding whether of not to go for anything, so I’m taking it as a good sign.

And whilst the thought of writing my feelings down on paper feels daunting, where to start seems to be the hardest part.

I even joined a group for bloggers on Facebook asking for advice in one post.

One of the people in the group, albeit helpful, was quite forthright in his response.

“What do you want to write about? What do you want to get out of it? What are you going to give your readers?” he questioned.

All valid points, but ones I hadn’t considered up to then. I really hadn’t given it any thought.

So to answer those now…

As this my first ever blog post and is also on my brand new business website I guess I should keep this blog as sensible as possible. Most blogs I’ve seen are very specific; family adventures, food or events reviews, mental health.

And I’m sure that many folk would say that I should write all about my business, self catering accommodation. Have a USP, a niche!

But that would be boring, right? Well I think so anyway.

Although I’ve always given it my best shot, work has never been the be all and end all in my life. And for me, my work and personal life is a bit intertwined. One has kinda led to the another.

So I want to write about my life, my own personal experiences and the things that I love.

About our adventures. Even if they are a bit limited to close to home right now! Scotland is still in lockdown in case you didn’t know.

I want to write about the day to day aspects of my current personal life; the small, simple everyday things.

And I want to write about my past experiences which have moulded me into the person I am today.

Oh, go on then! Since this is on my business site I guess I should say a bit about work.

After leaving the industry I’d worked and studied hard in for 20 years, I took a few months thinking time to work out what I wanted to do next. And I might write a little about that period.

I didn’t consciously end up doing to do what I am doing now for my pennies, it sort of just happened. It flowed. With a lot of hard work to help it along once it grew from a small trickle…

But managing to eek out a living in a totally new field running serviced accommodaiton is something I’m proud of.

It gives me plenty of spare time to spend with my kids, have fun and generally trying to stay healthy and happy.

So yes it would be nice to share things I’ve tried in my personal and business life, paths I’ve tread, which have been successful.

And also those that haven’t!

And if any of what I write can help folk in similar situations, or even just get them thinking about how to improve things, to be that would be amazing.

As I have the memory of a goldfish these days, what I also want to get back from this is a record of the days with my kids, running my business, and generally seeing where this adventure will take me.

Even if it’s just on our daily exercise walk.

Last week it was announced that, here in Scotland, we can now travel a bit further from our homes (5 miles as guidance) for our exercise.

And I hope, that by putting my words out there, these ramblings of a first-time blogger will if not help people in a similar situation, might at least amuse you as a reader.

So, realising this has turned out to be a lot more sensible than I had actually intended – here I am preparing to hit publish on my first post.

I hope you will enjoy looking in through this small window of my life – and if you are passing by, please say “Hi”

I’d love to hear from any friends, old and maybe new.

And if anything I write resonates with you and strikes any thoughts (or indeed questions) I’d love to hear all of them.

Or indeed if theres anything you would like me to write about I’d love to hear it.

See you on the other side.

Thanks for reading.

Colin.