Ed does the AA This the account of Ed Powell, a man in his 20s exploring SE Asia and Auckland. My moto - "Bringing the world together, 1 step at a time"

Greetings again to the now 70 or so people who have been reading up on my adventure. My travels have taken me to Bridgwater - home of all that is good and pure through blurred spectacles. I have divided this entry into 2 as I like to keep it short so people can quickly read them rather than putting it off because they're too long. Firstly, let me please state to everyone who I have left behind in Cheltenham - thank you for the memories, investment and journeys we took (some still on-going). Friday night was emotional (bloody beer and hay fever) but was humbling to see how many people came for a final toast and putting the world to right session. The final departing process (as all Powell departures are) started early and went on for a bit. When I was finally ready to go, surprise surprise, Tom had perfectly planned a no.2 toilet stop. Now Tom is a writer and takes his time with everything (story telling his forte). Needless to say I had read the novels of Prust and thrown one final insult at the house cat (sorry Amy) when he finally surfaced with a smile on his face. Now departure actually started on the 24th (my birthday - it's not too late to make a travel contribution) where I was treated to beer and rounder's by my work colleagues (Never did see Paul Drake swing the bat!), which was great fun. In the evening some friends and myself discovered a karaoke bar in Cheltenham - at which point I would like to add it does not even come close to Bridgwater karaoke as far as quality and comedy are concerned. For my performance I did an excellent rendition of Mandy by Barry Manilow. I got down off the stage (raised seating area) to a rapturous applause. Strange I thought that never happens. Anyway shocked at the ratio of men to women (about 10:1) I carried on knocking back whatever the bar threw at me - or to be precise, Jamie Hill, Dawson & Dave Brae. Jamie I can cope with, I've gave him his fair share x 10 on his stag do; Dawson and I used to do this for fun - not just for occasions; but Dave, you are in trouble - word of advice, get training now cos your stag is going to come around fast, not even Jimmy will stop me. Anyway its been a long time since I got driven home in a shopping trolley and 2 sambukas, 2 tequila slammers, 1 glass of what resembled whiskey, 5 pints of carling (not Boddingtons Dawson) and about 6hrs sleep I was unbelievable up and ready to go to work with no hint of a hangover - Bring it on! My final day at work was cool, said goodbye to everyone was informed the karaoke bar we were in was a gay bar - that explains the applause. So me and PMTD (Powell Management Transport Dept) embark on the 1hr15min journey back to the “Water" at around 2.30pm. We did not get back till just after 5. We hit stupid arsed Londoners thinking a bank holiday weekend in the West Country is a good idea. Now why is this? For the price you would pay in fuel, the journey time and the cost of food etc it would be cheaper to hop on the channel tunnel or even get on a ferry to Holland. I imagine they're all bankers who don't know their arse from their elbows, only the yen from the dollar. To bring some clarity and context (Trinitites bare with me, Ill give you an anecdote in a second) my sister went to Cornwall from Somerset (15 mins from the Devon border control) and it took 5 hrs!!!!! I could have been nearly in Scotland in the same time (trust me I've done it - bad gig in Dundee) and then to make matters worse, the van had a puncture!! It was kind of fun stopping on hard shoulder and like true men, changed it ourselves. Lewis Hamilton may have had better luck at Monaco if he used us to change Alonso's tyres. Anyway I had the last laugh on the bankers cos it pissed it down all weekend - should have checked the weather whilst buying and selling. Anyway, finally arrived in Bridgwater, which is where pt.2 will start........??????? Stay tuned. What's next? Ed