360. Good things take time.

When you take a look at all the most magnificent things in the world, very few of them happened overnight.

Nothing in the world is an example of this more than the holy arancino.

359. Walk London with nobody there.

I know the loose thing we’re calling advice in the UK at the moment is to stay inside, but providing you’re following social distancing rules then I’d highly recommend taking a walk through central London.

Anybody that has spent an extended amount of time in central London knows that its streets are bustling with busy bodies. All. The. Time. If you want a photo outside of Buckingham Palace, then expect it to be with hundreds of other strangers tainting your memories. The History museum? – try queuing for half an hour. A nice stroll through the park? – the same idea as everybody else and don’t even think about hoping to find a quiet spot to read your book. London is a lot of things, but it is rarely ever quiet.

358. If you haven’t got a fine within ten minutes of driving, then you’re not in Italy.

My experience of Italian roads has been a turbulent one. Do I hate the may the fastest driver go first kind of attitude? – yes. Do I hate the general lack of respect for any kind of safety regulation or road rules? – Absolutely. But do I miss the adrenaline when I’m back on these English roads? – occasionally, yes. There is something a bit monotonous about following the rules sometimes (safety first always.)

357. Weddings and social distancing can work.

Almost two months ago now, I had the pleasure of watching two wonderful people start their lives together. When you think of weddings you think of lots of hugs and kisses and shared embraces, so when social distancing is implemented in to your special day, you’d think it would throw a somewhat large spanner in the works.

356. It wouldn’t be Yorkshire if the sky were blue.

You know it’s been far too long since you’ve been in blighty when you expect the weather to do what it promises to.

One weekend, I took a couple of friends to the North, both of whom, being from Italy and Mexico, are more accustomed to having sunshine than myself. I checked the weather and we set out for a walk across the moors from Hebden to Haworth, expecting views of space and sky and the promise of sunny spells – maybe even a borderline glorious day.

355. The times, they are a-changin.

Today, I got one of those notifications from some form of social media that I rarely use – those ones that remind you that this time, however many years ago, you were doing something far more exciting than what you are doing now.

Today, mine reminded me that four years ago, I was aboard a ship in the middle of the south China sea chasing illegal whalers – not your average 7th April granted, but then I suppose neither are the times we are currently in. Today, I sat in my living room of South West suburban London, thinking, as I’m sure many people are, how on earth did I end up in this situation? The closest thing to being where I was four years ago right now is the fact that I am at least in the same boat, if you’ll pardon the pun, as the majority of the world’s population – enjoying the four walls I call home. (I use the term enjoy loosely because I have forgotten what the colour green is after having been inside for so long).

354. Watch out for jellies.

One of the benefits of being able to swim in crystal clear water is that you can see and thus avoid the jellies.

One of the difficulties of being able to swim in crystal clear water is that you can see and thus realise how many jellies you have to avoid.

353. There is no such thing as too tall, maybe.

There is no event more formal than going out to the square on a Sunday evening in August in a small Sicilian town. I’m talking dresses, heels, make up, suits and ties, the whole lot, of which admittedly none of the above are things I do any more than once a decade.

352. You can have your own personal chef.

Being vegetarian in Italy means having people tell you that you’re crazy on a daily basis. I can’t say that trying to justify my own decisions on a daily basis is one of my favourite ways to pass the time, but I have learned to take the insults and misunderstandings with a pinch of salt and stick to my principles despite the backlash.

351. There could be a such thing as too many deer.

If you think of Sicily, you think of delicious food, questionable systems of organisation and blue sea and skies – you wouldn’t be wrong to think of any of these things. The food is some of the best in Italy, organisation isn’t a word in the dictionary, or at least not in traditional sense that we know it and the skies and seas are hypnotising you to soak them in.