My emigration from the Southwest of England to the Southwest of France contained stresses and strains a ‘plenty, perhaps more than I bargained for. These included financial costs, extracting myself from the bureaucracy of the UK (a slow and painful process), embracing the bureaucracy of my new home (a trial by ordeal), adjusting to my new life, settling in, looking at all the boxes left to unpack and wondering well there hell half my clothes were, and much, much more.