There is a new masthead for The Last Ditch today. It's overdue as I moved to London almost a month ago. I now live in an apartment near the hospital where Mrs P is being treated. My days as a professional nomad are over and the battered passport in the banner will gather dust for a while.

London already feels like home. My travels mean I understand more of the conversations around me than most Londoners. If you can ignore the false mateyness of those selling you stuff (and the government-mandated impertinence of GPs and pharmacists) it's a wonderfully liveable city. Those critics in the last six years who have dismissed me as an out-of-touch expatriate will soon need a new ad hominem.

Last night I attended a "whisky masterclass". which was fun. I can attend some poltical meetings now, which should be interesting. I should get my long-lost vote back soon, which pleases me more than I can quite explain. My MP's seat is pretty safe though, with or without my household's two votes. We will make as little difference to the selection of the country's government as we did in Russia or China.

I began this blog while living in Moscow and its first banner was a view of the Kremlin from the rooftop bar of the Park Hyatt "Ararat" hotel in that fascinating city. Then I moved to China and the banner showed a view of Shanghai from the bar of the Ritz Carlton Portman hotel. Until today, the banner was a view of the Sofia skyline. That was where I was hoping to settle, but Mrs P's health issues ruled that out. So here we are; back in the line of fire of the British taxman.