The night before I flew home for a break last month, I was asked about my plans, longer term. Now that the conflict was winding down, was I going to move on? (Many people don’t know that I landed here some years before ISIL rose to prominence.) I took a sip of beer and considered. It simply occurred to me - it’s time to move on. Initially I thought about wintering in Yakutsk, a weird ambition of mine. When I realised that it’s so frigging cold that you can only be outside for 10 minutes at a time, I reconsidered. But the seed was planted, and I knew that by the end of October, Iraq would no longer be my home. I’m tired, I’m done. I’ve got some thoughts about 2018, but I need a break, and I think I’ve found the solution. I have a friend who is building a health centre, dive school and guest house on an island in Cambodia. Just so happens that November, December and January are the best months to visit. I’m going to go and help out, dive, get a tan….and put Iraq to the back of my mind. Until the end of the year, I’ll remain Your Man In Iraq, then Cambodia, then….who knows? Perhaps I should look for a job in Ocelot Country.