Already there have been some inspiring, amusing and touching takes on Beth's Blog Crawl (see the week one recap, here) so it's with both excitement and a touch of nerves that I write my entry. On Friday Jeanine from AphroChic shared tales of her adventures across America and tomorrow Amanda Lee will post her take on The Crawl.  Looking back my tale feels quite poignant but at the time it was something I felt embarrassed about. Heck, sometimes I guess I still do. Anyway, here goes...

I was fortunate enough to grow up in charming village deep within the English countryside. My bedroom window overlooked rolling fields, mooing cows and there was often the distant, comforting hum of a tractor, dog barking or flock of birds tweeting. My Gran would come to stay and we would walk her dog, Bruno, for hours down country lanes and across the fields. Despite being nearly sixty years apart in age, we would laugh and chat for hours on end. When she was staying I would run downstairs to her room every morning and jump under the covers to chat and I would pretend I liked drinking coffee so I would feel more grown up! I look back to those times - the unaltered, naive bliss of childhood - with misty-eyed warmth.

One cold winter's day, I snuck out on my bike and rode to the local store to buy chocolate. And there it was, the plastic wrapper glinting under the clinical strip lighting of the store: my first ever issue of Livingetc, complete with a free foldout fabric wardrobe organiser. Pennies handed over, and magazine hidden away in my rucksack, I hurriedly cycled back home. I still remember that very night when I hid under the covers with a torch and read the whole issue, cover-to-cover. From then on, each month I would look forward to slipping into its pages. This was my time to dive headfirst into what I loved and enjoy what would turn out to shape who I am.

Twelve years later and I've graduated from university with a Journalism degree, my Gran is still living life to the full and I'm now writing freelance about interiors. And, of course, I'm still reading Livingetc. The only difference? There's not a torch in sight. Nope. Now I hold my copy proudly as I sit reading it in the coffee shop, riding the tube or at my desk. I'm a guy who loves interiors and you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way.