Hawke's Bay Today News Editor James Ford. PHOTO / File
London's calling.
Well, it will be next week when my fiancée and I, accompanied by our one-year-old son, set off on the 18,324km journey from Auckland to my home city.
It'll be the first time I've set foot in the UK in almost seven years.
And, if I'm completely honest, it's a trip that I'm just as anxious as excited about.
Sure, the monotonous 17-hour nonstop flight from Auckland to Dubai is going to be testing.
But the main cause of my concern is not knowing what I am going back to.
I came to New Zealand as a 22-year-old in 2010.
From what I've been told by family and friends a lot has changed since then.
My partner and I, largely due to our son's age, but also because of recent events, have decided we won't be doing the usual tourist circuit.
Instead we'll spend time away from the city centre with family.
The truth is, I would no longer confidently walk the streets of central London, or many of the other major cities across Europe for that matter.
In recent weeks there have been terror attacks in Finland, Russia and France.
Earlier this year Londoners fell victim, along with those in Manchester and Brussels.
A regular response is that we must carry on as we were, not be suppressed by these maniacs, and continue to live our lives without fear.
But that's simply unnatural.
The attacks may have occurred over a few minutes but cause a lifetime of trauma, fear and horrific memories.
It may be irrational, but I would feel uneasy in the current climate taking my family on the tube, to Tower Bridge and the other wonderful landmarks of one of the world's greatest cities.
What I left, I fear, is not what I will return to.
The House was suspended briefly after the haka disrupted voting.