The story starts in Stafford in the Midlands, England, where Viv was living after having completed his degree course at North Staffs Polytechnic. During his studies and in further research after leaving university, he decided to investige the Kibbutz system in Israel, which seemed in theory to be a simplified form of socialism. He bought a book called "Work your way around the world" and having tested out the first leg of the journey by going to the South of France to pick grapes in 1983, he set off for real in September 1984 after a memorable leaving party!
The only changes made by the author to Viv's diary entries are spelling and punctuation corrections.
Author's note: Although I've tried to make sure that internet links work at the time I upload chapters to this site, the internet is an 'animal' in permanent evolution and linked sites may cease to exist. If you find any blind links, please let Viv know using the