I’m back now from my brief trip to London, head buzzing and full of new thoughts and ideas. There’s a lot to take in – not only from my first sessions on the KPI programme, but also my first experience of crashpadding, which I mentioned last week in Working away from home.

I suppose it might seem a very odd idea to commit to stay in the home of a complete stranger, but the Crashpadder site provides photos of the room, the house and surrounding area and details about the host so you get a good feel for the place and person. I chose the room mainly for its proximity to my workshops, but subconsciously I must have also noticed the decor – white walls, wooden floors and simple furnishing, just the way I like it!

I didn’t arrive until almost 10 pm so having been shown the room I had a bath and went straight to bed. The deal was for room only so in the morning I chose a local cafe for breakfast. Crashpad hosts vary in what they offer and how much interaction they have with guests. Choose carefully and it’s the perfect hybrid between staying with a friend and in a B&B.

I’d also like to share a comment left on the Home office page, which has been getting lots of attention since a mention on Barbara Winter‘s newsletter last week. Karen Field says ‘This is fantastic, I found this page very inspiring. My home office is the dining room table (shared with lots of other stuff!) and I am now dreaming of what my future home office could look like – definitely need a view and wildlife :-) Thanks for the inspiration.’

So thank you again to everyone who has shared their home office, you just never know how it may help other home workers. Karen has inspired A and me to take a photo of the offices we have created in our ‘new’ house (we moved five months ago) and it would be great to see where you work too. Lots of people tell me they can’t send a photo because their room is too untidy, but your desk or your view would be equally acceptable! (Just email them to me at judy@workfromhomewisdom.com)