Too heartbroken and distraught to try to patch up the broken relationship, Chrissie moved out of the apartment, quit the consultancy and went to live with an old girlfriend in Greenwich who had a room to let. A month went by, during which she grew increasingly restless and depressed. Spring was springing. She had some money in the bank. Why sit here festering at home when the whole world out there was bursting into life, full of hope and promise? She decided that she ought to buy herself a little van, hit the road and go off to rediscover herself.

Which was exactly what she did. On her travels Chrissie soon hooked up with Wes and Sonia, a freewheeling bohemian couple who travelled around Britain and Europe in a loose convoy with a bunch of their hippy friends, camping out on beaches, pursuing a natural lifestyle and generally meandering wherever the tide took them. Chrissie found herself drawn into their little community, and was warmly accepted by them. Lionel was a poet; Fleur professed to be a Reiki Master; Tammy could read your fortune; Louise was a reincarnation of various famous figures from history and would occasionally experience what she called a ‘past life regression’; Greg played the guitar and taught Chrissie a few chords to strum around the campfire during the chilly early spring nights. Sometimes a tin whistle or bodhran player would join in as they all clapped their hands and sang heartfelt songs about saving the planet and humanity coming together as one.

Chrissie found the hippies to be somewhat naive but pleasant company, and their easy-going lifestyle was certainly a welcome change from the fast track. People tended to come and go. There was always a lot of music and dancing, various forms of illicit substances were indulged in, and romantic arrangements were open and laid-back. It wasn’t the kind of life she wanted to live forever, but for the moment she had no problem following her nose from place to place as one of the loose-knit merry band. She would give it a few months through summer and reassess her situation in autumn.

Chrissie had been a tag-along member of the community for a couple of weeks when their motley collection of campers, vans and cars made the trip to Stonehenge for the spring equinox, as part of a larger gathering of Druids, Pagans, Wiccans and various other denominations of New Age tribes who made the annual pilgrimage to watch the sunrise above the stones and celebrate the deity of their choice. For many of Chrissie’s group, this was the time to venerate Eostre, the ancient Saxon goddess of fertility and new beginnings. She didn’t share their spiritual beliefs but was moved by the sense of togetherness.