Dinosaur Hunting with Hannah Spearritt's Pants

The general cacophony of modern life has been wearing me down of late. The inability to escape from the hubbub of city life, coupled with the never-ending noise that comes with working in a multi-lingual environment is usually partnered with the respite of being able to go home and switch off both ears and brains after a long day at the office.

Unfortunately, when you live in the gay quarter of town, and your nights are punctuated by hourly renditions of Rocky Horror's "Sweet Transvestite", the sound of the city can eventually lead you into a state of murderous rage.

The problem is, I'm a country boy at heart. Although I love the culture and the internationality of urban living, at heart I still crave nature. The tranquility of sitting on a beach, or in the middle of a forrest, undisturbed by anything or anyone is base need for my Shintoist soul. Indeed, if there is one singular thing that I miss about life in Japan, it's the ability to find peace in even the most built-up of areas, the Islands of serenity set aside mid-city for those much needed moments of spiritual calm.

So, after another exhausting week amidst the humdrum, and enduring the outlandish behaviour that came hand in hand with Bournemouth Pride this weekend, I decided to head to the New Forrest for a peaceful cure to the deafening drone of modernity.

The New Forrest, home not only to wild horse and dinosaurs (being the main location of filming for Primeval, one of the most underrated sci-fi series of the last decade, made famous by its awesome cgi dinosaurs, and gratuitous shots of Hannah Spearritt's knickers), is a real retreat into the natural world. After jumping on the train to Brockenhurst (a wonderful little village with a plethora of charming pubs), we made our way past the ponies into the heart of the woods.

Laying atop a fallen tree for a half hour or so, I finally achieved the meditative few moments I have been craving for the last few months. Zen is hard to come by in any built-up metropolis, but for what may be the first time since leaving Japan, I finally found a half-ounce of inner peace. Breathing in the fresh, woody air, listening to nothing more than the occasional tweeting of birds, nothing in the world could have made me happier.

Except perhaps a dinosaur.

Or Hannah Spearritt's infamous pants...