I’ve been thinking long and hard for the last few days, as well as doing some reading of technical books in the library – trouble is I’m not a physicist, and I can barely understand the basics of what was going on in the project. I wasn’t brought in as a technical expert, just as someone reasonably fit, alert – and being in the army, prepared to be ordered around! Kate and Tom were both from REME, so perhaps understood a little of the technical side, but really we were all just test subjects (I was going to say objects, but to be fair to the team, they’d got through the using inanimate objects stage).

So I’m going to have to rely on what I think I understand, and, maybe, just a bit of irrational instinct. I think I’m in some kind of parallel universe, rather than having been sent back in time to the Britain that I came from, but three years earlier. In that case, whatever I say or do can’t change the future in my universe. I hope.

On the other hand, if I have gone back in time, well, it’s to a world that has already changed from how I remember it – so once again, it doesn’t matter if I do things which might change the future.

OK, that last bit of logic isn’t quite true. Maybe at the moment there have only been fairly small changes and things might still get back to normal (whatever that means). In that case, I should try to make as small a ripple as I possibly can. The thing is, I’m already discovering that, while on the surface this Britain looks just like the one I remember in 05, the changes I’ve found out about aren’t that minor – things like a whole new war; and I was shocked to read at the weekend that George W Bush got re-elected for a second term – god knows what repercussions there’ll be from that!

So on balance, I’m going to risk it. I’ve decided to write as detailed an account as I can of Project Hermes – who knows, it might even stimulate someone here to start research in the same area (if they’re not already doing it) – and maybe they could get me home.

Money, unfortunately, is still a problem – and gambling may not be my solution, if the future isn’t as clear-cut as I thought it was going to be. Anyway, I’ll write up things here whenever I can (thank goodness my wristpad still works).