Month: March 2024

Sunday, 24th March, 2024

Gorgeous morning again. Thank goodness for that. We need some good news, don’t we, Dear Reader. The sky is blue and sun is streaming through the patio windows on to the Breakfast table making it, almost, too warm.

For no other reason than it looked beautiful to me, I feature a photo of fruit in sunshine. The ribbed texture in the sunlight looked so appealing. Melon, Mango and Banana are my go-to fruits currently

I must admit, I’d rather be in Greek sun than the light streaming into our kitchen. Above is Aristotelous Square, Thessaloniki taken this morning from the hotel we will be in during June. I snatched the photo from webcam at 9.30 am (UK) / 11.30 am (Gr) where the square is clearly being prepared for yet another cultural event. It’s not Easter because, in Greece this year, Easter is not until May.

How seriously do you take security? You would think that a man who parades the minutiae of his daily life across the internet for all to read would be low on security. Quite the opposite. I take it incredibly seriously and only allow access to the things I choose. I wonder what you do about your data and passwords security.

Years ago, I moved on from just one password to multiples recorded in a file which I had to carry round with me as I travelled to Greece for half the year to using an on-line password manager which stores and automatically retrieves all passwords for me. Great for dementia sufferers. I use Norton 360 which installs on Computers, Laptops, IPads and smartphones to keep data secure and passwords available. It synchronises across all platforms. Then I back everything up in the cloud and double backup on memory sticks. With my Blog, I rent a second site to back the whole thing up ready for publication when I retire – if I retire from Blogging.

Valeting the car in the afternoon sunshine. Carpets vacuumed, seats and upholstery leather treated, Glass cleaned, Fascia freshened up, paintwork shampooed and waxed, wheels treated and tyres faced. Needed some help with all that. Must admit, it did look good afterwards. Neighbours around pay just over £100.00 per car per month in a contract with professional cleaners who come to their homes to do the job. I usually quite enjoy doing it myself but it felt too demanding today.

Monday, 25th March, 2024

The last week of March begins with a blood test. When I was ill in America, hospital tests reported raised enzymes in the liver. Ultimately, Legionnaires Disease was diagnosed but my last blood test at the UK surgery indicated the same thing – raised enzymes in the liver. I have been asked to have another blood test to pinpoint the problem.

After that we walked on the beach path for a few minutes. Lovely and warm and fresh, the tide was coming in and the light was gentle.

I must admit, I couldn’t have told you where my liver was or what it was there for. Now I’ve looked it up, I wish I hadn’t. Bodies are just too scary for delicate people like me.

I will almost certainly be told to stop drinking. I will, of course, do as I’m told. Only got 300 bottles to drink first. There will probably be a hiatus for Easter so I won’t hear the result for a couple of weeks and then an appointment to discuss them. So, about 3 weeks … 100 bottles a week … feels a bit of a stretch.

Watch a sad/romantic serialised film over the past few nights. It had been suggested to us and appeared to be the sort of watch we could share. It was about an unlikely couple who met at university in Edinburgh and became friends against all the odds but then went their separate ways. She went into teaching and he became a television presenter. They meet once a year over a decade and then finally get together and life is going well just as she …

Apparently, the story was originally made into an American film but this UK series made by Netflix was brilliantly cast. It is not my normal sort of viewing but I found it really moving and it played across my mind over night. I am pathetic! But then you knew that, Dear Reader.

Smoked salmon salad for lunch. Haven’t done that for months. It feels like Summer. Been out to buy seeds this morning. Going to sow French Beans, Parsley, Sage, Salad Leaves all for the kitchen and then African Marigolds for the street beds in the lawns.

Tuesday, 26th March, 2024

The morning didn’t start off well. Received a text from the surgery to tell me that, as a result of my blood tests yesterday, they are sending me for an abdominal ultrasound. Just the sort of reassurance one needs at Breakfast. My Housekeeper is out at an early Hairdressers appointment so I am rapidly Googling the results of my blood test and the need for abdominal ultrasound. There don’t appear to be many upsides.

Suddenly began to wonder if it’s worth sowing those seeds I bought yesterday. Isn’t life weird?

We have a friend in Lancashire who retired recently and is now dying of cancer. She has been trying so hard over the past few months to live life as fully as possible but the chemotherapy has finally worn her down, taken all her strength and the cancer has taken her life almost entirely away. She is now bedridden, out of strength, out of fight and preparing for Hospice Care although that seems to be in very short supply up there. Pauline did a Facetime conversation with her this morning. How she did it, I don’t know. It would have been quite beyond me.

Wednesday, 27th March, 2024

Another nice, warm day although not full of sunshine. I’ve been busy in the Office all morning. Anyone who is married or living in a long term relationship will understand the dilemma I’ve been confronting this morning. Household tasks are largely assigned according to gender mainly because our ages. Younger households may well see it differently.

Washing machines are a mystery to me. Not that I am proud of the fact but it is so. For a short period, I lived on my own and took everything to a Laundrette where the lady who owned it took pity on me and washed everything for me after the occasion when I threw everything in together and ended with a batch of pink shirts. Then, I got married and my Housekeeper took over. Similarly with the Dryer and the Ironing. I know I should have tried but persuade myself that it is beyond me.

That is not to say that I don’t contribute in my own way. I do the heavy lifting, open jars, move loads, carry things. I write most letters, documents where it is important to win an argument, have influence, make a strong case. I am responsible for organising Savings and Investments – as opposed to day to day spending. S&A is so much more enjoyable at the moment with interest rates offering real returns against inflation. Even in our 70s, we have been able to move from pure savings into a mix of investments to really make a substantial contribution to our income. There is no question: Money makes Money.

One of the nice things is not having to worry about pensions. Younger ones have had to keep an eye on the performance of invested pension funds to decide when to retire. Ours may not be generous but they are guaranteed and index-linked. Anything else we make is a bonus for luxuries and future solutions. As long as I can shelter them from tax, they are doing well. But what would happen if I died? Would my wife know how to access everything? Liquidate things? Move things around? What about Probate? Can I organise things so that she doesn’t have to pay out extra fees to get at things. This is what I’ve been working on today. If I should die, think only this of me ….

Thursday, 28th March, 2024

Little Jane is 70 years old today. It is a special landmark and we wish her a very happy day.

The rain just keeps coming in squalls of warm but blustery water. In fact, it was so wet this morning, we decided not to shop at Waitrose but go the Sainsburys underground (dry) carpark.

It does make life a lot easier. Went on to the beach where strong winds and a rising tide had brought out the intrepid windsurfers. Even so, I couldn’t see myself doing this at any stage of my life.

Had a nice chat with Kevin who has sun and is going out on a 20 mile bike ride, with Julie who has sun and is setting off with pieces of her art work to sell in a local gallery and with JohnR who is preparing his talk on Life in a Cistercian Community which he will deliver in Richmond, North Yorkshire. And I’m setting off to Lidl to buy gardening products which are so much cheaper there. What am I doing?? I’m going in the Gym where the rain can only be heard on the roof and the TV needs to be turned up a notch.

Friday, 29th March, 2024

They say it’s Good Friday. I’ll be the judge of that! There are definitely some things missing which I have to seek out and I will. Actually, down at the beach it is a very good Friday for sun worshippers.

Real contrast with yesterday. Warm, relatively calm for a turning tide, quiet even on a holiday and with strong colours.

The rhythms of the year are defined by the seasons as dormant Winter gives rise to Spring, blossoms into Summer and fruits in Autumn before the cycle is repeated. Similarly, the calendar is graduated by anachronistic religious festivals – Lent, Easter, Whitsun, Harvest Festival and Christmas.

They all emphasise the continuity of life. For children, these sections seem endless but the older one gets the quicker the transitions seem to arrive. I’ve no idea why but, despite not believing in any religion, we still make Christmas cakes, eat turkey; we still roast a leg of lamb at Easter and make Greek filo lamb parcels with the left overs. Living in Greece, it seemed rude not to.

Sometimes it’s hard to break out of the patterns. Even so, after a difficult year, we have to make this one a whole lot better. I am determined not to be put off. Got to visit, travel meet – all the things I couldn’t do last year. We are feeling a bit hemmed in at the moment. Still one or two medical issues to sort out but it won’t be long, hopefully.

Saturday, 30th March, 2024

Easter Weekend. A lovely, warm morning. You’ll be pleased to know, Dear Reader, that I am celebrating by having my haircut by my Housekeeper. Well, got to keep costs down. Every morning, she also creams my feet. Can you imagine the chiropody bill for that? All the walking I do can lead to problems – dryness and cracking – so I need to be maintained regularly. I understand, you didn’t really need to know that. Well, Easter is a time for honesty. How many self-professed Christians do you know who are really profoundly un-Christian?

Just thought the Philosophy students among you might like this cartoon based on the theory of Schrodinger’s Cat. We atheists have to fight back in a period when Christianity has its little moment.

Just heard from Jane who has spent the week celebrating her 70th birthday in Oporto. It looks nice although I know absolutely nothing about it. In fact, I’ve never been to Portugal at all. Pleased she’s enjoyed her week.

To cap the week, received in the post this morning an appointment to attend Southlands Hospital at Shoreham by Sea for an Abdomen Ultrasound Scan at the end of April. Wonder what that will throw up. Oh, Christians, pray for me – even those pretending to be Christian. It can’t do any harm at least.

Still maintaining hope until the guillotine falls. Incredibly warm, Spring weather this weekend. At mid day, we are reading 16C/61F in brilliant sunshine from clear blue skies. A quick trip to the garden centre was a mistake. All the world was there. Time to sow seeds. Collect all the materials together – seeds, seed compost, propagators and vermiculite to top them off. This is a wonder mineral largely mined in South Africa. It mixes with the soil to absorb and retain moisture but is also used as a cover for seeds to stop them rotting off.

Sunday, 17th March, 2024

Another grey, wet day began as one of mourning. Death of an old and long-loved friend was announced at 5.45 am.

I bought my bedside clock-radio-alarm almost 25 years ago in Huddersfield. It has been with me through good and bad times, through happiness and sadness and looked after me throughout. The news addict that I am, I value this service more than anything else. On automatically at 5.45 am (Why waste the day?) and off at 7.00 am when I get up.

It introduces me to, prepares me for and gets up ready for the coming day. It got me up for work in the early days and kept me up to date with Farming Today (You’d be surprised how interesting that is. Margaret Thatcher was a fan.). I am an expert on Badger Culling, Slurry Spreading, Crop Rotation and Tractor Maintenance.

Just before the Today Programme starts, there is always Tweet of the Day in which someone features the song of a different bird each morning. The Today programme has been with me since the 1960s, since the late, great Jack de Manio and Brian Redhead.

Today, of course, is St Patrick’s Day. It doesn’t mean anything to me other than it reminds me of two years ago today when we were in Midtown Manhattan, New York City just as the parade began to start its route through the city. It was an interesting week.

My clock radio has died before and this time I really though it was terminal. I’m pleased and very relieved to announce that I have managed to resurrect it once again. The news is less good of a young man from our past. It had been announced this morning that Steve Harley of Cockney Rebel has died of cancer at the age of …. 73. The silent drip, drip, drip of our time continues continuously …..

Monday, 18th March, 2024

Well into the second half of March and at least the day is warm and dry with patchy sunshine. The clocks go forward in two weeks and the world will be hurtling towards Summer. Our ‘village’ is decidedly Spring-like with flowers and blossom all around. It’s also rampant with new house developments that have enraged the longer standing village residents.

March is traditionally time for a revival of the housing market. We didn’t really see much down time. We are not NIMBYs. We are comers-in ourselves and didn’t buy for the qualities of a quaint, old village setting.

Over 2000 new homes have been built or started in the 7 years since we arrived. Above is just one, David Wilson development which is in process at the moment. When we moved here, every inch of the area in the above photo was green fields with trees and hedgerows, soon it will be completely covered in residences.

The demand for these homes is fuelled by commutability to London via the rail network and the motorways system, but is also marketed through its proximity to the coast and the Sussex Downs for walking. Sometimes it is hard to imagine that there are enough people to buy these homes within travelling distance to their work from here. If you work on an average of 3 people per household, about 6000 new people have arrived here over 7 years with at least 2000 extra cars.

The demand for new houses has driven up the prices considerably. Starting prices for ‘quality’, 2 bed first homes opens at around £360,000 and a 4 bed home will begin at £700,000. It always makes me laugh when we broke the bank 40 years ago in 1984 to buy a 4 bedroom stone built house in an acre of land in Helme for £74,000. We really thought we had arrived. Now, most people who are buying a similar house without land are paying 10 x that price before kitting it out.

Tuesday, 19th March, 2024

I’m told it’s Tuesday. It could be any day at the moment. They are all blending into each other quite monotonously. Got to do something to mix things up very soon. Go somewhere. See things. Meet people. It’s been coming for some time.

This time two years ago, I was staying in a Sporting Academy complex in Florida – using their Gym and pool, walking in the sunshine and enjoying lovely company. The IMG campus was huge.

At the weekend, while watching the build up to the 6 Nations match, a report on a member of the Welsh team moving to American sport was featured from the same IMG Academy complex in Bradenton, Florida and warm memories flooded back.

We may not go back to Florida until next year but intend to make a number of shorter trips in the next few months. Must go to France a few times soon, to the North soon and then fly to Thessaloniki in June and Athens in August. Got to start moving!

Pauline has always kept mementoes as she has moved through the timeline of her life. Things that are time or person specific, things of her Mum & Dad, of our married life and of our travels. Generally, they are not moribund items stuffed away in a box but she tries to incorporate them into her current life. When she was 21, she had a little party with her College friends in Tottenham. They were Food Science students and bought her a large, glass mixing bowl 51 years ago. She uses it almost every day even now.

In the mid 1970s, a blocked drain outside our first house in Meltham, Huddersfield was excavated. This blue jewel of of fluorite emerged from the mud. Who knows how it got there. Our house was the original, 19th century Coaching House in the grounds of the Mansion house. It certainly had centuries of history to reclaim. It reclaimed some of my memories this morning when I came upon it although I tend to collect people not things.

Wednesday, 20th March, 2024

The Spring Equinox, Dear Reader. Yet another one! The word equinox comes from two Latin words meaning equal and night.

From here, the days increasingly get longer than the nights which is why clocks go forward in 10 days to make use of all that daylight. I would prefer them staying that way. Bugger Scotland. They can have their own time zone if they like.

While daylight/sunlight gets longer, inflation is coming down. Today it was announced at 3.4%. After years of making next to no income from cash savings, I am feeling so much better. Having tied money up at a loss for many years, I bought 3 year fixed-rate bonds at 6.1% last year when inflation was 9.4%, now I have more than 18 months left while lower inflation means I am making positive earnings and it is predicted to be down to 2% by winter. Because of that, I am continuing the process of investing it in ISAs to shelter it from tax. We can only make £2000 a year tax free unless it is in an ISA wrapper so I will be buying another £40,000 next month when the new tax year allows it.

Of course, prices aren’t coming down. They are just going up a little more slowly. Today, we bought the last of Sainsburys cans of Virgin Olive Oil. Only 2 years ago, we were buying this 3L can for £7.35. Today, each can was £16.10. Fortunately, we can afford to pay it but many can’t. The Spanish themselves are largely turning away from their own olive oils in favour of cheaper seed/nut oils.

Exactly 52 years ago this morning, I was regretting everything. I had sprinted across the College lawns from the Cottages to reach the student bar, affectionately know as the Wilkie, with just 30 mins to closing time at 11.00 pm. I was meeting my friend, Kevin, who had a pint of John Smith’s Bitter waiting for me. Three pints later (well we had 30 minutes), we saw something going on down in the carpark. A coach had arrived. Students were getting on it in the darkness. We learnt that they were going to do the Lyke Wake Walk. For me, after 3 pints in 30 minutes, they could have been doing naked sunbathing at midnight so when Kevin said, Come on. Let’s do it., I stupidly agreed.

Almost 12 hours later and after 40 miles of walking under the moonlight – the Lyke Wake Walk is a complete crossing of the North Yorkshire Moors – I had feet covered in blisters and very aching legs. Actually, Kevin had heard that the Marines had run the entire route and thought we should emulate them. We tried but just couldn’t sustain it. I don’t think I could walk 40 miles now.

Thursday, 21st March, 2024

Yesterday launched Summer at the start of Spring. We were warm – 18C/65F – and gorgeously sunny. The lawns were mowed. Minds turned to gardening. Well, I turned my gardener’s mind to clearing the pots and weeding the raised beds. I think she enjoyed it. My job today is forking over, aerating the soil and topping it up with fresh. Next I can book a company to come and professionally clean the surrounding patio, drive and front path so we will be ready for the season.

As a reward for her work yesterday, the gardener has ordered 5 new swimming costumes in readiness for European travel. She tells me her bikini days are over. I suspect she won’t need them in Oldham but you never know.

My friend, Kevin, is in mourning because his favourite pub is being converted into apartments. They could convert all pubs to apartments for me. I’ve offered him my choice as an alternative.

We have a plumber here this morning fitting a new shower in one of the bathrooms. We think this shower has started to lose its power because it is rarely used. Since living in Greece, we both prefer showers to baths and should rotate through the bathrooms but generally use the same one each time because it’s a bigger, walk-in one.

As the general Election looms, we are still only hearing from one, political party in our new constituency. Labour are becoming increasingly confident of winning down here for the first time in over 50 years. The sitting Conservative MP is so old he is the Father of the House of Commons. Sir Peter Bottomley is 80 this year. Time to retire! Time for a Change!

Our Labour candidate is a lively, young-ish, local doctor. Exactly the sort of character to represent a thrusting area such as this. If she can win here against the weight of history then Labour can sweep the board across the country. The Tories are jumping ship in so many places. Noticed that the candidate for Manchester Mayor has defected to the Reform Party this morning. He wouldn’t have stood a chance anyway.

Friday, 22nd March, 2024

Strange dream last night. I was 90 years old – only 17 years away. Still reasonably fit but I seemed to be talking in the wind, having a one way conversation that had lasted for years. There was nothing coming back. Wondered if it was my Blog. It was very uncomfortable.

Very warm but overcast day. At least it’s still dry. Every morning over Breakfast I am sent a news briefing from various parts of the country and parts of the world that are/have been significant to me over time. This morning there was a story about a woman being knocked down on Falinge Road in Rochdale. It wasn’t the dark, damp, chilly night that struck me. It wasn’t the 42 year old drug-driver who struck the elderly woman. What hit me hardest was that we were told the woman was 72! Elderly woman aged 72!!! What is happening?? We’ll all be living on canal boats at this rate. At least we won’t get run down.

These things are beginning to get to me more and more. This week, I decided I could be a WASPI woman. Think of all the compensation. My Housekeeper missed out on 15 months state pension because of the unannounced change. That could amount to more that 20p in compensation. Actually, the Right Wing Press is arguing that Wealthy ‘WASPIs should be barred from compensation. Just think, elderly woman died without compensation. I don’t know which is worse.

Saturday, 23rd March, 2024

After a clear night and the garden illuminated by a nearly full moon, the day has opened to a glorious morning. Blue sky, strong sunshine, feeling of vibrant life and possibilities. I’m going out to buy …. a new garden brush! Woohoo!!

I have to wish P&C a happy anniversary. It is 67 years ago today that Pauline’s sister got married. Pauline, the mistake, was just 5 years old. This is the happy couple on Oldham Wakes holiday in Blackpool three months after their wedding in 1957.

I bought a new garden brush to sweep away the winter detritus from the garden and then walked across the beach as the sea was rushing in to clean the pebbles once again.

Pauline had ordered 5 swim suits and a couple of dresses for the holidays in the sun. Today, we returned 3 of the swim suits and one of the dresses and the company took them back at their expense although I suppose it was factored into the price. I was quite surprised that she went for an ethnic, ‘Aztec’ design which you might expect Pocahontas to wear but she looks nice in it and it is so cheap it won’t matter if sun cream stains it.

We’ve got almost 12 weeks until we do a hot sun trip so I suspect there will be plenty more where that came from. It won’t be quite the same in France where anything goes. I am currently looking at just getting in the car and driving – perhaps booking ahead by one night at a time. Route: Coquelles, Wimereux, Boulogne, Le Touquet, Saint Valery, Dieppe, Le Havre, Saint Malo, Nantes, La Rochelle, Bordeaux … and relax. I definitely need to move and explore, to find new places and people, to revisit and rejoin places and people from the past. I intend to do all 0f those things this year.

For me the changing seasons mean travelling and gardening. For my Housekeeper. they mean ingredients and menus. As in Greece so it is in UK. Easter means Roast Lamb. We virtually never eat lamb throughout the year but at Easter it is obligatory. Of course, we recognise that it is a religious thing – The Lamb of God – in which we are not invested. However, the tradition is fun to observe. In Greece, it would be a whole lamb spit roast outside in the sunshine. Here, it is a leg of lamb from Waitrose roasted with home grown rosemary and mint.

Sunday, 10th March, 2024

Pleasant, soft day of calm. You could almost think it was a Sunday. Things are so far gone that we have both forgotten Mothers’ Day. I struggle to remember, feel sentimental about the loss nowadays. I know, it says more about me but just being honest.

I have one job and one job only. I have to copy our old phones to our new phones and then the trouble starts. If you have never had to do this, you won’t understand but it is a nightmare!

When I swap Apple iPads, the copy across is easy and straightforward but I’ve been invested in Android phones for twenty years and I enjoy my Samsung phones, watches, etc so I am persevering. Today, with two, new phones, I am copying apps and data so that our lives continue seamlessly. Or not.

I keep all my texts back over the past 5 years, my social media connections and they are important to me. They copied across perfectly. Whatsapp messages copied across. Eventually, it all came down to Pauline’s smartwatch which gave me trouble. It took two hours before her data flooded into the phone and all was well. I don’t know why I put myself through it. I sent out Whatsapps and got successful replies. I sent out texts and got some successful replies. Emails are working.

It has been such a stressful morning, it will be good to get in the Gym and work off the aches of the day. Raining in the North this morning. It must affect their texts. Watched a few minutes of Huddersfield Town at home in strong rain. Not a pretty sight. They were winning for … 10 minutes but lost 1-4 to Kevin’s chagrin.

Monday, 11th March, 2024

Warm, grey and overcast. Oh, I know the feeling. Well, quite a few jobs to get through plus a couple of hours in the Gym. One of the bathroom sinks has developed a slow leak. Got to get the plumber. While he’s here, he can fix the flow of one of the bathrooms’ showers. This afternoon, the House Security System is doing the annual service so we have to be here. Don’t want him breaking in!

Finally agreed to sell our two, old (nearly new) phones for £642.00 to a resale company called Meelie Mobile in Newcastle-under-Lyme. According to their website, they will sell them on for about £1000.00. They are in perfect condition after two years of use having been protected by back cases and front screen covers. Good luck to them. I’m quite happy. I ordered all the extras – covers, screen protectors, etc, from Amazon Prime. I love it. Next day delivery ‘free’ and free and easy returns if you don’t like them … which I don’t. New ones ordered to be delivered tomorrow. Rejects going back tomorrow.

We’ve decided that our plumber isn’t as good as we first thought and I have to look for another. Our local Checkatrade has quite a few but how do I decide? I just pick one and call. If they’re rubbish, I won’t use them again. We’ve phoned Plumber on Tap because I like the name. He will be with us tomorrow.

Talked to Julie this morning. Kevin’s wife, Chris, is going up to see her this week which is both ironic and magnanimous. Both are in a flurry to get things at their best. Kevin won’t be there. I wonder why.

Anyway, I’m going in the Gym to hide away from the world. Until I go on a Kings’ drive to discover what lies beyond. Can you believe the Royal Family deliberately deceiving their slavering public by altering photographs. Is there anyone who actually cares? I certainly don’t. They are irrelevant to modern Britain.

Tuesday, 12th March, 2024

A truly horrible day of heavy rain. Warm but terribly wet. There is so much to do but the climate is revolting. Early this morning we had to go out for some purchases.

No wonder I use Amazon Prime who deliver ‘free of charge’ next day to my door. By the end of this week I will have received deliveries from them on 5 consecutive days. I know it sounds mad but phone covers and screen protectors. Some rejected and returned with new ones ordered. Computer/iPad Screen cleaner, specialist lighting tubes used in the bathrooms but which I can’t be bothered hunting for in the real world, Sellotape pack, mobile trickle charger for the side of my bed. It’s the delivery people I feel sorry for. They constantly looked shattered and stressed. Come to think of it, I remember that feeling …

The Home Security service man arrived yesterday afternoon. It took him precisely 15 minutes to check the system, PIRs, Alarm battery, sound box, etc. That costs £110.00 per year. Actually, it is more of an insurance policy because they come out immediately in crisis times when the alarm goes off. It would be incredibly stressful for the neighbourhood particularly if we were away.

Think I’m giving up the will to live. We have a dear friend who is struggling with terminal cancer. It is almost unimaginable. Sometimes death seems to follow us round. I was reading an article written by a Hospice nurse about the most common things people in their final days regret:

• ‘ I wish I hadn’t dedicated so much of my life to working so hard.’ …
• ‘ I wish I’d lived my life the way I wanted, not how others expected me to behave.’ …
• ‘ I regret losing touch with so many of my friends’. …
• ‘ I wish I’d been brave enough to express my feelings more’. ‘ …
• ‘ I wish I’d let myself be happier’.

So many of these things could apply to me. They are a wake up call for the now, for the alive. Learn from other’s mistakes. They Stay With Me.

I have a problem with sex. I am strictly heterosexual and I just can’t watch a homosexual kiss on screen or anywhere else. It is clearly becoming more acceptable in the media but I just cannot watch it. I have literally to avert my eyes. I have tried to examine my response but I really don’t know if it is cultural or physical or a blend of the two. Maybe, I am a product of my time when overt homosexuality was a crime and the generations coming after me will be much more liberal and accepting.

I am in my 70s and like to think I’m fairly open minded. I have no objection to same-sex couples even though I find it impossible to face it myself. I have much more discomfort with Gender Dysphoria which is the subject of action today as the NHS withdraws from the gender-altering process of so-called Trans Children.

Wednesday, 13th March, 2024

Pleasant, dry and fairly bright day. Really warm. Not feeling at my best today – old, fat, tired. Got to get going. Got some photo editing to do today. Making a card for a friend wearing bikini and wellies (her not me) in this weather.

I enjoy photo editing so the recent Royal debacle has rather amused me. Anything which undermines the Monarchy cheers me up and putting out a publicly sanctioned photo is a bit different to the personal things I do but anybody who uses social media trespasses into this sphere regularly.

Above, two separate photos of Littlehampton beach where the River Arun flows into the sea are then knitted together to create a more panoramic but untruthful shot.

Looks a bit cold and grey so I’ve warmed it up a little by adjusting the colour saturation and hue using a Photoshop precursor I’ve been using for years – Macromedia Fireworks.

There is plenty of speculation that Kate has been editing out the difficult parts of her life and not just the sleeve in a photo. It is possible that she wasn’t even there for the ‘officially published photo but superimposed he face in between kids on a computer. It isn’t difficult and it hasn’t taken the cartoonists long to see the funny side. If only Sunak could Photoshop his difficulties away.

Thursday, 14th March, 2024

Lovely warm and sunny morning. After the warmest Winter we have ever known and in which we have almost forgotten how to use the central heating, this morning we are …. having the central heating serviced. My secretary is nothing if not assiduous about such things.

A couple of days ago, we had the Security System serviced at an annual cost of £110.00 and the Central Heating service today is undertaken by British Gas at an annual cost of £310.00. Although we have been her for 7 years now from ‘new’, very little is showing signs of wear and tear. The central heating and security systems are working as good as new. The boiler is fairly small and hidden in a cupboard in the Utility Room. It’s a cupboard we never open. It’s unnecessary.

Everything is done remotely from phones, iPads and computers. It is so much more convenient. It is also so much more economical. You want the towel rails heating for warm towels after a shower. Turn them on just Upstairs while working in the Office downstairs. You want to cool the Gym, turn the fan on before you get there. This is how life should be organised. I bet you can’t do this on a canal boat!

My friend, Kevin, and I have exchanged memories. He’s done a 12 mile bike ride today for fitness. I reminded him that I did one in July 1972 to attend my sister’s wedding. There were no early morning buses to the station in Harrogate. I had to borrow my flatmate, Nigel’s bike. I had bought a new, black, 3-piece suit from Burton’s in Ripon – £99.00.

Dressed in my suit, I biked from Ripon to Harrogate at 5.00 am. The crows on the road were massive and very intimidating. After 12 miles, I got there in time because I was very fit then. I was at the wedding but that was the last time I ever rode bike.

Kevin did his afternoon ride this afternoon. It was just 12 miles but not in a Burton’s suit.

Friday, 15th March, 2024

Up very early to get through our own jobs before we set out to help others. Off to Sainsburys to shop for ourselves and then home to prepare for a drive to Surrey.

We were on a mercy mission this morning as we left early to drive up to Surrey. P&C had got into a muddle with the new television we had installed for them. They were only able to watch CNN …. a fate worse than death. Anyone who has been stuck in a foreign hotel room with the only English channel as CNN will know how hard it can be. I knew that the problem was that they had altered the source from the Freeview box. It took minutes to rectify even though the process wasn’t easy to explain over the phone.

The drive was typically Spring moving through warm sunshine and sharp rain storms and back again. We knew that the M25 around there would be closed at the weekend and it was absolutely packed this morning so we went through Cobham instead. It was a good decision.

The TV took minutes to restore and to rehearse with P&C so they could restore it themselves if anything went wrong again.

Pauline noticed their fridge was empty so we shot off to Tesco by the old, Brooklands car race track. We got a reasonable trolley of fruit and vegetables, meat and cheese, wine and chocolate and delivered it back to P&C before setting off on the 90 mins drive home. The drive was typically Spring weather moving through warm sunshine and sharp rain storms and back again. Beautiful blossom everywhere – May Blossom on the roadsides, Magnolia trees in gardens, Cherry blossom in public spaces.

Saturday, 16th March, 2024

Unfortunately P&C are finding life increasingly demanding to deal with. A BT engineer arrived while we were there yesterday. Nobody, including the engineer seemed to know why he had arrived. He left but, by the time we had driven home, their phone line had stopped working. Something had happened which we will have to spend this morning sorting out.

Everything is difficult because of Privacy and Public Liability laws. Even though Pauline shares Power of Attorney, BT will not discuss anything with her about someone else without specific information she just doesn’t have. Perhaps she could phone P&C … if their line hadn’t been cut. We could have driven up there again but the M25 is closed all weekend. Anyway, it turns out that P&C are now having their copper wired land line removed and switched over to a VOIP (voice over internet protocol) one. BT is pushing everyone in that direction. The only thing is that they are charging people £40.00 to fit a new broadband hub. If I’d known yesterday, I could have done it for them for free.

Kevin told me this morning that Julia – my goddaughter – had just completed a very successful Ofsted as SENCO of her school in York. I’ve had a nice chat with her this morning. She is a lovely girl and Kevin is justifiably very proud of her.

In the 6 Nations rugby this afternoon, I want all the away teams to win. The hardest one will be England in Paris but I would particularly like Italy to stuff the Welsh. They deserve it. I’ll be watching from the treadmill and pretending that I’m still playing. It’s quite difficult nowadays to face up to the fact that I will never play again. In fact, never work again. Still, we can all dream and there are still plenty of things that I can and will do again, Dear Reader.

My little sister, Cathy, was in London the other day. I asked her if she was visiting one of my many other sisters, Liz, on her house boat. No fear, she said, I can’t stand boats. All these years and I’d never know that …. a real testament to my sensitivity.

Sunday, 3rd March, 2024

Gorgeous morning although it was quite a cold night. The sun is up and the world is rapidly warming. I’ve been listening to the Chancellor saying absolutely nothing as usual ahead of the budget. I had hoped to hear about his intentions to reform ISAs because that would affect me. I would like to hear him say that he would uprate tax bands because that would have affected me and I would have liked to have heard him confirm the retention of the Triple Lock on State Pensions because that would affect me. I heard none of these things and will now have to wait until the Budget Speech on Wednesday.

We were higher rate tax payers across a large chunk of our working lives but really didn’t expect to be so in retirement. In fact, as we negotiated severance packages on leaving work, that was the first time we really focussed hard on what was to come. In reality, things turned out a lot better than we had anticipated. Teachers’ Pensions is a Defined Benefit Scheme based, in our cases, on our salary and service (Final Salary Arrangement) but for future generations on annual pensionable earnings, revalued each year (Career Average Arrangement). Rather than investments, which many private sector employees now rely on, there were no surprises when we came to claim. Not only that but Teachers Pensions are uprated by RPI inflation rate each new tax year.

It’s what others gaze longingly at nowadays and describe as Gold Plated Pensions. It was one of the few perks of being a teacher, along with the holidays, in a relatively poorly paid profession. It has meant that we feel better off in retirement with no mortgage, no National Insurance payments and no big commuting costs, than we actually did in work. We were always saving and investing while at work and we have continued to do so in retirement. We retired in 2009 and wages and living standards, nationally have hardly risen in that time. It has been the most protracted period of stagnant growth in the post war period and has left us feeling relatively more prosperous than we ever were in work.

One thing we didn’t expect was to be drawn into paying much tax. You may be aware, Dear Reader, of the term: Fiscal Drag. If not, it is taxation by stealth. While Tory Chancellors have talked about wanting to cut taxes on ‘hard working people’ and they have done a bit at the margins, actually, they have increased taxation by much more by holding tax bands firm and not uprating them with inflation. What that means is, if you have a bit of a pay increase, it can be completely wiped out by being dragged into a Higher Tax bracket.

Because of this, we try to shelter as much of our income as possible in Tax-Free savings. In the past, we have invested in shares and bonds. We have gone for managed and tracker funds. We have made money and paid tax on it because the capital gain outweighed the tax. For that reason we largely shunned ISAs. Now, however, the Individual Savings Account is coming back into fashion. All ISA earnings are completely tax free. We can shelter £20,000 per year per person at increasingly competitive rates. Just under a year ago, I managed to put our full, allocation for each of us away at 6.2% and it is fixed for 3 years which allows me to do the same this April and so on. Gradually, over the next few years, we would hope to shelter all our unearned income under a tax-free umbrella

Monday, 4th March, 2024

Oh what a gorgeous day! I’d like to share it with you, Dear Reader. Warm, sunny, bright and blue – just makes one want to be outside. And I’m following that urge by …. driving to the local tip to get rid of the huge amount of packaging we have accumulated recently from purchases. It is bins day today but we’ve got more than we can expect to be taken normally and the tip is quick and easy and only about 4 miles away. Do you want to come too? You know you do. Always good to have a trip out.

Most trips out of here go past the seaside so it is tempting to just stop off for a walk. Today, was warm and windless, soft and sunny and lovely to enjoy. Told you you should have come. The local refuse tip was quiet and the house is now feeling lighter and cleansed of rubbish.

I am a Historian and love I data so it is no surprise that I have kept records across my life. I have box files full of financial records – every payslip going back to September 1972. I was looking at my first couple of years of teaching this morning. My annual salary when I started teaching in September 1972 was £1179.00. That’s not per month but per year and before deductions of income tax, National Insurance, and pension contributions of 7.4%. To put that into perspective, my first monthly pay check was just £62.00 and I had to work for my first month with nothing before I was paid that princely sum.

When I started teaching, there was a shortage of people going into the profession because of the depressed salaries. I was paid extra because English & Science were shortage subjects. I was also paid £365.00 per year extra for teaching in Oldham – an SPS or social priority school. Within the first decade, we received two, relatively large pay rises. In 1975, the Houghton Pay Review awarded us a 27% pay rise. It felt good. Just 5 years later, the Clegg Review awarded us a 25% pay increase which Thatcher had previously foolishly agreed to honour. We went on holiday to celebrate.

Within two years I had received two, large pay rises, additional, special retention payments, two annual salary increments and a promotion. It meant that my annual salary had almost doubled. From almost nothing to double almost nothing. In the subsequent decade, my salary had more than doubled again.

Tuesday, 5th March, 2024

Woke up from a wonderful dream this morning. Bathed in warmth, I didn’t get up until after 7.00 am!!! I felt rather ashamed and self indulgent.

I received an email from BT who supply me with Full Fibre Broadband, ‘Free’ Phone Calls plus BT (TNT) Sport for the princely sum of £125.00 per month. It will soon cost me £135.00 per month. EE, which is also owned by BT is raising my mobile phone charge from £160.00 per month top £172.00 per month for two mobiles so it was really good to hear that we had won the National Lottery over the weekend. That extra £30.00 will really help.

Now Springtime is here, I am thinking about the garden. The soil in the raised beds has compacted and sunk over winter. It needs refreshing and topping up. I’m looking for someone to deliver a large bag of quality topsoil. This is the sort of price I am going to have to pay. When I’ve done that, I’m going to hire a specialist firm to come and clean the patio and drive. I do it myself each Spring but, after 7 years, I want a more professional job. I can’t do that until I’ve finished all the messy jobs like topping up the beds with soil.

I have a new role model to emulate. She was featured in the press yesterday when she turned 117. Can you imagine it? Come on, Dear Reader. Until now, we’ve been setting our sights too low. The new bar is set at 118. For me that will be 2069 some 45 years away. So much time for new life and enjoyment. Come on!!!

Kevin and I have agreed to order a Methuselah bottle of Champagne to celebrate our 118th birthday together. It’s only 6 litres after all. I’ve found one which will do nicely. Even non-drinkers are allowed to break the habits of a lifetime in 2069.

Wednesday, 6th March, 2024

Almost done the first week of March already. Time moves on lost in the tedium of routine. I did my jobs this morning as I do every Wednesday – stripped the bed. I’m not trusted to remake it. Emptied the dishwasher – I’m not trusted to stack it. There has to be more to life than this. Just ask Liz!

Feeling old this morning …. almost 118. Kevin says he wants crisps not nuts with his champagne so the question is whether to buy them now or risk leaving it until 2069. Until then, it is fresh produce for me. Fresh vegetables = Longer Life? Well, maybe.

I smiled this morning when we went out to buy a cooler duvet – 1 Tog – which is what you need when you’re so hot in bed but I came back with these, gorgeous vegetables. Not one item was grown in UK. Oranges from Valencia, Bananas from Columbia, Mango from Costa Rica, Asparagus from Mexico and Green Beans from Senegal. I observe that as a Tory MP stands up and says we should growing all our own produce.

Older age has definitely seen me move increasingly towards eating more vegetables – something I resisted as a young man. I’ve been amazed how much I’ve enjoyed them although I could never be a vegetarian. I do have a little sister who is a Vegan – but you always get one! I suppose, it is easier to indulge oneself in retirement whereas the stress of teaching pushed me more towards self-indulgence, unhealthy, comfort food and lack of exercise.

This pair of old men, good friends of mine although both a couple of years older, are still looking fit and healthy this week even though they live in the North. I think Chris, seen on the right in 1971, has got a job as a postman in his old age.

This morning, however, I had terrible news of another friend who was only 72 and died of cancer last night. He had been clear of cancer for a few years but it returned as it is inclined to do, and he finally succumbed. The cruel twist of fate is dreadful to acknowledge. All we can do is work to mitigate it through a happy, healthy lifestyle.

On this day in 2009, I was writing:

Things are moving fast at the moment. The amalgamation of our school with another and its re-emergence as an Academy has led to enormous redundancy packages being offered. Pauline & I are currently thinking of bringing our retirement forward to this summer.

As it turned out, things were moving very fast and, a month later, we were retired, our mortgage was paid off, we had set up long term investments and were looking forward to a life of leisure.

Thursday, 7th March, 2024

Lovely warm and bright, Spring morning. Almost time to start cutting the lawns. The beds are full of daffodils in full flower and some even starting to go over. We went down to one of the Garden Centres for a quick look.

It is still three weeks until Easter – the traditional start to the Gardening Calendar – but things are well under way. Huge areas of starter plantlets for growing on at home to save the gardener weeks of effort in growing from seed. I will combine both this year … but not quite yet.

Spring is a time for optimism and for hope. All gardeners work on that basis. In spite of the warm but wet Winter weather, better days are ahead. People sow seeds in expectation that they will germinate and plant out in the expectation that they will flower. It is the only way that humans can approach life. I’m trying to do just that but there is something constantly nagging in the back of my mind. You’ve heard of fate, haven’t you Dear Reader?

Only one ship is seeking us, a black-
Sailed unfamiliar, towing at her back
A huge and birdless silence. In her wake
No waters breed or break.Next, Please (1955) – Philip Larkin

Never let over-optimism cloud your judgement. That black-sailed ship is still coming. It’s all just a matter of WHEN.

My friend, Kevin whose older than me, has fallen off his bike. The bike’s alright but Kevin is quite badly damaged. Because I am very sympathetic, I’ve suggested a re-spray.

Just had my Annual Medical Review and they said I was a walking miracle: good blood pressure/heart rate, good cholesterol, no sign of diabetes. In an idle moment while waiting in the Surgery, I was reading my Twitter Feed and answered a question: If you could be the author of any book in the world, which book would it be? I said The Karma Sutra and it went viral.

Friday, 8th March, 2024

Yesterday reached 17C/63F. It has been followed by a gorgeous morning today. Out in the sunshine down to the beach and a walk back along the Marina Promenade.

It is a sleepily working port with fishing and leisure craft pottering around but, back-lit with the bright, Mediterranean colours, it makes one feel like on permanent holiday.

I know virtually nothing about ‘Pop Music’ at least since 1972. It really hasn’t interested me. Even as a teacher, I didn’t engage with it. This was amusingly illustrated over the past few days when I was asked about a character who I now know is Liam Gallagher and is/was in a group called Oasis. Now, I admit, I hed heard of Oasis because they came from Manchester but I could not identify a single member of the Group?/Band?/Combo? and certainly not any of their music. Kevin though that was hilarious.

Well, now I know another group called Blur. Apparently, they were ‘famous’ at about the same time – something which completely passed me by. It came to light this week as Blur impinged on politics. I learnt that the drummer, Dave Rowntree has been selected as Labour’s parliamentary candidate for Mid-Sussex. I also learnt that Blur was described as Brit-Pop Band – which was all too much for me.

For more than 10 years, I have held a contract with EE for two mobiles. Nowadays, they consider us long standing customers because they suffer high high levels of churn amongst their clients. Our current contract runs out in May but they have been bombarding me for weeks with upgrade offers. Today, I finally gave in and I am pleased I did. We have 2 x Samsung Ultra S22 smartphones which a 5G and I am replacing them with 2 x the latest Samsung Ultra S24. They will cost me a bit less even though we will have unlimited, ‘free’ calls, texts and data which will also be available on roaming in Europe and the USA. Sometimes it pays to be loyal.

I have managed to fix a resale value for our 2 x Samsung S22 Ultras simply and easily with webuyanyphone.com for 2 x £306.00. Quite pleased with this afternoon’s deal!

Saturday, 9th March, 2024

Rather a duller start to the day but very warm. We’re having the annual central heating service soon. I’ve almost forgotten we have central heating at all we’ve used it so little this year. So light in the mornings now. You can just feel better things are coming.

Before I do anything else, I must wish little Cathy happy birthday. I say little because she always will be to me but she is 69 today. Very hard to believe and it does pull me up short to the nightmare that is aging. When I say to myself that this scene was nearly 60 years ago – long before colour televisions, home computers and the internet, long before mobile phones or dishwashers. Anyway, she won’t care. She’s very happy with her life. Long may it last! I think this holiday snap must have been about 1966-67. I was touring around Southern Ireland then.

Trouble with getting new phones is that they need new covers, new screen protectors and all the apps and data from the old ones copied across. Because I only do that every couple of years, I always forget how to do it and have to consult Google. I must make a mental note that I use the SmartSwitch app.

It means that I can copy across all our apps, texts, photos, address book, calendar and data without time consuming effort.

Sunday, 25th February, 2024

Lovely, Spring morning. Sunday papers are full of electioneering. You would be forgiven for thinking the Tories, running scared, will try to minimise their losses by announcing a ‘snap’ General Election to coincide with the Local Elections in May. I don’t think it will do them any good. Defeat is baked in but, we’ll see.

The local newspaper, Brighton & Worthing Argus ran a story this weekend of a huge whale that washed up on Littlehampton Beach a few days ago. Never seen a live / recently dead whale in the flesh. Would have liked to have witnessed this.

I am preparing our Lounge TV to be taken up to Surrey for P&C. It’s a 65″ Samsung Smart TV which will dominate their Lounge. They don’t use Sky TV at all but are content with a Freeview box even though viewing is quite high on their agenda as they are in later life. Everything for us goes through a Sky-Q box which makes life very simple but I’d forgotten so many of the facilities these smart TVs have incorporated like displaying pictures in downtime and making video calls with Google-Meet. I have ordered them a new Freeview box which will allow High definition pictures to go with their new set.

Going to have to get M all the way from Florida in BIG on our new, 75″ TV. Be able to see all her wrinkles! Unbelievable to think she’s going to be 60 next birthday.

Monday, 26th February, 2024

Bright but cold morning. Strong sea breeze. Amazed how light it was at 6.00 am. The dustbin men came early banging about in the street. I went out to collect ours (men’s work) and ended up retrieving about six others that seemed to have minds of their own in the wind. Good neighbour bit done for the day, I am settling down to a (self imposed) list of jobs.

I think I’m becoming an angry, old man. British Gas installed a smart meter in my Office and then text me regularly to submit readings. What’s the point of a smart meter if they don’t collect the data smartly? Tried speaking to someone. Failed. Tried an on-line chat. was sent round in ever decreasing circles of bot-chat boredom. Gave up. Tried to submit readings via the app and was told the System isn’t working at the moment. Try again later.

Thought I would contact Sainsburys about a missing product that we’ve been buying for years and has suddenly disappeared from local shelves and the national database. I have already spoken to the manufacturers – Unilever and their product company Walls who say their is no shortage in production. They gave me a Sainsburys number to phone. Try online or phoning Sainsburys and you are sent round in ever decreasing circles of bot-chat boredom

While I was indulging in a consumerist world of self-indulgence, I was talking to Kevin in Leeds, Dave in Bolton, Julie in Hull and others about the Tory Cabinet meeting being held in the North today to re-announce money for local development that they first announced in October 2023 and which they will be releasing in 2025 …. after they are out of Office. Another exercise in futility which leaves Towns from our past struggling in the cold and wet.

The MEN this morning features Bury Art Gallery that houses moderately important paintings by Turner and Landseer, et al, which are under threat from the inability of the council to afford repairs to the roof which is leaking down on to these treasures. It also features Oldham Council struggling to cover a shortfall of £30 million after having £200 million taken out of its budget over the years of Tory austerity.

Meanwhile, as they Tories pretend they are bringing barrowloads of cash to the North, the Hospitals, as the MEN features, are struggling to find cash to maintain buildings and services. This is a tired government on its last legs with a bunch of far right racists ruling the roost. Now is not the time to be living in impoverished areas struggling to survive.

Tuesday, 27th February, 2024

Lovely Spring morning. The sap is rising. Had to test my INR and report to the Hospital. I am back to normal or as close to normal as I will ever be. (Yes, I know, I will never be normal.) I have thanked the anticoagulation department for their help. Window cleaner has arrived. It is the same one we engaged when we arrived here 7 years ago and he is still charging £18.00 for a good job.

If you know me and/or you are a regular reader, you will know that I like facts, statistics and research. After completing a initial Honours Degree, I immediately embarked on a Research Masters Degree into the history of the Labour Party. I loved it. I knew instantly that I’d found my forte. I spent hours, days, weeks in Manchester Rotunda Library, the John Rylands Research Institute in Deansgate, in the bowels of the stacks of Huddersfield University Library. I accessed the amazing resources of Oxford and Cambridge Universities electronically. I travelled to Greece with armfuls of photocopies of Trade Union History, German Sociologists political commentaries, early Labour MPs biographies, etc..

Obviously, I was a real bundle of fun at that time. I was working to obliterate past failures. However, although I didn’t go on to complete the Doctorate because it would have taken up too much of my life, I remain intrinsically interested and involved in Labour Party politics. My interest comes from my research into the origins of Labour history and the precursor to the party was the Labour Representation Committee. On this day in 1900, Richard Bell was elected MP for a Derby constituency along with Keir Hardie.

During the day, I talk to lots of people from University days and from College days. We all review our relationships and actions from the past and these discussions often involve objective memories. One of the things which has recently become current is our Students’ Union Card. I had one from Ripon College, one from the Open University and one from Huddersfield University. Amazing how many have kept theirs. Have you, Dear Reader? I posted mine on-line today. I’ve already been contacted by 149 past students. You’ve either got it or …

Lovely evening in the garden full of bird song. Pauline cooked Calamari out there. Delicious!

Wednesday, 28th February, 2024

Not a good night. Up early. Feeling a bit low. Expecting a delivery from Curry’s of a new television. The time slot was 9.00 am until 1.00 pm. Not ideal and they arrived at 12.55 pm. Two lads who were allocated 10 mins to deliver, unpack, connect up and remove the packaging before moving on to their next delivery. Fortunately, I was able to make it easy for them. I did the setting up for a Bulgarian and a former BBC technician fallen on hard times.

They left with smiles on their faces. The Bulgarian swearing that he would meet me in Greece in the Summer. Meanwhile, we had to drive down to the beach to collect an order of sushi-quality Tuna which was being sold off cheaply. The Fishmongers told us that so many people couldn’t afford top quality fresh fish that there is a glut in the market at the moment and they were discounting things we buy regularly.

While we were there, we bought some freshly caught Torbay Soles which nearly killed us to skin when we got them home.

We drove on to the beach side where the sea was looking cold and uninviting. The pebble beach was hard and uninviting. The sky was grey and … uninviting. Drove home to do my exercise routine. I am fighting the fat, old, wrinkly persona of old people as much as I can. I am going to incorporate rowing into my regime immediately because I can’t afford to stand still.

Thursday, 29th February, 2024

The end of February 2024. Leap Year Day. I am still waiting for my proposal. My wife was reading about the current trend for couples holidaying separately. I think she’s trying to tell me something. Who will she get to carry her bags?

What I can tell you is that February has got to go down as the wettest on record. It is pouring with rain … AGAIN. This is supposed to be the sun centre of the UK. I think someone moved West Sussex to North Wales in the middle of the night. Had to shop at Sainsburys because the carpark is underground and dry.

I’ve rather caught Sainsburys out not telling the truth. A product that we’ve bought consistently over the past couple of years. They have stocked a Greek Yoghurt Ice Cream which is lovely and very low in calories. Suddenly the shelves are bare. When I enquired of Customer Service, I was told it was a supply problem. Having interrogated Unilever & Walls, they assure me they have plenty but haven’t been asked for them. I don’t take No for an answer. Guess where I’m going next. Is my life too exciting?

I am married to a Cook. She has always been passionate about cooking (not about me.) She has collected shelves of Cookery Books, Files of cuttings and Databases of recipes that she has been collecting for over 40 years and she watches everything she can to pick up ideas for new ingredients, dishes and menus. As a result, I have watched every TV chef known to man. In fact, I wanted to create a Cookery Blog that she could maintain and take up advertising on. I’m sure it would have been a money spinner. She didn’t show the interest and I dropped it.

You may be aware of a duo known as The Hairy Bikers – two men from the North East whose unique selling point is there bluff, Northern honesty. Today it was announced that Dave Myers – probably the more intelligent, educated one of the pair succumbed to the recurrence of a cancer which reappeared over the past three years. He was only 66 and once again underlines the brevity and fragility of life.

Lack of checks often is at the root of these problems. However persuasive one is, it can be very difficult to get full examinations. We are already discussing having regular, private provision Whole Body MRI scans perhaps every 2-3 years so that problems can be detected early and referred for action quickly. It isn’t cheap but, what is the point in having money if we die with it?

Friday, 1st March, 2024

Happy March, Dear Reader. Up early to load the car with a 65″ Smart TV to take up to Surrey. It is the first day of meteorological Spring and it felt nice. Daffodils line the streets, nice temperature and some sunshine. What more could you want? You could have come with me but that’s your loss.

Missing out the M25, we negotiated the Porches, Aston Martins and Ferraris of the Chelsea set in Cobham and moved on to West Byfleet. The first two cars in front of us were worth around £300,000.

As we drove, I listened to my favourite Political Podcast – The Newsagents which I streamed from my phone and through my car speakers. It is a great way to pass the time. I hardly notice the drive.

P&C were waiting. I am not very familiar with Freeview so it was a tricky installation time. Still, we took their 55″ TV up to the Ironing Room and sorted that out. and installed their new 65″ TV in the Lounge with their Freeview box. Life seemed to be almost restored to normal. The one hitch was their Netflix account which wasn’t working. I’ve had to give them access to mine for now. P&C are not so mobile now and the TV selection is increasingly important to them.

By 1.00 pm we were driving home. It takes about an hour and a quarter. The M25 was kind to us today. A lovely morning of warm sunny weather was replaced by yet more rain this afternoon. It felt like a bit of an anti climax. Actually ate cheese & biscuits for Lunch. Immediately regretted it but have to move on.

Heard from Julie who is working hard on her fitness with a personal trainer and down in the allotment with her vegetables. Kevin is browsing the political cartoons and John R who is preparing the next lecture. I can usually drive non-stop for 15 hours across Europe without much fatigue. At the moment, I am out of training and a three hour round trip to Surrey leaves me tired and aching. More training needed! Might actually have a day off from the Gym today.

Saturday, 2nd March, 2024

Another day and more rain. This has been the warmest and wettest February on record down here. It’s a bit depressing.

We are just going to have to get some sun soon … well, after we’ve lost some weight, regained some more fitness and been signed off formally by Oncology.

It all makes me feel old. I remember, as a lad at home being told to get my haircut and resolving that I would never have my haircut again when I left home. It didn’t last, of course. These days, I’m pleased to have hair at all. I remember seeing old people being weak limbed, unsteady in their balance and generally feeble and thinking, I’m never going to get like that. Now, after an hour at my desk, I get up and can barely walk. My limbs and muscles take ages to assert their authority over my body and propel me forward. You wouldn’t think I was in the Gym for two hours every day.

I must admit that I concentrate almost almost entirely on cardio work and it has vastly improved my heart rate, blood pressure and stamina. I do know I have to start working on strength and muscle building as well as stretching, suppleness and balance. I can feel my body losing some of those aspects. I know there are some things you can’t legislate for.

This girl above could have taught me a lot about muscle retention. She was from my home town in Derby and had a stellar career but died at the ridiculously young of 74. Much good her scientific knowledge did for her. Like my wife, she had been Head Girl of her school and Captain of the Netball Team.

I don’t know how my own body works, don’t know where most bits are. Don’t know even if I’ve still got some bits or what to do with them if I have. I just keep plugging on and panicking on a regular basis.

The aim, of course, is not just to live a long time but to live a healthy, long life. Not only that, it is important to not shutdown and restrict life because of age. My little sister, Liz, has worked with the elderly for years. Now she’s elderly herself. She has done all sorts of little jobs like Manchester Strategic Director Social Services, Executive director of Adult Social Care for the tri-borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea and Westminster in London and other things.

You would think she would retire into something comfortable and normal but she’s chosen to live on a …. House Boat on the Grand Union Canal. Can you believe it? But, at the age of 66, this little hippy chick thinks she’s so cool but she’s still got a lot of growing up to do. In maturity, she’ll look back on these rebel years and laugh.

Pleased to report that, once again, the sun has come out and it is bright and warm. Time for a trip to the Gym.