Month: April 2024

Sunday, 21st April, 2024

If nothing else, you have to admit 800 weeks at 7 times a week of absolute drivel is at least impressive for its persistence. It has far outlasted my expectations and, having come this far, it is difficult to give up now. Sorry. The next celebration will be at Week 832 or 16 full years. Set your diaries and calendars. I’ll have to organise a Blog Party. Of course, you, Dear Reader, will be the prime guest.

My friend, Kevin, is out on his 5th trip to Benidorm this year. Declining his kind invitations each time, we are planning trips to Thessaloniki in Northern Greece and to Athens + islands on a second trip. When we started our Greek flights back in 1981, we were relatively poor and we had big, self-imposed responsibilities. We had a large mortgage, a car loan, a savings and investment programme for the future, private healthcare insurance and holidays were done on the cheap.

I always booked the cheapest flights I could find. Price was the primary decider. As a consequence, we were always flying at unsocial hours with less trustworthy airlines and landing at difficult times with hours to wait for connections. Monarch Airlines was a popular one but I wasn’t beyond booking Lithuanian Airlines if needs be. We certainly had some hairy experiences.

I remember using a flight seat bucket shop seller – Avro who usually sold me Dan Air or Airtours flights. They were always from Manchester to Athens and left late on Friday night after school, getting to Athens around 3.00 am with time to get a cheap bus ride down to Piraeus to buy the cheapest ferry tickets to an island where we booked simple hotels for next to nothing. We had fantastic experiences and it makes the luxury of our travel these days all the more sweet. We really appreciate not having to do things on the cheap now.

This morning, we have been forward booking airport Lounges. In the 1980s, we slept on beach mats on the airports’ floors. These days, our bank gives us ‘free’ access to dozens of Airport Executive Lounges. We tend to fly from Gatwick North these days and there are 5 different Lounges that our membership entitles us to.

Ten years ago, we could just turn up, wave our membership cards and walk straight in. These days, we a have learnt that it pays to pre-book and reserve a space. Non-members are charged £38.00 each for a 3 hr stay but there are so many prepared to do that it makes our pre-book fee of £5.00 well worth it. Of all the 5 possible Lounges in the North Terminal, only 2 still have availability when we want to be there.

Monday, 22nd April, 2024

Nice, sunny morning and I’m off to Shoreham-by-Sea, a delightful, small coastal town about 10 miles away to attend an appointment at Southlands Hospital. I am having an ultrasound scan although I’m not completely clear which part of me is being scanned. Hope it’s one of my best bits. I’ve been given the appointment by my GP following a recent blood test.

Got to get a chunk of my Gym work done before I go or I will be under pressure later in the day. This is one of my personality problems. It has to be done and I don’t feel comfortable until it is.

Talking about the NHS and doctors’ appointments, it’s almost impossible to believe this world – this NHS – existed. Less than 20 years ago. There is no better argument for voting for Labour.

I’m pleased to report that I had more difficulty working out the parking ticket machine this morning than I did with my scan. Why are NHS carparks so difficult to navigate? Fortunately, I was seen right on time and within 30 mins was given the immediate all-clear by the radiologist which was a relief but …. thank you all for asking.

Tuesday, 23rd April, 2024

Went out early this morning to a small, old and fairly linear village of Yapton which is on the road to the seaside town of Bognor Regis. I was going to speak to them about an invitation I have received for a Winter Covid booster because of my recent cancer treatment.

Never been to Yapton before even though it is only 15 mins drive away. As you can see, it is a pleasant but old and a bit down-at-heel village with a Co-op, a chip shop, a village hall and a pub.

What they did have was a fantastic, old fashioned Butcher’s shop where I bought thick, back bacon and pork ribs to go with artisan pork sausages to make my ‘world famous’ Cassoulet. When I say, world famous, I mean I have famously cooked it in a number of places around the world. We will serve it for Supper and you are invited, Dear Reader. You’re very welcome.

Are you old, Dear Reader? Am I? New research suggests the age at which ‘old’ kicks in is increasing. A recently published piece of research showed that when participants who were born in 1911 were 65 years old, they said the beginning of old age was 71. However, participants born in 1956 said old age begins at 74, on average, when they were 65. Recently, participants at age 74 said old age started at 76.8. For me, Dear Reader, old age begins when I meet my destiny.

Wednesday, 24th April, 2024

A bright and sunny morning but not one to be swimming in the sea. Clothes are definitely required this morning. Well, the cassoulet supper went down really well last night. You should have been here, Dear Reader.

Had to drive an elderly lady to town this morning. She wanted to go to M&S on the sea front. We parked in Waitrose carpark and walked through the town down along the linear, pop-up market stalls which appear on Wednesdays and then down the more trendy Warwick Lane with its cascade of Restaurants, informal eateries, bars and cafes. It didn’t feel terribly warm this morning although plenty of people were drinking coffee outside at the pavement tables.

The elderly lady was chauffeured back after a successful although reasonably cheap shopping trip and I got her home in time for Prime Minister’s Questions. Her cup runneth over … particularly after she settled down to order another £200.00’s worth of Summer clothes online from Lands End.

Had a weirdly unsettling dream last night that fed into an old insecurity of mine. I don’t know if this will mean anything to readers but I’ve always had a strange feeling of vulnerability in houses. We build a sense of security within the frail walls of our homes when there is little between us as we sleep and the cold winds of the streets chasing along outside. Although I came from a comfortable, middle class, family home as a child, I experienced some fairly dilapidated rented accommodation as a student and as a young teacher.

The property above, behind the sandwich shed which used to be a hairdressers, was where I paid £5.00 per week for 2 rooms – the two windows downstairs on the right of the smaller photo below – when I started teaching. It was horrible but all I could get at the time. The little photo below is taken from the property sale site when it was valued at over £300,000 and the 2nd most expensive property in the street which tells you a lot about the other houses.

I have had this recurring dream across my life ever since, where my subconscious seems to liken poor housing to the fragility of camping which I also hated. I am definitely someone who needs his creature comforts and the certainty of 4, well constructed walls around me. Last night the insecurity of my student flat morphed into the horrendous property I rented in my early teaching years and presented itself like an out-of-body experience where I watched a young couple enter a rented room with huge gaps in the walls and damp on the floors and yet they seemed oblivious to it and were intent on enjoying their new found freedom. I woke up feeling shaky and unclean.

This syndrome really establishes why I like new build, latest-standards homes with the best insulation, the most efficient heating and air conditioning, quality, modern materials built to exacting standards.

Thursday, 25th April, 2024

Lovely evening in our Marina yesterday which boded well for today. Currently, it is a nice morning of cloud and sunshine.

Went to Sainsburys and was shocked to find the Chicken Breasts were security protected. In Sainsburys!! I know that Lidl has manned gun towers on the roof but shop lifters at Sainsburys!

Times must be hard. Certainly prices of some things are soaring for different reasons. Brexit-broken supply chains play a part but climate change has also had a significant effect on olive oil and coffee beans. I’m currently trying to find some new coffee beans because I am bored with my current ones. These three bags of coffee beans to try out cost £21.50 which is 50% more than I was paying 2 years ago. Olive oil is more than double the price 2 years ago.

I drink quite a lot – maybe too much – coffee each day. I cannot drink it unsweetened. I use sweeteners. I haven’t used sugar since the early 1970s. In cooking, we use Splenda powder and for many years, I have used Sweetex tablets in drinks at a rate of 3 per cup. Recently, there have been doubts raised about the effects of artificial sweeteners on our gut health so I’ve decided to monitor my intake. Over today, I drank a total of 17 drinks and included 33 Sweetex tablets. Is that too many? Probably. It may well be a bit to late for me but it will be interesting to see if I can kick the habit after all these years

Supposed to have had a discussion with my GP about Monday’s scan results but it has been postponed and I am booked for a phone review next week. Suggests the initial radiographer’s observations were accurate and there is no great need for concern.

Friday, 26th April, 2024

Out early to a high street branch of a Private Investment Bank to increase our investments in the new tax year. We went in during the first week after April 6th but it was under such pressure that we have had to wait two weeks for an appointment. This morning, we were there for 9.00 am and seen fairly promptly.

In July last year, I managed to invest in a 2 year fixed rate bond at 6.05% and two, 2 year fixed rate ISAs at 5.35%. These investments were taken out at a time when inflation (CPI) was 6.4%. At that time, I expected inflation to fall and wrote so in my Blog. With 14 months still on that fixed rate, we have been able to put in a second year’s 2 x £20,000 under the 5.35% ISA wrapper. Inflation (CPI) is currently 3.2% and expected to fall to around 2% in the next few months. So, even at this point, our investments have gone from small earnings deficit to comparably large earnings surplus over the 10 months so far.

Inflation rates are absolutely critical to earnings and savings rates. In March 2023, inflation (CPI) was 10.1%. Our Teachers Pensions are uprated by CPI each year. It used to be RPI inflation rate at one time but deliberately reduced by the Tories to CPI which doesn’t include housing/mortgage costs. Ten years of 10.1% inflation would totally wipe out anyone’s savings over that time. The same would double our Teachers Pension.

Although it is a pittance and one of the worst State Pensions in Europe, the Triple Lock increase on State Pensions has seen it increase by 60% over the past 12 years. We rather treat it like pocket money and can’t imagine how someone could actually live on it but, for the first time for many years, our investments will have earned more than our joint state pensions and will continue to do so next year as well which feels rather nice after years of almost no earnings at all.

Just to emphasise that money isn’t everything and to remind me of my mortality, the postman delivered two packages when we got home. The National Bowel Cancer Tests arrived for the last time automatically. In two years time when it would be next due, I will be 75 and will have to specifically request it. Of course, I will do so …. if I’m still alive.

Saturday, 27th April, 2024

My Mum, Catherine, Lily Coghlan born on August 22nd, 1923 died 16 years ago today. It is still shocking how times recede in the memory and need to be regularly revived and commemorated. This photo is of her in 1936 aged 13, three years before war broke out. She is in Brighton with her Dad in the seaside town where Grandad Coghlan was born. It is ironic that I now live 10 miles away from where they were photographed 87 years ago.

Lovely, sunny morning. A jobs morning. Chef is baking bread and making strawberry jam. She buys packs of frozen strawberries from Sainsburys and the flavour they produce is of Summer whatever the time of year. This is one of the few occasions in the kitchen where sugar is allowed/required.

I am going to pressure wash the drive on this lovely, warm morning. This is how the jobs list is allocated according to gender.

Fifteen years ago this week, we were tidying up our garden in Quarry Court, Huddersfield in preparation for putting the property up for sale prior to setting off on our drive to our Greek house. Quite liked that garden.

Sunday, 14th April, 2024

Sunday, Sunday here again … but I won’t be lazin on a Sunday afternoon. There are too many things to do. It’s warm but rather grey today so far. A couple of years ago on this day we were eating Lunch outside in the sunshine garden. I don’t think we’ll be doing that today.

I don’t know what you think about Amazon, the online retailer. I first came into contact with it just over 15 years ago. I bought Pauline an Amazon Kindle. I love all things I.T. and we were travelling abroad for 6 months at a time. We were both taking boxes of books with us in the car and the Kindle offered the chance to ditch the books and read them electronically. It was an immediate step forward. The Kindle was/is small, light and will carry thousands of books at any one time.

She is constantly buying, downloading and storing books to her library and gets through more than one a week. Her Kindle even has a free internet connection to download books at any time from anywhere although the 3G service will not last much longer. It saves me a fortune because almost all the books she downloads are free.

I must admit, we resisted buying generally from Amazon in the early days but are Amazon-aholics nowadays. The initial fear that they were more expensive is either less significant than we thought or we are just becoming more self indulgent than before. We pay a monthly fee for Amazon Prime which has two benefits. Firstly, we access the Prime Video platform on TV but also everything I order from Amazon comes delivery ‘free’ and almost always ‘next day’. If I search the web for something I want, invariably, Amazon will come up as a potential stockist which I know will make the process easy and quick.

The idea on which Amazon was founded and developed is brilliant. Information Technology, Artificial Intelligence and Robotic Automation were the future, are becoming the present and are definitely offering exciting development.

The one weaker link in the chain at the moment is delivery to our door. We have an Amazon depot a bout three miles away and their vans are everywhere but it is not the most cost effective way to do it. The poor drivers are pushed almost beyond their limits and earn just a pittance plus the pressure for space on the already busy roads is a problem.

In the past fortnight, Pauline has bought and downloaded 4 books and we have jointly bought and had delivered 14 items. I can order things up to about 10.00 pm and they are delivered the next day for ‘free’. I can’t wait to see all those drivers get better jobs, all the vans taken off the roads and most Amazon parcels being delivered to my door by drone. If we can fight wars with drones, we can deliver purchases.

Just 3 of those14 items have been returned. That is another thing which Amazon do well. Returning goods is simple, ‘free’ and quick. There is no obligation to have a reason other than change of mind. We download a QR code to our phones, take the item, unwrapped, to a Post Office, or Hub and the refund is made within minutes. Everything is in place to encourage returning custom. Why didn’t I think of that? Bezos, who founded Amazon in his garage just 30 years ago, recently sold a few shares in the company for $8.5 billion and the company is valued overall at just under $1.9 trillion. Soon they’ll be talking serious money!

Monday, 15th April, 2024

Well it’s turned a bit chilly again and we had an absolute cloudburst in the middle of the morning. The shorts have been put back in the wardrobe for a day or two. I’ve also had to tell my beans, which are rapidly shooting, to slow down a bit.

I grow all kinds of herbs both for cutting fresh and for freeze storing. There are some it is just not worth growing. One of the most popular herbs in Greek cooking and in fish cooking is Dill or, officially, Dill-Weed. It has a delightfully mild aniseed flavour. It is a large, frond type plant which needs a lot of space and staking. I find it is easier to just buy it. Asda sells huge bunches. I bought 4 today for £4.00. Certainly not worth the effort of growing at home.

I’ve hurt my back this morning. I’m now wandering around hunched over like an old man. Oh, I am an old man … I just don’t want to look like it. I did it by taking an old (2yrs) garden parasol base to the local tip. There was nothing wrong with it other than it weighed 45 kgs and was a nightmare to move around as a woman instructed me to do when the sun moved.

We have two, garden parasols – a circular one and a large rectangular one. This latter came with a heavy, concrete base which nearly killed me to move around. The other came with a wheeled base + handle to pull it into position. Yesterday, we bought another of those and today I made the ultimate sacrifice by lifting this 100 lb lump of concrete from the patio into the boot of my car. As I drove away to the local tip, I knew I had a problem. I approached one of the workers there who made light work of taking the rock out of my boot and tossing it into a skip. That’s the second time I felt old today.

Earlier, I was chatting to an old friend from Greece. He is an Englishman from Bexhill in East Sussex but for the decade or more we were in our house on Sifnos, he & his wife were renting a house on Paros. On a clear day, the island of Paros was clearly seen from Sifnos and we pretended we could see each other as we talked. Just as we have left, so has he. The wages of Brexit bite deeply.

I spent 30 years on the island of Sifnos and remember every inch of it. This morning a friend and chef on the island posted a couple of photos that took me back there immediately. The first is a taverna with the picture of a tree-silhouette and the words Το Λιοτρίβι / The Liotrivi underneath. The Liotrivi is The Olive Press and it was a delightful restaurant. The second photo is also taken from the village of Artemonas and is of the Bakery & Zacharoplasteio. Wonderful bread and sweets made there.

Tuesday, 16th April, 2024

Lovely morning. Going to do some gardening. I’m setting the under-gardener on to giving the hedge its first trim of the season. She does it so well. We’ve got a cooler but drier 10 days to come so not going to do more than preparation at the moment. All feels rather parochial and hemmed in at the moment.

Talking to my former Greek expat friend yesterday took me back to this week in 2013 when I was driving from Mulhouse in Alsace, across the border into Switzerland, through the 17km Gotthard Tunnel, round Lake Lucerne, into Italy and round Lake Como, on to the Milan ring road and on to a hotel in Parma which is where, ironically, my next door neighbours are from.

Received a surprise letter/email yesterday inviting me to have a Covid Booster in the next few weeks. They say I have been identified as more vulnerable because my immune system will have been weakened by the Hormone treatment and Radiotherapy of last year. Apparently, I am only just in that category because the treatment was within the past 6 months. I’ve booked one because I am happy to have my antibodies boosted. I’ve got an ultrasound scan next week.

Wednesday, 17th April, 2024

Gorgeous morning of blue sky and strong sunshine. I was woken just after 6.00 am with a Whatsapp message on my phone. It was from an ex-pupil of mine who is now in her 40s. She was a very bright girl who I took under my wing but who was not allowed to go to university at the time.

She is currently a Teaching Assistant in Oldham and is married with children. She has continued to work and, last night, was recognised by Sheffield Hallam University for her outstanding efforts. Although she has my mobile number, she still calls me Sir. She sends me love and kisses but daren’t tell her husband. She still wants my approbation for what we both saw as her initial failure to capitalise on her ability as she redresses that failure now. Might try to see her when I drive to the North – hopefully soon.

Another day of gardening as everything is beginning to grow away. In North Yorkshire, my friend, JohnR, is extolling the beauty of the early flowers on his 50 year old cherry tree. As I pointed out to him, in Sussex they would be considered late flowering. KevinS on the northern tip of Scotland tells me he has another month to wait.

Still, JohnS lives in the beautiful, North Yorkshire village of Catterick which he sent me this photo of this morning. It has old world charm and gentility.

Thursday, 18th April, 2024

Beautiful, sunny morning. Such a lovely change from recent times. The sun streaming in through the conservatory windows and over the Breakfast table bodes well for the day to come. In contrast, I was thinking about death and loss this morning. Sending a sympathy card to the husband of Pauline’s recently deceased relative in Lancashire this morning. The funeral will be in the next 10 days. Can’t believe that someone so full of life and joy of life is so suddenly no more. They live on in memories, of course, but you can’t kiss memories. My mother died 16 years ago next week and the memories definitely soften and fade over time.

We are all programmed to stay alive. Self preservation is genetically programmed into all life. Sometimes I pretend to myself to be blasé about my longevity but I know, deep down, that death is just a huge void which I do not wish to enter before I have to. Trying hard to keep fit, to eat well, to exercise, to keep my brain alert and challenged.

I am a typical man and reluctant to visit doctors but I have a Carer who is keen on these things and pushes me to do the right thing. I have been doing the Biennial Bowel Screening which involves those aged 60 – 74. I received my latest this morning but realise I will not receive another unless I specifically request it. All these little crosses on the balance sheet like this and the driving licence renewal, move one further down the escalator of life … and I don’t like it. What about you, Dear Reader? Or am I worrying needlessly, inordinately?

Well according to today’s Daily Telegraph, I am already in the last chance saloon with only 7 years left and that’s living in one of UK’s healthiest, wealthiest places. Panic!!

Out in hot sunshine this afternoon on the road at the front of our house. Trimming the grass verges, preparing the flower beds and generally neatening up in readiness for the Summer season. We will be away for quite a bit of it so trying to do our bit now. Pauline was trimming the hedge which looks incredibly healthy and vigorous. She’s got the patience to do it carefully. I was in support role, sweeping up, removing cuttings, etc..

Friday, 19th April, 2024

Tempus Fugit. On Sunday, the Blog will begin its 500th week. Talk about Life Expectancy! Fifteen years ago, we were just returning from our 10th Easter Holiday on Sifnos but this one was different. We didn’t have to go back to work. We were retired and this was the time it first really hit us. So often, we would get back the day before work and I would be berating myself about not having prepared that presentation, not having written that report, etc. Not in April 2009. I was turning my attention to the garden and selling the house.

This photo of Kamares in Easter 2009 sums up the sort of unpredictable weather we could expect at that time but it didn’t matter. In 2011, at this time in our Greek home we were turning the underfloor heating on. We had stopped going to Greece for the weather long before. In fact, we would have been delighted this year because 3 days of rain are forecast to fall in Sifnos and the garden would already be crying our for water.

I am not an animal lover. I’d rather eat them than house them but my heart was definitely opened by this little, feral cat which adopted us in our Greek home. She was known as Mother Cat because she kept having babies – the nearest to Fatherhood I got. It really hurt us to leave her to survive each Winter unaided but we had no choice and she proved resilient enough to cope just fine. She greeted us noisily within hours of our return in the Spring after 6 months away.

I know you’ll think I’m mad but the photo I took of Mother Cat always reminds me of one of my favourite ever paintings which can be seen in Manchester. I had a large, framed copy on my walls for years at home in Huddersfield. I always go for the wild girls!

Here today it is mild but grey. I’m going to get some exercise gardening before getting some more exercise in the Gym. Talking to my friend, Julie, on the North East coast of Yorkshire this morning, she complains that she is already wearing a fleece indoors and is just about to light the log fire. I’m so grateful that we came down here. And what lovely neighbours. Everyone stops to chat as we work on the streetside lawns and flower beds. So & so is going off to Seville next week. Another is getting ‘Flu. A couple go past with their dog and worry about it getting too friendly. They know I’m not keen on dogs.

We build our lives in the details of these everyday things and so many rarely hold on to the bigger picture, the major events, the ultimate timeline of being. I, for one, will never be able to escape my past. It torments and delights me in equal measure.

Saturday, 20th April, 2024

A lovely, deceptively sunny day. The breeze has a cool edge on it. Although I went down to the Garden Centre early on this morning, I will not be tempted to buy for at least another week and even then we will have to plan around when we will be away.

Our village square always looks nice in the sunshine and the gardening team, Angmering in Bloom, work hard to maintain it with seasonal planting. Every year, the council pollard the trees so they are always late getting back into leaf which is a pity.

Living in a nice, attractive and well maintained space is so often associated with increased longevity for its residents. I noticed this article in the Huddersfield Examiner yesterday. It is and piece about the village of Uppermill near Oldham where many people still consider themselves living in Yorkshire even though it was designated Lancashire years ago. Lots of our friends and former colleagues live there. Infants born within the OL3 postcode, covering extensive areas of Uppermill, Greenfield, Diggle, and Dobcross, are predicted to live a prosperous 85 years on average whereas life expectancy nosedives to 75 years for new-borns in the OL1 region, home to parts of Chadderton, Royton and Shaw which is among the country’s lowest.

P&C need somewhere new to live. They are both in their later 80s and vulnerable for different reasons. C is in the mid stages of Dementia and P is registered Blind. Until now, each has looked after the other but that is coming to an end. C is the driver but really isn’t safe out in the car anymore. P has managed to cope brilliantly with her disability but now is not able to manage herself plus a deteriorating dementia sufferer however much she tries.

Their lovely daughter has made her later life in Florida and tries to get back regularly but has her own life to lead and it will be in America. P&C need to move on to their next stage urgently before it is too late. In Surrey, where they live, there are lots of retirement opportunities that provide for freedom and support. They are not cheap but P&C are fortunate to have the financial backing to take advantage.

At Highfields, they can have a 2-bed apartment for £530,000.00 or for Rental from £3,050 pcm. At Botanical Place, in the heart of the village/town, they would be near boutiques, cafés, and restaurants but in reach of friendly faces, listening ears and help when they needed it. When you are in your late 80s, there is no better place. In this latter place, they can buy, rent or part rent/part buy. For them, it really doesn’t matter. The big decision is making the move in their minds after so many years of totally independent living.

We will all find it hard but, in your senior years, you have to accept an element of dependence. Pride is good but can be taken too far. Children have their own lives. The parents have to move on themselves. I know my Mother actively encouraged us to go away and fight for our own lives and to leave her to sort out her own support network.

Sunday, 7th April, 2024

A lovely warm and sunny morning. Gardening and walking will happen this morning and this afternoon will be Gym and football – Man.Utd. v Liverpool. It is one of the rare occasions when I want United to lose. I would really like to see Liverpool win the League and certainly not Arsenal or City.

I must wish my friend and former Digs-mate, JohnR a happy birthday. He is 75 today which makes me feel like a youth. Thank you, JohnR. The first men (boys) in an all women’s (girls) college are pictured above in our first couple of weeks in College. Don’t know how those girls got in there. We didn’t mix with them.

Put my new shaving mirror up yesterday and this morning was the real test. It was great for a shave but … goodness I’m UGLY!! It really doesn’t do anyone any favours with such close scrutiny. What it has done is illustrate how badly I’ve been shaving all this time. I must try harder.

Before I kill myself in despair, I’m going out in the sunshine to sow parsley, plant seed potatoes and then sow some flower seeds in my cold frames. The raised beds are cleaned replenished with fresh compost and ready to go as long as we get a run of dry, warm weather.

Lovely warm and sunny afternoon. Pouring with rain in Manchester. Unfortunately, the match went to a draw which was bad for both teams. At least the garden is ready to receive guests. Got to get the patio professionally cleaned and then all the pots can be planted up and enjoyed in the sunshine.

Monday, 8th April, 2024

Another week. It’s dry and warm but not terribly sunny this morning. The highlight of the day is …. the Dentist. Well, actually, the Hygienist. Hate the Hygienist! Always hurts me and I’m only little.

Life seems to be jogging along quite slowly at the moment which can be viewed in two ways. It does feel a little boring but at least time is slowing and extending in that way. I was reading an interesting article about the sculptor, Anthony Gormley, yesterday. Like me, he is 73. Like me, he is obsessed with the passage of time. Many of his works contain the word “time” in the title. His army of silent, featureless iron figures interrogate time and the relationship between humans, geology and nature over the course of our planet’s history. He is also listening to the clock ticking on his own lifetime. At 73 he is filled with a sense of urgency to get things done.

What have I got to get done, Dear Reader? Now that would be telling although some of you will know already. Today, before crying at the Dentist, I am going to achieve world-beating sowing of seeds. I’m going to grow acres of Parsley. To me, that is quite an old fashioned herb which was served at home every Friday in a sauce with fish. I had moved on to the more exotic herbs – Oregano, Dill, Thyme, Tarragon, etc of the Mediterranean. That is until I rediscovered its flavour and was immediately won back. Of course, Parsley originates in Greece where it is known as πετροσέλινον or rock celery.

The French for parsley – persil – derives from it. Actually, I’ve just found out where the washing powder Persil got its name and it is from two of the original ingredients, sodium perborate and silicate. I remember my Mother swore by it. It was a time when people believed there were a limited number of product brands which could be trusted and relied on. Now, the market is more fluid and opaque. We don’t know without research who makes these products.

Persil is a German brand of laundry detergent manufactured and marketed by Henkel around the world except in a few countries like UK where it is manufactured and marketed by Unilever.

In Greece, we would buy almost exclusively flat leaved parsley but still prefer the curly-leafed for flavour. It is very easy to grow and used to be used by farmers to mark the lines of other, crops they had sown.

Tuesday, 9th April, 2024

Not a good night made more difficult by strong winds creaking in the roof joists. In fact, put the radio on at 4.00 am and that helped me to fall asleep. It had been forecast and I had anchored down the garden furniture, etc. but that didn’t make sleeping any easier.

Didn’t realise how bad the weather had been over night until I got up at 7.00 am to be greeted by lots of national news reports on my phone from the Mail and Express and this one from the London Evening Standard mentioning our home town, Littlehampton.

They suggested that just down the coast from us, people were having to be rescued from one of those dreadful static caravan parks that seem to be popular in coastal locations. I can’t imagine living permanently in a caravan/shed like that but some seem to like it. We didn’t have any rain but there were signs of a very high tide on the coastal path this morning with shale covering the road.

Went to the dentist yesterday for my Hygienist appointment. It struck me that I haven’t had any problems with my teeth for years. In fact, the older I get, the less concerns if have, which is nice. We have Annual Dentistry Plans which provide 2 x Hygienist + 2 x Dentist appointments each year. It is impossible to find an NHS Dentist down here as it was in Surrey. We pay £500.00 per year for the two of us to have these 4 treatments and that gives us a 20% reduction on all other work.

We go to Calm & Gentle because that’s what I require at the dentist. I need a pretty girl to hold my hand and speak soothingly to me while the dentist does his work very, very gently. It works for me.

Wednesday, 10th April, 2024

Beautiful morning of blue sky and sunshine. The strong winds have gone and normality has been resumed. In fact, the strong winds subsided quickly yesterday afternoon and we had a lovely evening of sunshine and birdsong. The beach which had been the subject of some publicity the night before looked like this at 6.00 pm as if nothing had happened.

I don’t know what you feel about internet banking. I love it. About 35 years ago, I joined the Nat.West internet banking test group. In fact, I was Tester 0001. I am comfortable and fairly confident with online control of my accounts. I know there are still some people who are not. This is becoming an increasing concern for towns that are being deserted by the major banks.

We have just two left in our nearest town of Rustington and recently Nat.West announced it was closing. That will just leave Santander for people who want to Bank in branch. This is always the problem with innovation.

When I was pushing internet use in Home-School work, the complaint was that some people couldn’t afford computers and broadband connections. They were, of course, legitimate concerns but affected so few that it could not be allowed to slow the roll out of such developments and I pushed ahead with a full Home-School Intranet platform which is still flourishing.

The FROG Intranet School Learning & Management Platform has gone on to transform lives for teachers, pupils and parents. In just the same way, Internet Banking has rather left some of the old, wrinklies behind. A little old lady came into the Post Office I was at yesterday and just couldn’t manage her money transfer herself and had to be inordinately helped by the kindly sub postmistress.

Today, even though I am fairly confident with the process, I was rather nervously awaiting the arrival of £40,000.00 from a Building Society Easy Access Account which I wanted to put into two, new ISA accounts with a private bank which I invest in. The trouble is that I had to wait almost 24hrs between pressing go from one account and seeing it arrive in another. All sorts of thoughts cross one’s mind about it going missing. Not so many years ago, a friend ‘lost’ £200,000.00 in transfer from a UK bank to a foreign bank. Can you imagine it? It eventually turned up but I bet he didn’t sleep too well in the meantime.

My £40,000.00 turned up this morning and I went down to the Private Bank offices where, ironically, online business is not available. Everything has to be done through Investment Managers with paper forms and I was told that I could have an appointment but not for 10 days because demand was so high at the beginning of the new tax year. I didn’t complain but two wrinklies in front of me kicked up a fuss because they were being forced to wait. You can’t win!

Thursday, 11th April, 2024

The awful news arrived this morning and it was no less awful for being expected. Pauline’s niece, Dawn, died over night from a stomach cancer which was diagnosed only two years ago. She was just 62, lived in Lancashire, attended Oldham Bluecoat School and hadn’t even had the chance to properly enjoy any retirement.

In contrast, we have been lucky enough to have already enjoyed 15 years of comfortable retirement and it just emphasises that there is an terrible disparity across the lives of human beings. Dawn had struggled to maintain as normal a life as she could over two years of horrible treatment which inevitably led to her death in a hospice in Nelson.

At this time in 2009, we were enjoying our first couple of weeks of freedom in our Greek home. Today, 15 years ago, we had lunch in the village square of Artemonas at Manganas Taverna. I remember those days were heady, rest-of-our-lives planning sessions that we hadn’t had time to discuss while still working.

I must admit, those plans didn’t all work out quite as we expected and there have been a number of bumps on the way but to end up on the Sussex coast has been fine. New, rest-of-our-lives planning sessions are currently taking place. The move from Yorkshire/Lancashire to Surrey and then to Sussex has settled down … for now. In this week 8 years ago, we were living from garden furniture in the kitchen, NO Sky TV and only a few wardrobes to store clothes. I hadn’t even got a coffee maker at the time.

Eight years on, perhaps life is too comfortable and we need new challenges. New directions and destinations.

This morning, we are sitting round this table planning the year out. The first job is to review our flights to Thessaloniki in June. The timings have slightly changed but the aircraft itself has completely changed and, with it, our seating plan. Have to book carpark and Airport Lounge.

Friday, 12th April, 2024

Lovely day in prospect. Hope it’s good for you, Dear Reader. In fact, the forward forecast is dry for a couple of weeks with the exception of a bit of rain on Monday. Today’s timetable starts with a trip to the fish shop – sides of Salmon, Cod loins, big piece of Tuna, bags of King Prawns. Should get us through the weekend. Mowing, edging and feeding the public lawns this morning will be a nice job in the sunshine.

Been talking to my old friend, JohnR in North Yorkshire this morning. He is two years older than me and that struck me this morning. We both retired on the same day in 2009. He celebrated by going on a walking holiday in the Lake District whereas I drove to Greece. I have been saying to myself since my cancer scare that I am taking too long to get back to previous fitness despite Gym work every day. JohnR told me this morning that he would struggle to do the Lake District walk today.

He is preparing to return to South Korea to visit his son who teaches EFL there and makes films in addition. JohnR and South Korea are something of a mismatch for me. Just shows one should never be too quick to judge.

The fishmonger is just off the beach which was looking lovely today although the tide was completely out. Walkers and their dogs had far to go. We walked down to East Beach Cafe which is housed in a rather strange, modernistic structure that looks like it was designed by a committee of 1st Year Architecture students.

We drove home for coffee and jobs to get through – Pauline in the kitchen and me in the garden. Both of us have got our Gym routines to fit in to the rest of the day as well.

Saturday, 13th April, 2024

Some lovely days in prospect. Definitely shorts and tee-shirt time now until November if we live that long. Yesterday we heard that an old friend and fellow footballer had died.

Keith Lowery, who was 6 months younger than me, died last night of ….. prostate cancer. Death brings us up short. The death of someone younger is particularly poignant. To learn that he had been suffering with prostate cancer for the past few months is distinctly scary. How lucky was I to be diagnosed early?

And yet, life goes on. Doesn’t it, dear Reader. Must be positive in the the disappearing line of time. The garden is a symbol of optimism and positivity. A trip to the Garden Centre for some fresh Sage plants to supply the freezer for the rest of the year. Sage is an old, Mediterranean herb that we use a lot but isn’t very long lived so I’m planting out and sowing seeds for my own new plants as well.

The main job today is cleaning out and tidying up the garden storage pods which have become invaluable since we converted the garage into Gym & Kitchen. These huge, simple storage pods-cum-sheds just swallow up everything from lawn mowers and garden tools to pressure washer and leaf blower, packs of backup house tiles, tins of touch-up paint, tool boxes, etc.

Sunday, 31st March, 2024

Beautiful morning. All the windows and doors are open to the sunshine. Fresh, coastal air is gently wafting through the house. My Housekeeper is taking washing to dry outside and preparing to slow roast a leg of lamb for Dinner. All is well with the world. Well, let’s not get carried away. Nearly All. Still some things to address.

We’ve reached a surprising 19C/66F this afternoon but looking at the weather forecast for the coming week, it is hard to get motivated for gardening. So much rain forecast to come and not terribly warm. At least I can start seeds off in the cold frame and hope things improve. This year I’m going to grow French Beans because it is the vegetable I eat most of. We get through 3 large packs a week but they have travelled thousands of miles from Kenya and Senegal. Mine will travel 25 metres from garden to kitchen and they taste so much more succulent because of that. Hopefully, by the time they are ready for planting out, the rain will have stopped.

Just 15 years ago this week, we were in the final throes of negotiating our way out of work, pay off our mortgage and preparing to leave for our Greek home. The ferries were booked and the thought of a garden full of olive trees and flowers was so appealing.

Within 4 days it was all over and (in one bound) we were free. I remember the climax and anti-climax of that time. Although we can look back on it with amusement now, it didn’t feel like it at the time. From certainty to uncertainty with one bound. We flew Olympic Airways from Manchester for the last time. Haven’t flown from Manchester since and certainly not Olympic which went out of business not so long afterwards.

Just as work has gone, the airline has gone, The old Athens airport has gone, the houses are gone, that life has gone too. Even the newspapers have largely gone.

One of the first things I did on the Sunday morning in Athens was to walk up to Syndagma (Parliament) Square to buy newspapers – The Observer and the Sunday Times which were flown in from London each day. I am brought up short by that memory. Haven’t bought a physical newspaper for so many years and I’ve got the clean hands to prove it.

Monday, 1st April, 2024

Happy new month to all Readers. April is an optimistic month and the sun outside this morning is wonderful. Warm weather, rain to come; must be growing weather very soon.

Even so, the time continuum is unstoppable so I must wish my friend, Christine, happy birthday. Always nice to know she is older than me and on such an auspicious day as well. She told me this morning that one of her daughters was 40 last week. As some of us know, that’s nothing is it Dear Reader?

It is funny how so many of us remember fondly our College days and much more fondly than our subsequent university experiences. Many have gone on to complete Degrees, Masters and Doctorates but I suppose, the former were a significant part of our formative years and we went on to Universities in a relatively more mature state.

I look at these two old men and still see the boys in them. It is only 55 years ago that we met. Here they are sitting in 22C/70F of sunshine yesterday in Elgin on the northern tip of Scotland enjoying their retirements.

Quite pleased I didn’t rush in to buying compost from my local garden centre. I need quite a lot to refresh the raised beds and refill the pots around the garden. Suddenly saw an advert for Wickes packs of compost that contain trace elements to promote growth and at almost half the garden centre price. I have ordered 1000 ltrs for £100.00 to be delivered for ‘free’ tomorrow rather than have to go out and make a number of trips bringing it home myself.

Unfortunately, we’ve still got quite a bit of rain forecast for the coming week. Ironically, might have to retreat to Wales at this rate. Anyway, we have to believe that things are getting better slowly.

Outside Sainsburys this morning, a young homeless man was sitting with his dog. Pauline bought him some Easter cakes and some treats for the dog. As we paid at the self service till, Sainsburys offered us comprehensive pet insurance.

Tuesday, 2nd April, 2024

Another nice morning. I’m at home today expecting a large delivery of garden supplies. It is a typically self indulgent thing. As I plan my day in my newish 4-bedroom home with a Utility, an Office, a Garden and a Gym, with a newish car parked outside and delightful neighbours surrounding me, I focussed on the latest Tory Government’s obscenity: a Bill to criminalise Homelessness.

A century ago, George Bernard Shaw and G.K. Chesterton considered it a central and a great evil and how we respond to poverty as a measure of the success or failure of our humanity.

During the pandemic, in an attempt to avoid nice people getting infected, there was a concerted, Governmental mission to get the great unwashed off the streets by providing accommodation – something which had long been advocated by the Left. Behold, it worked. End of the pandemic panic, end of the housing support – Homeless back on the streets. Now, instead of helping them (the carrot), they are going to criminalise them (the stick).

The Bill even says that people on the streets can be arrested if they smell. Can you imagine it? Straight out of the Gym, I would be arrested every day. I walk past so many women who stink of cheap perfume so badly that it takes my breathe away. I would definitely have them arrested.

While I’m writing, I am listening to a podcast from the The News Agents entitled: Is the world running out of babies? The world’s population is in steep decline. To just maintain it, every woman should have 2.1 children and that is not an academic observation. Everything that my Generation expects in their old age – pensions, health care, social care, etc. These things are paid for by the taxes of working people just as ours paid for the generation before us. We are living longer and need caring for longer. All of that needs more not less workers paying taxes.

Now, I’ve had experience of a number of barren women and I can’t see people like them being persuaded to change their lifestyles to start having children never mind how the tax system is altered to incentivise them. And the solution to this socio-economic problem will be …. greater immigration. An influx of people from abroad will be required to do the jobs and pay the taxes providing the resources for Government to pay the Pensions, resource the Health and Social Care plus all the other things we expect.

This is the wonderful irony. Exactly what the Tories say they are against is exactly what they need …. and they know it is which is why they say they want to bring immigration down while presiding over record immigration. It is the only thing which keeps us afloat. Of course, quite a few of those immigrants start off sleeping rough and all of them will eventually require houses. Building houses, which the Tories have also failed to do, is a major requirement. The real test of how bad the Tories are is that so many Tory MPs are revolting … literally and literally.

Wednesday, 3rd April, 2024

Well, I’ve woken up in Wales again. It’s raining … again! Pity really because I want to get on with the garden. Everything I needed was delivered yesterday and is piled outside in the rain. Just have to do extra Gym today.

Fifteen years ago today, I retired. I haven’t worked since although, I have been tempted at times. In the past, workers weren’t expected to get more than 5 years out of their retirement and drawing on their State Pension. Retire at 65 and die at 70. (Three score years and ten).

I retired at 58 and have had a decade more than my allocation already. Although, I am incredibly grateful for that, I intend to have many more years to come. Longevity will help me achieve my goals.

When I arrived at my College digs in September 1969, I was told that I would be sharing with two other lads. Nigel was already there but the third, a lad called John hadn’t yet arrived. When he did, we agreed with the family that I would be called John-1 and he would be called John-2 not only because of my natural superiority but because I got there first.

We started on the same day and we retired on the same day. My good friend, John-2 is celebrating 15 years of retirement too. I wish him many more years of happiness. Of course, he’s a lot older than me.

A girl, a relation of Pauline’s, who is just 62 found she had cancer two years ago. She has been undergoing horrendous treatment but without much effect. She was educated at Bluecoat School in Oldham. She hadn’t even retired and has been deprived of the joy of senior relaxation. Now she is bedridden and in her final days. They can’t even find hospice space for her up in Lancashire. I can’t get all that out of my head. It seems so incredibly unfair. What it does teach me is to go for everything I want and not worry about breaking a few eggs. No regrets. We are a long time dead,

Thursday, 4th April, 2024

Typical April day of sun and showers. Went to Sainsburys this morning where we always do self-checkout having used my smartphone to scan in the items. Today, there were quite a few things on half price to Nectar Card holders so we bought multiples of those to take advantage. At checkout, the bill came to £120.00 which even now seems quite high and we do shop multiple times in multiple places each week but the young couple next to us paid a bill of £220.00! Can you imagine the cost of a young family at the moment?

Because of the incredible run of wet weather this winter, almost all my exercise has been done in the Gym. I don’t mind. I’ve rather enjoyed it but it has meant that I’ve watched a lot of drama while I worked out. Usually, I like a fact or historically based drama. For example, I watched Spooks, an MI6 drama based around actual terrorist scenarios I remember through the past 3 decades.

I’ve been watching Strike Back, a similar Special Operations series which deals with Rhodesia/Zimbabwe independence, the freeing of Kenya from its British Colonial Protectorate and Tanzania as it became a Republic. It is a socio-political process I had to study for my Degree. Both of these dramas are rather macho affairs which are not really my style but I like the context in which they’re set.

These sort of things do not appeal to my wife so other genres are required for joint watching in the evenings. Recently, I’ve found a strange but wonderful comedy drama called The Gentlemen on Netflix. I nearly didn’t get past the first episode but stayed with this wacky/sinister drama about drug cultivation in a stately home. It turned out to be really cleverly written and produced and I’m hoping there will be a second series

To really display the full gamut of taste and decency, we are currently watching together a drama about sex in and out of marriage. It centres on a newly widowed older woman played by Emma Thompson who hires a male escort to experience a sexual experience that her recently deceased husband could never provide.

The whole drama – Good Luck to you Leo Grande – centres on this process and is confined to a hotel room. It is a very uncomfortable and rather sad comedy at times but ends as Emma Thompson’s character has her first ever orgasm and, as a result for the first time, actually appreciates her own naked body. Sometimes, it can be a bit too near the bone but that is good for all of us at times, isn’t it Dear Reader?

Now, I’m going in the Gym to get closer to appreciating my naked body although I think it will take longer than a couple of hours over the next few weeks before that happens.

Friday, 5th April, 2024

Guess how the day’s started. Yes, it’s raining. Actually, it won’t be for long and the next few days will be lovely. My friend, Julie, is a cricket fanatic and is celebrating the first day of the new season in her potting shed because she is expecting a wet day. She sent me a picture of her typically scruffy, allotment grower’s shed. It obviously does the job.

I am still shocked at the Man.Utd. result last night. I still need consoling. Might even move my allegiances to Brighton & Hove Albion.

It’s 9.30 am and the sun is out, the clouds have largely dispersed, it’s gorgeously warm in the garden and I am looking forward to a good few days. Before I use the Gym, it has to be cleaned. I’ve actually offered to help my Housekeeper in doing it. So, after that, I’ve got a couple of hours work out there. Over the weekend we can actually get down to some garden work. We virtually never eat potatoes – maybe 3 or 4 times in as many years – but I am going to grow some.

Pauline loves baby new potatoes and I am going to provide her with them this summer. She has sacrificed herself enough for me.

Just been listening to a podcast of Professor Tim Spector talking about his specialist subject: Dieting and Gut Health. He came to prominence during the pandemic because he launched a successful National Data app whereas the Government’s was late and an utter failure. It was used, initially, to track Covid symptoms and infections across the country, to inform users and the National Health Service of the current position. Spector’s app called ZOE which means LIFE in Greek quickly attracted 5 million users and we reported every morning over Breakfast our current state of health.

Professor Spector is an interesting man. Like me, his father died young of a heart attack. Like me, he compensated for loss by eating and drinking the wrong things and put on weight. Like me, he had his own health crisis – in his case a mini-stroke. Like me, he looked to his fitness and diet as a consequence.

Unlike me, he is a Professor and has become nationally significant in his subsequent work which has branched out into attention to gut health. This is a step too far for me. I eat lots of fruit, vegetables and fish but I can’t bring myself to major on fermented foods as he advises. Have you tried sauerkraut? Don’t make me eat fermented cabbage.

My wife is not shaving very well in the mornings so I’m buying her a new mirror for her bathroom. I’m also buying one for mine as well. The secret of a good marriage is definitely separate bathrooms. Woman are so untidy aren’t they?

Saturday, 6th April, 2024

Happy Birthday to me, Happy Birthday to me …. I am 73 today and I am beginning to feel it. Today, I have been allowed TOAST for breakfast. Can you imagine it? Homemade, wholemeal bread toasted. Felt so sinful … well it would do if I was religious.

Hard to conceive of the fact that I was born 73 years ago this morning. My father never forgave me because I was born on the 1st day of the new tax year which cost him a year’s reclaimable tax for a child. My father would be 110 and my mother 101 this year. It is 52 years since I started teaching and 15 years since I retired. The statistics keep coming towards me. At some stage they will roll right over me but not until I have completed my list ….

Today, I will be having not one but two simple carbohydrates. Toast for Breakfast and my chosen Birthday Supper – Linguine. There is something about pasta and seafood that really appeals to me. So, exercise first to earn the privilege of self-indulgence.

This week a decade ago, we were setting off for our 15th and last trip across Europe to our Greek house. It seems so near and yet so far like so many things. Even though it has freed us to do so many more different and interesting things, I mourn its loss. Our first night was spent at a lovely hotel in Rheims. The Hotel de las Paix was delightful.