Sunday, 11th October, 2026
Happy Sunday …. not. I hate Sundays for lots of reasons but today I am stressed as hell. I have spent another 4 hours in discussions with BT Broadband and I have narrowed the problem down to my Router which needs replacing. I have to ask for a new one to be sent tomorrow.
The analysis of my problem was done by my AI client at home. BT’s AI client has done everything it can to stop me talking to a human being at their end. There you see the two sides of the phenomenon that is Artificial Intelligence. And so it will be in the world. One side of the interaction will be totally depersonalising. The other side will see the incredible service AI can give to humanity.
Even my door uses AI and internet. When my router went down, I didn’t just lose computer connections. I even lost my doorbell. What would I have done if you’d called round just then, Dear Reader? Fortunately, you can come now because I’ve sorted it.
You could have been this woman reported in the Sunday Times today. She has Parkinsons and had fallen into a non-stop phase of continuous siezures. The family rushed her to hospital where they were warned she was close to death.
Her son consulted AI about her condition and rapidly found that her condition was caused by a vitamin deficiency brought on by her Parkinsons drugs. Quickly she was given an infusion of Vitamin B6 and was saved to live another day. Experts are now investigating whether sufferers of Parkinsons may all benefit from B6 injections to slow the development of their disease. This is what AI will increasingly do for us over the next decade.
It is a little cooler here although I haven’t been out much. Stuck in my Office was not what I anticipated for today. Just 18C/64F here today and a customary 22C/70F in the Canaries.
Looking forward to this but first the North of England and a current temperature of just 13C/55F. Brrr. When we went to see M in Surrey last week, she had the heating on. Mind you, she is very skinny and had just landed from Florida. Hopefully, we won’t need ours until we come back from Tenerife in December. It’s a game we like to play. All part of being young at heart.
Monday, 12th October, 2026
A grey but warm morning. We were 16C overnight which is excellent for October. Things are still growing strongly in the garden. Summer flowers are still flowering beautifully. I’ve even got self-seeded tomatoes fruiting outside. You will be pleased to read that I am happier this morning, Dear Reader, because my problems of the past few days ‘appear’ to be sorted out and my right hand, aka my smartphone, is almost more efficient now than before. My weight is coming down nicely and I am boosted enough to go back in the Gym this morning.
The next few days are going to be about preparing for weeks of travelling. My IT set up was so important for that. While I am away in UK or Abroad, I control my Home functions – Heating, Lighting, Security and Doorbell, Bank Accounts, etc. across the net from my phone, iPad or Laptop. It means I can be away for weeks without worrying.
I am alerted via the internet through a variety of apps – one for security cameras, one for the doorbell, one for the heating and lighting apart from the Gym which is a later addition and is controlled separately. If the temperature outside falls too low, the thermometer in the Gym alerts me that my fragile, computer controlled Gym Equipment is in danger and I use another app to switch the separate heating on.
The house can be vacuumed while we are away through the robots, Alexa will play music or the radio around the house and I can monitor my spending at the Banks and Charge Cards. I like to feel in control which is why the past few days for me have been a nightmare. I lost control completely. Control freak loses it!!
These are my instruments of control. Of course I’m not the only one. They are used by millions of people and they will become increasingly prevalent. I have been reading about the internet of things for years. At last it is here and making life so much more easy …. most of the time.
It is already controlling our Washing Machine and Tumble Dryer, our Honda car and our TVs. I expect it to become ubiquitous in Fridge/Freezers to monitor contents in terms of dates, etc, and start to automatically order replacements.
Soon my glasses will be linked to the net and my clothes will alert the Health Service to my heart health and my atrial fribrillation. It’s very exciting but it is important to keep on top of the innovations and not to be scared of them.
I suspect my little friend in Benidorm with his pint of beer will be largely oblivious to this as he sings his karaoke but it will come even to him. After all, he is a sci-fi buff and will already be anticipating time travel.
Tuesday, 13th October, 2026
It has been an amazingly warm night for mid October at 18C/65F. I will even accept this grey, damp start to the day in exchange. It is the same across much of the country and some of Europe.
A quick swoop on Worthing, Rochdale and Sherburn in North Yorkshire tells a tale. It was pouring in Yorkshire an hour ago but is now beautifully sunny. The weather has moved over Rochdale and Greater Manchester. I won’t be walking by the sea in Worthing until this afternoon.
I flew on to Milan’s Duomo in Italy to find a lovely day but quite busy. But then I had a look at Kevin in Benidorm doing aerobics on the beach after his hard night out and the weather looks lovely. Finally, I swooped down to the beach in Costa Adeje, southern Tenerife and, as you can confidently predict, the weather is just right for open air living.
They are obviously waiting for me although they may be disappointed because the beach is not where I want to spend my days. I will be walking past but that’s all.
By the time I’d got to the beach for my walk this afternoon, the skies had cleared, the sun appeared and all was well with the world. Where better place to die ….
Wednesday, 14th October, 2026
Gorgeous, warm morning with blue sky and sunshine. No consideration about what to wear – automatically shorts and tee shirt. I’m going to the Beautician’s for a facial this morning. Well, not for me exactly. I’m not sure she could improve on my face but I’m chauffeuring my Housekeeper there for a 9.00 am appointment.
After a facelift or whatever it was, I picked her up and we drove down to the South of France otherwise known as Littlehampton Marina. These Canarian Palms flourish in the South Coast climate which clearly lengthens the lives of the residents down here.
It was just astonishing to think we are in mid-October and experiencing temperatures hovering around 70F most days. If only this could stay year round across the country like it does in the Canaries. Our heating bills would be miniscule.
Anyway, I’m here now and I will soon be in the actual Canaries. So life could be worse. Might snow in Yorkshire & Lancashire but we’ll see. Hopefully not.
Talking about seeing. These observers in the crow’s nest of harbour yachts seem very content with their living conditions.
Thursday, 15th October, 2026
Wonderfully warm night at 18C/65F and so it is this morning. While the North West of England is being enveloped in heavy rain, I will be cutting the street’s lawns, tidying up the garden, finish planting out for next Spring and getting the area ready for Winter. It will certainly come at some stage.
Today, my Dad – Eric Richard Sanders – would be 111 years old. In reality, I haven’t seen him since 1965. He died in Burton General Hospital of a heart attack. I was 14. The more time has gone on, the less I thought about him other than the effect his untimely death had on our family. In the intervening time, I’ve seen other kids’ relationships with their Dads and thought: Mine wasn’t like that at all. I don’t remember any Dad to Son chats, friendships, cuddles. I don’t remember my Dad every complimenting me on an achievement. He never came to watch me play rugby or run in the athletics.
He was a product of a late Victorian, early Edwardian family himself and really didn’t seem to know about these sorts of things. My Grandfather didn’t show affection or support at all but, when I passed the 11+ to go to Burton Grammar School where he went, he rather formally presented me with an expensive leather satchell with my initials – J.R.S. – emblazoned on it in gold lettering. My Dad, who was a notable rugby player himself, never came to watch me in a game even though I was doing well in the sport but he did buy me the latest Bleddyn Williams rugby boots to compete in.
I tell myself that he was a product of his time but many of my friends of a similar age had a very different experience and I look back regretfully. I don’t resent it but I can see the tensions that would have come from it if he had lived. At least I am able to acknowledge the character traits he gave me and those I escaped.
I was made shortly after this photo on the left. It must have been a great day. Certainly momentous for me, Dear Reader. Unfortunately, as in so many other things, I would have disappointed him by not continuing the line. It has taught me something though. You have to be your own person not your father’s son.
Dad would hate my politics, probably hate the fact that I didn’t take on the family business and hand it down the line. He would probably not approve of my relocations having been firmly rooted in his Midlands village inspite of or because of his wartime exploits in the Sinai Desert and Palestine. It must have been a comfort to come home to the peace of Repton Village where his family had lived for around a century. I can understand that different experiences produce different reactions and mine was to get out and explore.
Anyway, it is all long in the past. Dad has been dead for 61 years and it feels like, well it was, another world. In that time, Kennedy was elected President. The Bay of Pigs threatened another World War, the Space Race started, the Berlin Wall went up. In UK, the Lady Chatterley obscenity trial was lost, the contraceptive pill became available and Harold Wilson launched the White Heat of Technology revolution. It all seems like a dream.
Friday, 16th October, 2026
Grey, warm and wet start to the day but the sun is coming. Lots to get through outside today so it better brighten up quickly. Can’t stand waking at 6.00 to darkness. I use the MSN satellite-video weather tracker.
It allows me to roll it forward to see how long the rain takes to pass over my house. This band will be gone by 10.00 am and life can start again.
And so it is, just like I said it would be; life is going easy now the sunshine has arrived. We’ve done a Sainsbury’s shop, a Fish shop down at the beach and bought some delicious looking samphire. Do you like this sea green weed, Dear Reader? I love it.
If you’re on a diet, this stuff is very safe but tasty and filling. Rich in vitamin C, Calcium, Magnesium, Potassium, Iron, and Iodine, it grows in tidal salt marshes. Quite pricey at £4.00 for 250g but worth it. I love eating it with roast Salmon.
I must admit that I’ve taught myself to enjoy green vegetables – much against my instinct – over the past 25 years. I used to see lettuce as an adornment on a plate that would be collected up with the finished plates at the end. I would never have chosen, cabbage in any form, green beans or Sprouts. Finding the need for low calorie fillers, I forced myself to eat them.
I now start a meal with green things before I even consider the protein which is usually fish or chicken. In fact, I am working on smaller portions of protein as I reduce the capacity of my stomach. I don’t think I could have done this while under the stress of work. It is certainly easier in the undemanding situation of retirement.
I’m actually loving Broccoli these days. I can’t believe it. I would actually have threatened suicide as a child rather than eat the Broccoli my father grew in abundance. I’ve also grown to enjoy Cavolo Nero – the Italian Black Cabbage.
Amazing what you can do when you have to. Having a good, live-in chef is certainly helpful. You have to admit, this looks very tasty. It allows me to stick to my 1500 calories per day without feeling empty.
Saturday, 17th October, 2026
Gorgeous morning of strong sun and blue sky. A little cooler in the sea breeze but that will change as the day advances. I was reading the morning papers and suddenly I came across an article about Rose West the infamous murderer who is in HMP New Hall, a high-security prison in West Yorkshire.
What shocked me was that she had been in prison for 31 years and is now 72. The story was about her being near to death but the story for me was that it is more than 30 years since we were all absorbed in that news story. Thirty years!
I looked up in my Office as I thought about it and my Masters Degree certificate framed on the wall came into my gaze. It was 1989 – 37 years ago – although it really does feel that long now for me. It got me thinking about it. It doesn’t really look like me now. I’m a different person now. I wonder if Rose West is.
I don’t have many photos taken of me for obvious reasons but those I have, really seat me in their times. Generally, I am photographed when I am happy with my weight which is almost never but Degree Awards Ceremonies are almost obligatory times to record the event.
I have to go back to the 1980s when I was first in Greece to find photos that I would like to revisit. This one from Greece in 1982 is what I am aiming for.
Oh to be young again and have that effortless physicality that only youth can bring. I remember walking miles every day stripped to the waist in boiling hot sun without a care for what I ate or drank.
How does the time degrade and humiliate us? I know the stress of work over more than 30 years led to me abusing my body and Retirement is giving me the opportunity to make some amends.
Long gone are the carefree days of my youth when I could experiment and learn. What I didn’t know is what was in store for me. I do now. See you on the other side, Dear Reader.
