Sunday, 25th September, 2022
Glorious morning of clear blue sky and strong sunshine. A little cool at just 12C/54F but it will soon warm up. The garden will be starting to take the hint that it is time to consider closing down for the Winter. Lucky Mandy is jetting off to Florida before us. Only 30C/86F but it will do.
I am woken by the radio – BBC R4 – every morning at 6.00 am. On Sundays, the first hour includes a programme by Mark Tully called Something Understood. I am not religious but this programme tries to explore spirituality through various topics of investigation. lt is a focus on different human traits and looks for the ‘God’ in them. lt would not be my focus. l’m interested in people and our similarities and differences.
ln my beginning is my end. ln succession Houses rise and fall, crumble …
T.S. Eliot, Four Quartets Part ll: East Coker
ln my beginning is my end. Now the light falls
Across the open field, leaving the deep lane
Shuttered with branches, dark in the afternoon …
Today, the focus was on Homesickness. I have to say upfront that I have never really felt it although it depends on what you define as ‘home’. I know many people who believe the place of their birth/early development. Many of my friends have returned to or remained in the locality of their origin. lt is a very traditional view of life. For me, Home really is where the Heart is. I could never imagine returning to live in an insular, East Midlands village. I couldn’t escape it quickly enough.
I have enjoyed living in different places in UK and Europe. ln the early stages of each new home, there are moments when I missed the familiarity of the past one and, in our Greek home, there was always the stress of a different language and culture to cope with but that was part of the appeal.
Life is about leaping out into the unknown, the untested, and extending one’s learning. I am constantly looking back to measure what I’ve got compared with what I had. lt is an evaluation process. What I take with me through that journey is a set of values that haven’t changed much since embarking on my own life. Sometimes it is a lonely place to be but loneliness really is the human condition. I feel fortunate to have people who care about me to support me.
Monday, 26th September, 2022
A warm day of sunshine and showers. Did a two hour walk in lovely, hot sunshine but there was a bit of rain either side. Still picked another kilo of tomatoes from the garden. Just can’t stop them at the moment. We are eating them in salads, roasted with garlic and olive oil, turned into a sauce for freezing. Effectively, we are tomatoes! When I planted out just three plants, I didn’t expect a lifetime of fruit.
Pauline is buying me clothes for Autumn/Winter at the moment. Trying them on, I realise that I’ve put on a bit of weight so I am currently on a sharp, weight loss programme which involves no alcohol, eating less and exercising more. I am quite enjoying it.
I don’t care much about clothes, look at clothes or need to buy clothes. Most of the time I don’t even feel the desire to wear many clothes. Only when my wife takes charge do I start to notice what is available. When I was working, I used to buy from Charles Tyrwhitt. One of my current retailers of choice is Brook Taverner but, it’s only clothes after all.
Kevin’s just contacted me to say that the results of his 2nd operation are in and although the polyp was huge, took over an hour to get out and was on the cusp of malignancy, the biopsy proved positive. He’s got to return in 6 months for a check up. So, we’ve both been lucky. It has underlined the importance of being vigilant and not ducking the checks.
Now I’ve got another hour in the Gym if I’m going to lose this weight gain in short order. At least I am enjoying a Spy Thriller called Kleo set in the period of German Unification. It involves a former Stasi spy from East Germany pursuing traitors in the West as the border wall crumbles.
Tuesday, 27th September, 2022
A little cooler last night. Pauline is saying we may have to get a duvet on the bed soon. Up in North Yorkshire, Julie said she had given in and lit the log burning stove. Looks a bit rustic for me but I’m sure it’s cosy. We’ve had log fires/log burning stoves in a number of houses but I’m rather past that now.
They are hard work, can be grubby and a bit smelly and you need a hell of a lot of wood because it burns so quickly. In age, I prefer simple, clean radiators although we are hoping not to need the central heating before we leave for Florida in November.
We’ve opened on to a lovely morning and relatively warm. Some shopping to do and we managed to incorporate a trip down to the beach for a walk. No kids. They’re all in school. No joggers. They’re all at work. No old people. They’re all in Tenerife. We had the place to ourselves under a beautiful, big sky.
I’m hoping for an Indian Summer in the North of England when we go up. It will certainly help because I will still have to do my exercise and would prefer to do it outside.
The day got warmer and sunnier by the minute. Went out on my ‘normal’ walk and met this little chap. We had a good chat before parting ways – up trees/under trees – but I’m sure we’ll meet again.
Wednesday, 28th September, 2022
Another gloriously warm and sunny day. I’ve been walking on my own for a couple of days. Pauline has injured her foot. I’ve been forcing her to pound the footpaths too much. These younger ones just don’t have the stamina anymore. So I’ve been talking to myself and the people walking round inside my head. I’ve also been talking to the wildlife en route.
Yesterday it was a squirrel and today a rabbit. Every day robins come up to chat and you can’t get rid of the magpies. The one downside of replacing the grass with artificial is the loss of birds coming down to feed so I make the most of things on my walk.
With so few weeks to go before we jet off abroad for three months, we are starting to tidy and close down the garden a bit earlier than usual. I’m also continuing to help our neighbours with their lawns. It is lovely to be outside in this wonderful weather.
My regular walk takes me through a mixture of semi-urban and parkland in this rapidly developing community. It can actually look quite attractive in the sunshine.
Had a nightmare this afternoon. Had to go to a clothes shop! Can you imagine it? I never go to clothes shops … EVER for ANYTHING. This is Next in Rustington. Have you ever watched women shopping in clothes stores? Have you ever wanted to commit immediate hara-kiri? Women are so strange.
Thursday, 29th September, 2022
Gorgeous morning. We drove to sunny Bognor Regis – about 20 mins away – for our Covid Booster-4 jab. It We’ve had 3 x Pfizer shots. This one is a double Moderna. It was brilliantly organised and we were in and out in minutes.
We had a short walk on the beach and stared aghast at one of the worst piers in the world. Basically, it is a shed on sticks.
One of the scary things about the Vaccination Centre was that it was full of OLD PEOPLE. I had to queue up with OLD PEOPLE. The problem is I was continually asking myself: Do I look like this?
Actually, the lady nearest the camera had to have a chair at first while she waited but she was born in 1935. She’s definitely had a life well lived. Even so, when I’m her age, I will expect another 14 years minimum.
Friday, 30th September, 2022
Bright and sunny but cool start to the morning. We went down to 6C/43F last night. Did my walk early and then we went shopping. Awful shortage of items and choice in Sainsburys. It is really getting worse. Price rises are very obvious. Pauline pointed out a pack of chicken thighs that were £3.50 and are now £5.50 in a matter of weeks. There were only 2 packs on the shelves. This is becoming the Ceausescu world of consumerism. Soon we will all be queuing for bread.
I’m pleased to say that our Winter Home in Florida was left unscathed by the recent storm and it prompted me to recall when we last had any strong winds at all down here. When we moved, we were told that we wouldn’t see frost or snow but that strong winds off the sea could be quite a feature. I don’t think we have had any this year at all. Probably blow the house down tonight after that!
I’d like to say that I took these photos but I didn’t. They were posted by a local photographer. We live between the South Downs and the sea. It means that our climate is relatively benign with no great swings in conditions. Even so, the Autumn is certainly signalled with cooler nights.
Pleased to say we had no adverse reactions to our Booster jabs. We were told to expect extreme tiredness and lethargy but the worst we have is bruised left arms. I’m going to have my Flu jab in the same arm next week. I’m not going to be armless. We are leaving September behind tonight. It’ll be Half Term soon! Life is flying by and there is so much to do, people to see, places to visit.
Saturday, 1st October, 2022
Happy October if you can stand the pace. You may be in the present and racing towards your future but never forget where you came from. Never forget your past because it never forgets you. You will never see September 2022 again in your lifetime. It is gone!
Onward into that bright, new October. After a warm but very wet night, the morning has broken with real promise. The sun has been bright all day. A very warm walk was followed by community spirited activity. We have spent the afternoon working on the lawns of three busy neighbours – cutting, edging, weed killing, reseeding. After three hours, we are exhausted.
Our Booster-4 jabs are already assimilated into our Covid Travel App which will be needed for travel to the USA soon. This really appeals to me. Jab on Thursday and digitally recognised officially by Friday. I have hardly seen my own doctor – a lovely, German lady – for two years. They have pushed me on to the sexy Romanian one. I haven’t complained but I have finally written to my named doctor with a shopping list of requests.
I will need three months repeat prescription before I go away instead of the standard two months. I have also requested that she save me £2,000 by putting me forward for the colonoscopy in early 2024. I have asked for a Prostate Cancer test when I get back in February after learning that my younger brother has tested positive. Ultimately, my letter looked like a Sainsbury‘s shopping list but it should save us both face to face time.