Sunday, 16th July, 2023
Lovely day – warm but breezy. Old crows circling but I can cope. Watched Blair interview on the incoming Labour Government and its necessity of moving back towards Europe. It has to happen. Retrospectives can be really useful.
Talking about retrospectives, the 760th week of my Blog will focus on exactly that. These photographs were sent to me by a friend and take me back to 1970. I’ll let you work out how long ago that was. The first one was taken in the Students’ Union Bar in the Wilkinson Building (aka The Wilkie) in 1970 for a College prospectus but was never used. I didn’t spend a lot of time there but it never looked like this when I did. I used to time my run over to the bar in order to get there 5 minutes before ‘Last Orders’. Two pints were lined up for me and throwing out time was around 11.00 pm – ish. I must admit, I haven’t really drunk beer since.
Of course, photographs prompt memories other than those intended. This photograph was never used for the prospectus in the end but the two lads at the bar – Chris & Kevin – didn’t normally look as smart as that. My eyesight was never brilliant which often led to me making the wrong choices but I learnt to recognise people by certain features.
The lad in the back window is Dave Weatherly and seated are Bob B-W and ‘Chopper’ Gill. No ideas who that is behind the bar. It was usually a big, fat man called Maurice but he was probably not photogenic enough. Strangely, I remember the curtains and the girl’s dress fabric is definitely of its time.
You won’t believe who the couple on the right are/were! The Rev. Kent and his wife were the College’s attempt to reach a modern generation with religion. Failed with me although I quite admired Kent. He drove a flashy sports car and would drop into the student Common Room and play Honky-Tonk piano with ease. You can tell from his attire that he was quite alternative. Whether that was to attract the young, I don’t know. It didn’t do it for me.
A girl who (unsuccessfully) asked me out once wrote to me recently with a story about being taken aside by an Education Tutor after being observed on Teaching Practice . Miss Knight, a frosty old spinster, threatened her with failure unless she got the Speech and Drama Tutor to help get rid of her Black Country accent. How times have changed and, I think, for the better. Having said that, we are all in our 70s now. Some have died and some have less good health than the rest of us. The old lad on the left of this trio has Motability problems and lives in Social Care. Life deals us some difficult hands and one never knows when friends will become important.
Monday, 17th July, 2023
A lovely warm and rather humid morning. Just as I opened the conservatory doors to cool the house down over breakfast, a girl from Oldham wrote that she had just put the Heating on. At the same time, my news alert service reported a retail park in Rochdale cordoned off by police in very wet conditions. MEN reported storms rolling across Greater Manchester. I forgot to say the other day, one fantastic thing about being in the North last week was the price of petrol – 15p/litre or 68p/gallon cheaper than down here. Would it swing it for me? Don’t think so.
This morning’s jobs involve cutting lawns, walking but, first a visit to the investment bank to discuss impending movements. I phoned Head Office on Friday hoping to make an appointment. Oh, just turn up and they’ll see you, I was told. I did and they didn’t. There were lots of customers and very few staff. Appointment tomorrow has given me chance to review my course of action.
I am definitely going to have 2-yr ‘fixes’ at 6.05% on a large, lump sum that we won’t need. I am then going to put 2 x £20,000 into 2-yr ‘fix ISAs at 5.35% and hold back the same amount to take out more ISAs when we are able in April. The rest will go into Easy Access savings accounts at 4.25%. At last we will be making our money work and produce a return for the first time for years.
I was reading an interesting article in The Guardian this morning. It was about First Loves and the indelible, psychological imprint they leave upon one for years to follow. I thought I’d tell you about my first love.
‘Tricia Adams – ah, who could forget her? She was flighty and vivacious. She lived on the right hand side of Gordon Villas – a property built by Sanders & Son. On the left lived the much more dour Elizabeth MacDonald. Actually, I think I fancied ‘Tricia more because her Dad had a brand new, white Triumph Herald convertible than for her own charms. I did buy her a small, pink, plastic packet of hair grips and she bought me a large box of Liquorice Allsorts. I definitely came off best. We were both 7 and had our first kiss. Well, it was mine. I can’t vouch for her.
It didn’t last long because I moved on to Mary with the long, blond hair. She was the vicar’s daughter but I’ve never forgotten little ‘Tricia. Was it love? I suspect not. Mary was replaced by Anna, the daughter of Derby County’s Assistant Manager to Brian Clough. Free tickets were the attraction but it didn’t last long. I couldn’t perform well enough in the Disco. And so I arrived at Marilyn while I was in the 6th Form. She was lovely but not my love. I finished it awkwardly to go to College. Even so, they are indelibly imprinted on my memory banks.
Tuesday, 18th July, 2023
Gloriously hot and sunny day. We had to be out early to get to the Investment Bank branch. As ever, I was in tee shirt and shorts.
They were waiting for me. I think I had been so forceful yesterday that they hadn’t yet recovered. It took about an hour of paperwork. They filled all the forms in for me for three, separate accounts. Just as well. I’ve literally forgotten how to use a pen. I had to sign my name about 8 separate times and that was agony enough. Why everything can’t be done by computer, I have no idea.
Walking away, I felt a sense of euphoria at having everything settled. Investment is my responsibility and it is important to get it right. I have spent a few weeks preparing for this because I knew the dates were pending. Even after yesterday, rates had risen again this morning. At least I know that I have a very good deal in mixed investments over the next 2-3 years. I believe that I’ll look back at the age of 75 and think I’ve done alright. Rates in general should be well below where they are today. I’ve even been able to strike a deal that will allow me to keep the ISA rate that I’ve fixed today at 5.35% right through to a second tranche of £40,000.00 to invest in ISAs in April for the new tax year.
Back home, our electrician had arrived and was working on the garden lighting. He is a lovely lad who comes when we call and is always reasonably priced. We cut him two of the biggest lettuces to take away with him. I picked another huge batch of French Beans. I am absolutely loving them.
One of my little sisters – who can be very annoying – announced today that she had been invited back to coffee with the Duchess of Edinburgh and she was on her way to Bagshot Park. Skinny Lizzie, as she is known in the family, is Executive Director of Adult Social Care & Commissioning for Surrey. She can be an annoying little sod but I’m quite proud of her!
Wednesday, 19th July, 2023
Warm morning but not very sunny. No rain forecast although there’s a chance we might get some on Saturday evening. I will have to water for the next few days.
Got a meeting with the Oncologist on Friday to discuss the results of my blood tests. Hoping that PSA is down and testosterone is low. I then go on for a CT (computerised tomography) Scan in Brighton on Monday. The aim of this is to examine the tumours growth/shrinkage and to plot the radiotherapy beams when I start my treatment. I have rather pushed all this to the back of my mind just in order to get on with life. It has populated some of my dreams but receded in waking moments. Now it is coming to the forefront of the day.
I don’t want to feel like a patient. I want to be proactive and take charge of myself. It is much harder dealing with illness in ones you love than in oneself. It seems so much more painful to see someone suffering and not be able to do anything about it than to suffer oneself. I am definitely more comfortable being a giver than a receiver. I reside in the belief that I will live into my 90s, live to see great days still to come.
Kept active all day. Shopping, gardening, walking. Haven’t had time to watch the Test Match apart from snatches over a drink. The weather in Manchester appears to be a bit better than down here today although not as warm. We started off with blue skies but, as we walked around our development this afternoon, the grey clouds scudded across the blue expanse and threatened rain. The weather god seems not to have got the memo.. Better in Manchester? Nothing should be better in Manchester.
Thursday, 20th July, 2023
Really tired after not sleeping last night. Seems to be a regular feature now. Getting a bit jittery about a meeting with the Oncologist tomorrow for an interim assessment. Of course, it is with a consultant on a strike day. So far, I’ve heard nothing which I took as good news but then I heard a Hospital Manager interviewed this morning say in many cases they wouldn’t know until someone didn’t turn up for work so cancellations would be very ‘last minute’.
I’ve tried to phone the department this morning but a recorded voice says they can’t promise to respond within 24hrs so I might as well hold my breath. Had nice support from family and friends. My little sister, Cathy, who is just back from a Greek holiday, contacted me this morning to ask about my progress. I have to admit I am all over the place at the moment. The sands of time keep shifting. Got up to sunshine but now the clouds are darkening the sky. Cathy’s husband, who is much younger than me, has had really serious medical issues recently and is still in treatment. It all makes one feel old and sound boring, doesn’t it?
I’m in the final throes of moving money into new investment accounts. I love internet banking and digital financial management but when it comes down to pressing a SEND button to move thousands of pounds from one place to another, it is very nerve wracking. All the possibilities of it going astray rise in one’s mind. In fact, some relatives of ours had exactly that happen last year. About £250,000.00 was sent from a bank account to another country and it just didn’t turn up where it was expected. Can you imagine the nervous reaction one might have in that situation. We had to fill in the gap temporarily for them. In this case, it resolved itself but the converse is unthinkable.
There is often an agonising time lag between pressing SEND and the funds appearing in the account. For that reason, I never do it over a weekend because I would have no recourse to Banking help. Anyway, yesterday and today all transactions have gone through which is a great relief to a boring boy. My desk is now filled with Medical files and Financial ones can be put back in the filing cabinet. Apparently repeating yourself is an early sign of Dementia. Apparently repeating yourself is an early sign of Dementia.
It is 9.00 pm, and I am out walking alone. Really alone. I usually have a friend on my shoulder but not tonight. I have 3 miles to do to complete my target. I will do it but it seems so much further alone. Kevin, John & Julie have contacted me in the past hour but it’s not the same. Somehow, I still feel alone. I’m obviously mad!
My old friend, Peter Holgate contacted me to say he had gone out to vote in the Selby and Ainsty by-election and had high hopes of getting the Tories out. I do hope so. Peter is another of the band of 20 men in my college. He spent many years as a Primary Head Teacher.
Friday, 21st July, 2023
Out early this morning to the Oncology Department at Worthing Hospital. If you have to visit a hospital, this one is so human and welcoming. The artwork and gardens are delightful. Not sure today what I would find because of strike action.
My consultant was there and saw me early. He seemed very positive and optimistic. I was just pleased to see him at work on a strike day. He is taking his family to Greece next week so felt he should be in work. What a lovely man he is. I just love intelligent people.
My PSA – prostate-specific antigen – was 7.1 which rang alarm bells and started this whole process. The average level for a man of my age is 5.5. Today, after 5 months of hormone treatment, my PSA is just 0.3. Unfortunately, my radiotherapy treatment has been pushed back to start on October 11th for 4 weeks.
I have had to contact the hotel in the North that I’d booked for October and cancel. I am very disappointed that I won’t be able to visit my friends but, if I’m going to live, I will have time to rearrange. The good news is that we can have our 10 days in Athens at the end of August which I am really looking forward to.
Back home from the hospital, we have celebrated with a bottle of champagne and I am feeling a little euphoric. How things can change from one day to the next! Almost immediately, I experience the bathos that I would get when a longed for Summer Holiday from work finally arrived. The first evening I would move from elated to exhausted to inexplicably empty and wondering why.
Saturday, 22nd July, 2023
Lovely bright and warm morning although I’m told it is not as warm as I think it is. This hormone treatment is giving me sweats. Had a better night. Dreamt of Lunch with Rebecca-Jane. I never dream or, at least never remember it. In this case, I did very vivdly. We were in a restaurant decorated in muted greys with crisp, white cloths and glittering cutlery. A large lobster split down the centre with drizzled garlic butter was between us with a bottle of chilled Sancerre and sparkling glasses. She’s a professor of English Lit. now you know. Gone now.
When people can be so cold?
You’ve got a Friend
They’ll hurt you, yes, and desert you
And take your soul if you let them
Oh, but don’t you let them …
Who thought it would be good to hold a vital Ashes Test in MANCHESTER? Sheer madness! England are by far the superior side but will draw the match and lose the series because of MANCHESTER!!
Fly to Athena in just over 4 weeks so I’m going to work harder on my diet and fitness before that. I’ve then got about 6 weeks until my radiotherapy and I don’t really know how that will affect me yet. They say it makes one very tired but they said that about the hormone treatment and I’ve managed to work through that. Ignore the advice and NEVER GIVE UP has usually worked for me so that’s what I will do.
My photo bank threw up a memory from 20 years ago this morning. Soon after the building of our Greek house was completed in the early 2000s, we were adopted by a ferral cat who was pregnant. My nearest experience to Fatherhood. We imaginatively named her Mother Cat as she soon gave birth and presented us with one ginger and one tabby kitten who just as imaginatively became known as Tabs and Ginge.
The hardest part of leaving after a 6 months stay was deserting the cats. We felt we were abandoning them. Fortunately, Mother Cat always came back the moment we returned and charged up to the house to greet us/demand food. After a hard winter, she would look malnourished and unkempt. After a month of two meals a day, she started looking sleek and had put on some weight ready to produce more offspring and, by the end of our 6 months’ stay, she looked like the most contented cat you could imagine.
It is a month until we fly but Easyjet emailed me this morning to say I could Checkin online immediately. It is all too easy now. We have no ‘Hold’ luggage so we can take a large cabin bag each and a small bag each. Checking in on-line saves so much time and then we just go straight through security at the airport and avoid queuing at bag-drop at all.
We still have the ignominy of the queue at the Non-Eu Gates in Athens, the careful check of the passport, the stern surveillance stare and the thud of the passport stamp. We are definitely outsiders now.