Sunday, 14th January, 2024
Lovely, bright and sunny day. Much warmer (relatively) than forecast. Got the car to clean but I’m finding it difficult to motivate myself. Feeling lethargically nondescript. In need of TCL. Think I might buy a new car.
Got to take our car in for service at the end of the month. Embarrassingly, it will only have done just over 5,000 miles. I’ve been asking for a plug-in hybrid for quite a while and I am annoyed that I wasn’t told 12 months ago that one was soon on the way. I would have waited.
Our current one is a self-charge hybrid but so much of our driving is short journeys that I would like it to be done on electrical charge with only long journeys requiring the petrol engine. The new model is a plug in providing around 50 miles capacity which is more than enough for a large proportion of our journeys. When I drive to Manchester or Leeds or through Europe, I won’t be limited because the petrol will come into play.
Apart from plug-in facility, it has lots of nice features including self-park at the click of a button which will be very helpful. About £52,000 is the price so it will depend on what they offer for our car but it’s definitely a possibility. You see, I’m feeling a bit better already.
Alternative Playlist for Builders
| Bob Dylan | – | Don’t think twice. It’s alright. |
| Leonard Cohen | – | Marianne |
| James Taylor | – | You’ve got a friend. |
| Amy Wadge | – | Faith’s Song |
| Bizet | – | Pearl Fishers |
| Puccini | – | O mio babbino caro |
| Bocelli | – | Con te partiro |
| Allegri | – | Miserere Mei, Deus |
Went round to talk to our builder next door neighbour. He’s a sad kid. Loves ‘House’ music whatever that really is. Makes me feel old. I sent him an alternative Playlist this morning just to wind him up.
Monday, 15th January, 2024
Beautiful morning with a lovely sunrise. Not hot but delightful. Good to be outside in the air. Going to some tile shops to confirm or change our choice of flooring.
Tiler rang to say he would come on Friday so we are going into overdrive to complete our choice of tiles beforehand. Drove to B&Q in Worthing. Haven’t been to a DIY place for so long. When we were buying properties and developing them, we almost lived in B&Q. New houses more or less mean other people do it for us. Thought it would be worth looking at their tiles section.
It wasn’t worth it. The choice was spectacularly poor. The store was extremely quiet and we could see why. Little had changed since I was last in one years ago. Anyway, we decided to stick with the specialist suppliers.
Tuesday, 16th January, 2024
Mediterranean Sky of piercing blue and strong sun after our coldest night of the year. We reached -4C/25F last night and the central heating went on this morning for an hour around breakfast.
Most of my friends are in the North of England and I know in the past we would have gone to bed last night in trepidation of the journey we would be attempting across the Pennines to work this morning. We always tried to be the first ones there to start up the school but the M62 entrance and exit were always a nightmare for drivers.
Today I’ve received photos of the morning from friends in Bolton, Huddersfield, Oldham and Middleton. I’ve checked the school’s website and it appears to be open although it is so much easier to reach compared with our old school which was on the top of a hill. The number of times that I had to get out of our car which was failing to move on the tops of the moors in freezing and snowbound conditions I shudder to recall. Dressed in a suit for school, I was trying to unblock wheels.
According to a study by the British Heart Foundation, the risk of heart attack and stroke in the over-60s doubles during cold periods lasting at least four days, with the rise in heart attacks occurring from day one, while strokes tend to lag by up to a week. Data from NHS England shows that heart problems account for about 40 per cent of the excess deaths that typically occur during the winter months.
There are lots of reasons for the link. Lower temperatures in the periphery (arms and legs) can make blood “stickier”, increasing the risk of blockages forming in the small arteries supplying the heart and brain. And any exercise in cold conditions tends to put more demands on the heart
We 72 year olds have to take more care than the young things we once were. I am so grateful, on days like today, to be mooching through my retirement without snow. The Gym is heated and I can exercise without danger.
Wednesday, 17th January, 2024
Grey and cold start – just 3C/37F. Not inviting. Our tiler came round before 9.00 am and measured up for retiling the downstairs toilet and the cloakroom. Now, we can go ahead and order the tiles. Nice lad. First time we had met him. He used to live in Greece so we had plenty of common experiences to share. He is only 40 with young children and a mortgage and immediately made me feel old. He Whatsapp-ed me later to say he could start next Tuesday if I can get the tiles in time. Be nice to just get it done. The whole thing will cost about £1,200.00.
Time and Aging is an insidious process. I was reminded of that yesterday when Michelle, our neighbour contacted me to warn me that her daughter had just passed her driving test. Thiiren (Very trendy name.) was only 10 and still at Primary School when we moved into our new house. Now she is a young woman driving her own car.
She is lucky. Her parents have bought her a small, starter car in a world where BMWs, Mercedes and Audis all sit gleaming on the drives and often in pairs. Actually, round here, most couples have two cars and then work largely from home. On our Development, we are not supposed to park on the road outside our houses which is why drives were allocated with enough room for the cars.
I don’t know what you think about Assisted Dying, Dear Reader, but for years I’ve believed it was an affront to personal freedom not to be able to choose the time, place and method of one’s own death and to receive assistance in that. Recently, my belief has wavered because I began to see the move that way in the Health service as doctors can be inclined to get elderly and sick patients to sign DNR (Do Not Resuscitate) orders. I have personally experienced elderly patients in hospital have their deaths accelerated for whatever reason. I have seen some dangers which have made me think again. Then I watched Truelove which I streamed from Channel 4. I recommend it to you.
Last Friday, I reported that Rochdale MP, Tony Lloyd, was suffering from terminal blood cancer. This evening we had the sad news that terminal was a lot closer than we thought. Today, Tony died. He hadn’t even been home for a week. Hug those you love while you can.
This afternoon, Dave Roberts posted this from Norden in Rochdale. Makes me shudder with the sense of cold rising from it. I bet Tony Lloyd would give anything to enjoy one more day for a snowy walk.
Thursday, 18th January, 2024
One of those, cold, bright days with clear, blue sky and long, low sunshine. Wonderful sunrise down on the beach.
My phone monitors weather in lots of places of interest and reports in real time what is happening. This was the position of some of them at 8.00 am and it can’t have been too enticing. You certainly wouldn’t be running out in your bikini for a quick swim this morning ….. well, I wouldn’t.
| West Byfleet, Surrey | -8C |
| Middleton, Manchester | -7C |
| Leeds, Yorkshire | -4C |
| Bridlington, Yorkshire | -1C |
| Worthing, Sussex | -1C |
| Rhyl, North Wales | 1C |
| Coquelles, France | 2C |
| Spring Hill, Florida | 6C |
| Thessaloniki, Greece | 12C |
| Athens, Greece | 17C |
I do have to go out, though. Going to Wickes for building materials and Sainsburys for ‘stuff’. Whatever you do, Dear Reader, take care. Particularly M, P&C who are flying to Florida this morning. We wish them well and hope their flight is ice-free and on time. It’s long enough as it is.
The Tory Party is in near terminal decline. Even as they were trying to distract the electorate with their Rwanda circus, voters were hurriedly deserting them. The latest YouGove Poll of voting intentions illustrates this starkly. Just as the fringe loonies are moving to the extremist Reform Party, so the majority of disillusioned, former Tory voters are falling in behind Labour. In those aged under 50, the swing is even more marked. We are looking to live under a Labour Government until we are well into our 80s.
Friday, 19th January, 2024
A cold night here. My friend, Nigel in Bridlington, sent these from the beach yesterday. It’s not usual to have snow on the beach. The sea is one of the warmer things in the world and mostly should raise land temperatures on the beach edges.
I think I prefer cold, dry and bright to grey, warm and wet. Apparently that’s coming so got jobs to do while it is dry. Today’s highlight is a trip to the local tip. It’s becoming a regular outing recently. Oh, Dear Reader, see what delights you’re missing out on!
We have ordered the tiles for our downstairs Cloakroom and Toilet. They will take about 4 weeks to arrive so we’ve got time to organise things. Because I have no practical skills, although I can see the end I want to get to – a wooden floor replaced by a tiled one – I don’t know the full implications. I do now.
The tiler came to quote a price and told me I would need to employ a plumber to remove the sink, pedestal and toilet which I now know were fitted after the Amtico wooden floor had been laid. I was also told I would need a carpenter to shorten and rehang the doors because the tiled floor would be higher. Good job I’ve got 4 weeks to organise.
I don’t know if you are as mad as me, Dear Reader, (What am I saying? Of course you’re not.) but I’ve started calibrating contracts, agreements, promises according to how old I’ll be when something happens. When I saw this report in The Telegraph this morning, my first thought was that I’d be 93 by the time war began. At least, I wouldn’t get called up. I’m being offered a new, 3 year mobile phone deal which will take me to 76 and my Driving Licence renewal has just arrived to be repeated at the age of 76, 79, 82 …. At least I can do it online now … until Dementia strikes!
A wonderful trip out for Old People …. to the Local Tip. At leat the house heaved a sigh of relief as it got lighter.
Saturday, 20th January, 2024
Good Morning, Dear Reader. Another day into Retirement. I was reading yesterday of a retired girl I knew in the past who was saying (ironically, I think) that:
You know you’re getting old when you barely do anything all day, but you still need a nap so you can continue to do barely anything for the rest of the day.
I can’t bear that approach. Apathy breeds apathy. I have to be doing things, achieving things, changing things, moving forward, embracing new experiences. Can you imagine barely doing anything and then needing to sleep? It may be because she lives alone but it seems a dreadful waste of time. You can do all that when you’re dead. The sun may be sinking down but the moon is slowly rising.
Talking about being dead. I’m not. I’m definitely coming back to life and thinking of travelling, visiting people, looking old friends up and making new experiences. My Patients Know Best account which links with my Hospital and Doctors Surgery account informed me yesterday of my recent blood test analysis which shows an above level Testosterone reading (Not surprised at that.) and a very low level PSA (Prostate Specific Antigen) level. My PSA has come down from 7.0 when my cancer was diagnosed to 0.29 now.
I was checking my records and it was 10 years ago this week that saw the death of a lad who taught Geography in my school. He was only 60. His wife, also a teacher in my school, had died of cancer at the age of 55. His Austro-Bavarian parents were dead and he was a single child. A lonely person. He certainly wasn’t someone who I related to at all. He was a difficult character. He gave his life outside teaching to Scouting. We attended his funeral which was attended by colleagues but not many friends.
I had forgotten all about him. Who will remember him? With no close family and those who touched his life tangentially getting on with their lives, who will remember him? I will be honest with you. I didn’t like him but I remember him and his life. There, but for the grace of Fate, go I.
Who will remember me? Will you remember me, Dear Reader? The Nearly Man. Maybe, even the Not Nearly Man.