Sunday, 30th March, 2025
You can’t stop time, can you, Dear Reader? The warp and weft of time gets faster with age as we hurtle down the escalator of Life. The seasons arrive unexpectedly quickly. Clocks have gone forward this morning. Bedrooms light up more quickly as sun floods through the blinds. Daylight times are gradually lengthening and plants drink increasing sunshine and push towards the sky. Thoughts turn to shorts, living outdoors and travelling.
Out of all the time displays in the house and I’ve just quickly counted 21 different screens, only two now need manual adjustment – the oven and the coffee machine. Everything else is internet connected or radio controlled and updates over night automatically. Happy British Summer Time (BST), Dear Reader.
It is the most beautiful day – which eventually reached 19C/66F down here. Today is a day of worship. Some people go to church. I worship the sun. Out for an early work and then gardening. Actually, I’m feeling weak and lacking in energy so the whole process will be a real effort – a case of mind over matter – but it has to be done.
It is Mothers’ Day or Mothering Sunday as it used to be known when I had a mother. It shocked me to realise that I haven’t seen my Mother for just about 17 years. She died on the 27th of April, 20o8. I wouldn’t pretend that much was made of the day when she was alive but it does provide a focus in retrospect. I don’t think about her so much now. She had been a constantly reproving influence in the background. I would phone her at least once a week thoughout my life away to ensure she was alright but usually left with a feeling of her disappointment in me. It was never more than my feeling of disappointment in myself.
My Mother bequeathed a life-long burden of the sense of Original Sin which has haunted me throughout my life. Even though I rejected Christianity generally and Roman Catholicism specifically long ago, the Jesuit burden remains. I resent it and have resented it throughout. It has made me atheist. Of course, she also bequeathed me a love of words, of language which has stood me in good stead throughout my life. I love the sounds, the feel of words in my mouth. I love the power of words to define and describe ideas. Words and Ideas are life itself.
Out walking in hot sunshine with bulbs, shrubs, trees bursting with new life everywhere. It is an exciting time for the living. This makes it even harder to reflect upon the dead. And then I walked past this magnolia – almost going over now but beautiful still – and remembered that it was Mum’s favourite shrub. She had a huge, white flowered one in her final garden and was always talking about it at this time. I suspect it was an echo of her childhood in London where they are ubiquitous.
Monday, 31st March, 2025
Gloriously clear and starry sky last night which has given way to a morning of clear, blue skies and sunshine and will for the week ahead which will also see a new month arriving. Everything is bursting, growing celebrating the light and increasing warmth. Today is definitely gardening day.
I am planting herbs this morning – French Tarragon, Ligurian Sage, Tuscan Rosemary – and sowing Parsley seeds – both English Curled and French Flat Leafed and some Red Leafed Lettuce. I’m also going to try some propogation of favourite shrubs. For example, a shrub which shines all Winter and Summer is Euonymus fortunei ‘Emerald ‘n’ Gold’. It grows very well along my Drive. I’m going to propagate some soft stem cuttings over the next few weeks.
Always an optimistic time for gardeners. I’ll soon have to get my Hedge Trimmer woman back to work, when she’s finished all the weeding. Wickes are delivering a load of Topsoil/Compost this afternoon so my walk and Gym work has to be done early.
The one downside of lovely, warm weather is that I associate it with the Dancin’ in the Street syndrome – warmth, food, wine and relaxation – not with discipline, denial, exercise and pain. My head has to fight it all even harder than usual. As the Summer arrives in the garden, my fight will be so much more demanding. Still, Non Desistas Non Exieris – Never Give Up Never Surrender.
Tuesday, 1st April, 2025
Happy April, Dear Reader. Embrace the Summer. Enjoy the new month. March 2025 has gone for ever other than on the Blog record.
And what a day it is. Had to take my Housekeeper down to the surgery for a blood test. They established she still has some. Continued on to a hot and sunny seaside.
Down at the beach this morning we saw less people than we could count on our hands. The tide was out and so were the holiday crowds. What a beautifully peaceful place it is on a Monday morning when everyone else is at school and work. Work? Do you remember that, Dear Reader? It is becoming an increasingly faded memory for me. I was actually Headhunted on Linkedin yesterday but I didn’t give it much consideration.
We say it so often but it is like being on holiday when we walk in the sunshine down here but just a few minutes from our house. It’s a lovely feeling. You should come on down, Dear Reader, and experience it.
Talking about holidays, we have four flights booked this Summer out of Gatwick Aiport where one of the bugbears is and has been for some time Airport Security procedures. Really annoying having to restrict liquids in our bags and electrical items in carry-on bags. Really annoying and slow having to take out laptops, iPads, smartphones and send them all through the scanners separately.
Well not anymore. Gatwick has installed the newest generation scanners which mean none of that nonsense is required. London Gatwick Airport’s new CT scanners allow passengers to keep liquids and electronics in bags, improving security and passenger flow and letting us get into the Executive Lounge quicker and less stressed. I must admit I am looking to flying again. Thessaloniki in June is the first flight so lots of hard work to do before then.
Going out for a second walk in the countryside now because the weather is so wonderful. I’m also moving French Bean plants, which have grown 6″ in a week, into the cold frames. Not growing taller but older is old friend, Christine Dagg is 74 today. We wish her Happy Birthday and rejoice in the fact that she’s looking even more erotic than we remember her in the late 1960s. Kevin’s finally replaced his stolen car after three months so he will be able to take her out to celebrate.
A footnote: March 2025 was the driest March since 1961 when I was just 10 years old. This afternoon, we have hit 20C/68F on the South Coast and it feels glorious. You really should be here, Dear Reader!
Wednesday, 2nd April, 2025
The gorgeous days just go on. Today is a very busy one. In the garden, I’m planting potatoes. Don’t know why because I don’t eat them but my Carer does so there’s a cue. I’m sowing lettuces for me. The Green Bean plants have gone out into the cold frames to enjoy the sunlight.
The car needs a full valet so that will take a couple of hours and I’m going to finish it off with a long-term, silicon spray coating for a showroom shine. I’m fitting a corner shower caddy in a shower which has hardly been used since we moved here but, apparently, needs it. I’ve got another big day of exercise to fit in. And so the days go. Everything changes. Everything remains the same.
After a plateau period, my weight is suddenly dropping fast again. I have been on this current course for 198 days or just over 7 months now – without alcohol, on 1500 calories a day and walking 60 miles a week. It is working but it is beginning to feel like a long time. Just trying to keep my head down, keep going, keep measuring my stats.. I’ve got an Annual Health Review coming up soon so I’m looking forward to that report.
Our house is Band F for Council Tax. I looked up what Band F house price applies to and it was/is properties valued between £120,000 – £160,000. As our house would sell at 5 x that price, you can see how outdated this system is. The problem with changing it is illustrated by the fact tht it was rushed in by Thatcher who feared being deposed by the Poll Tax riots and it has never been readdressed. Even now, voices of dissent are feint because of the political dangers.
What is possible is taxing the ‘nominally’ rich second home owners. After all, no one needs a second home even if they aspire to it. They are doing it in Wales with large, new second home taxes which seems to be answering the problem. The local complaint has been that outsiders buy up properties thus inflating prices so locals cannot afford to live in their own area. Large, new council tax premiums are encouraging/forcing second home owners to put properties on the market in large numbers. Lots of properties for sale has reduced prices and locals can suddenly afford to buy them. That’s the way to go.
If my friend, Julie, who has just gone through her third bout of breast cancer can remain optimistic, anybody can. I am definitely looking forward to happy times – travelling, meeting up with old friends, enjoying the sunshine and the growing crops, eating and drinking for a while and staying fit and healthy for a long time. We’ve got to do it, Dear Reader. The temperature is 21C/70F in our back garden this afternoon. Come on down!
Thursday, 3rd April, 2025
Had a bad night. Woke up fed up. Don’t know why but I was tired and grumpy. I am in a fractious, fighting mood. I am just as fractious and critical of myself as anyone else. It is a beautiful day outside and my mood is in direct contrast to that so it doesn’t always work, obviously. Even so, my advice is: Don’t cross me today, Dear Reader.
I think one of the reasons for my bad mood is the day. It reminds me how old I am. Today marks the 16 year anniversary of my Retirement. I walked out of my school for the last time on April 3rd, 2009 and I haven’t been in a school since. I have no intentions of it either.
There are some things and people that I have to see again but schools aren’t on that list. Hard to believe, though, that I haven’t worked for 16 years.
A gardening day although I’m going to the beach for a walk first. Today I will be planting out some potatoes for my Housekeeper who loves new potatoes smothered in butter.
Potatoes are so easy to grow. I bought a new (to me) seed potato called Cassablanca. They have been chitting or developing break-out shoots in the light of the cold frame for a week. Dig a trench, space the seed potatoes carefully, cover over with soil and sit back. When shoots break through the ground, heap soil over the top to keep them warm and exclude the light. After just 10 weeks, dig up with a fork and out will come nests of the most delightful snow, white new potatoes.
I’m also going to start planting up the pots. Currently I am in love with this plant – Houttuynia Cordata (pronounced Who-tun-yer) which is amazingly bright and dominates the area.
It splits and is easy to grow. I have been nurturing small cuttings over the Winter and they are ready to be planted out. That will be one of the jobs. I love red Geraniums but will wait a couple of weeks to plant them out. Seeds I sowed just over a week ago are now romping away and will need pricking out into pots. I use my Under-Gardener’s more delicate skills for that job. I just direct the operation.
Friday, 4th April, 2025
L’été est vraiment arrivé… Summer is really here. Love it! We are forecast for 22C/70F today and warm and dry weather for the week ahead. It’s so warm, I’ve opened up all the cold frames to the skies. Green Beans are looking great and will be ready to plant out in a week.
For years, I would stride around the Greek Islands, stripped to the waist, in 90F of burning sunshine. I love sunshine. I love heat. But I am finding that my tolerance is less enduring than it once was. Older skin tans less and tolerates less. We already have two, huge parasols in the garden. I’ve just had to order a third. We eat outside a lot. I can no longer sit in full sun at a Dining Table. I have ordered a huge, cantilever parasol which will completely shade our table.
Sign of the times. Admission of aging. Good price though, Dear Reader. We’ll see how good it is in reality. Let’s hope it gets plenty of use in the next few months when we are at home.
Apart from exercise, I’ve got all sorts of outdoor jobs to get through today. Potting up newly sown plants. Taking cuttings for the cold frames. Mowing the public lawns. Cleaning the patio flags. In down times, I am finalising where I will place the ISA investments for 2025-26. They sound like they may be the last, large amounts I can shelter from taxation. The Investment Bank I propose using has just announced that it will close all High Street branches from July so I’m busily installing apps to do the day to day transactions.
We are driving to France in a few weeks so I am researching some activities of interest while we are there. I am going to go back to St Omer which I have driven through a number of times without really exploring. Hopefully, we will have some dry, warm weather to walk and see the sights. St Omer is notable as a Brewing town like Burton on Trent where I’m from.
I’ve just been watching the most moving trial summary by the judge in the conviction of a woman who killed her new born child while under post natal depression 25 years ago. She was sentenced to 2 year’s imprisonment suspended. My Grandmother, my Dad’s Mum, was sentenced to life long mental hospital incarceration as a result of her reaction to post natal depression. How times have changed.
An old friend sent me a lovely memory to lift the spirits after visiting yesterday in wonderful sunshine. Great times. There are times when you just need a bit of a lift. Out walking this morning, the temperature reached an astonishing 27C/81F and my spirits were rising with the heat when a lovely young lady came over the grass in the park and said,
I hope you don’t mind me saying but I’ve been watching you for a few months and you’re looking great. You’ve really lost a lot of weight. How have you done it? Just through walking?
Of course, she began to wish she hadn’t asked the resident weight-loss bore because she got chapter and verse about how I’d done it but it cheered me up.
Saturday, 5th April, 2025
Goes without saying that it is another glorious day. Down at the beach, the sea is calm and flat and glistening in the sunshine. The warmth yesterday reminded me of an early Greek morning and it is about this time we would be setting off on our drive – Hull / Zeebrugge / Luxembourg / Metz / Strasbourg / Colmar / Mulhouse / Lucerne / Altdorf / Como / Milan / Piacenza / Modena / Pisaro / Ancona / Ferry down the Adriatic to Patras / Drive to Piraeus / Ferry to Sifnos … and rest. The journey was wonderful fun.
When we first travelled to the island in 1984, the ferries – the Ionian Express and the Kimolos Express took a sapping 5.5 hrs to get there. Although the Adriatic ferry took 24 hours, we had a Luxury cabin and high class restaurants. The Greek island ferries had aeroplane seats and souvlaki bars to buy cheap snacks like ham & cheese toasties and cans of Sprite. It was hard work although we were young and up for the struggle.
Nowadays, some of these chugging, old boats still ply their trade but they are rapidly being outclassed by the newer catamaran-style boats which do the trip in less than half the time – 2.5 hours Piraeus – Sifnos. We could only dream of that at the beginning but time brings innovation and improvement.
When you’re 74, – and I will be tomorrow – you can do anything that you want without concern for the fall out. I intend to do exactly that. This is the year to break all conventions, breach all boundaries and just go for it. Don’t regret it on your death bed will be my motto.
Traditionally, Chef asks what I want for my Birthday meal. This year it is simple and restrained. I want Kolokithokeftedes (κολοκυθοκεφτέδες) (Fried Courgette Balls). An so it will be, Dear Reader. You’re welcome.