Sunday, 1st June, 2025
Happy new month, Dear Reader. It’s going to be a great Summer. I’m determined to make it so. Well, I’m going travelling so I hope that augers well for all of us. The sun will shine …. somewhere. I hope it shines on the Ripon Mafia and doesn’t rain too much in Wales.
I’m looking forward to Foreign climes, to airports and flights, to the babble of European tongues, the aroma of sun-soaked European plants and the tantalising smells of European kitchens. Oh, and a bit of UK travel as well to make new connections. What more could one ask for at the great age of 74?
Woke early to find my Housekeeper awake beside me. At 5.00 am on a Sunday morning, there is nothing on the BBC. There is a TV in the bedroom but I can’t watch TV in bed. Thank goodness I have the facility of Alexa at my side to play my favourite political podcast from Global Player: The News Agents. Today it was discussing the credible risk to the UK from the Russian state. Even my Housekeeper was gripped. Foreplay doesn’t get much better than this!
First, exercise and a long walk. Then gardening in the sunshine. This is healthy stuff. Then I have to turn my attention to financial matters. When I return from Greece, I have to be prepared to reinvest fixed interest bonds and 6 fixed ISAs which are maturing in July. Financial Health is almost as important as physical. My Housekeeper is concentrating on preparing for our first trip with ironing and packing.
After 45 years of travelling together, we have paired back and refined things so much that we now travel very light. Unless we are going away for a month or more, we seem to be able to manage without Hold Luggage. Dressing up for Dinner is not something we have ever done in Greece. Simple, unpretentious, island-style tavernas are our choice and no one expects formal dressing there. If they did, I wouldn’t go.
What this does is allow us to go on short stay travel without all the time-consuming queuing up with luggage at Check-in and carousel on getting off the aircraft each end. We are one of the first out of the airport and first to get a taxi. It feels so liberating and not really limiting at all. I buy Easyjet Speedy Boarding, Extra Legroom and two small cabin bags and two Large cabin bags each. Who can wear more than 30kgs of clothes in ten days? I also have a laptop, two iPads and a Kindle to carry.
Twenty five years ago, we had to finance the purchase of land in Greece, hire lawyers, an architect and builders to construct a house for us. We sold our large house on the Pennines and bought a large house in Huddersfield but without all the extensive gardens. It freed up a lot of cash for our next project and provided us with a big house but less grounds to maintain. It shocked even us that we stayed 10 years and really enjoyed the time there.
The house was built in a former quarry and we constructed a garden from scratch. The steps in this photograph were installed by Martin & Darren – two lads from school who I had employed in the school’s Resource Centre and IT Centre. For unlimited chocoate bars and a trip to Nandos, they worked tirelessly through their summer holidays. Nice memories.
Monday, 2nd June, 2025
Another week. Another week of work. Going to push myself to get through a long list of jobs. The months, the Summer, the year, the lifetime is running ahead of us, Dear Reader. No wonder the important motto remains Carpe Diem – Sieze the Day. We have to grab each one as it passes by unless we lose it. Less than three weeks now until the Longest Day and then …. the year begins the decline into darkness.
Good night’s sleep and I have lots of energy this morning. The sky is blue. The sun is shining and …. go. Went down to a local Garden Centre where the lady on the till was the Founder with her now dead husband back in 1975. It’s still going well and so is she at the age of 85. Let that be a lesson to us all.
This morning I have been talking to an old friend from the late 1960s/early 70s who lives in Bolton – but we don’t hold that against him. We were swapping thoughts about a Cumbrian poet, Norman Nicholson whose work I wrote my College Dissertation on and then went with Nicholson to do a poetry reading in Leeds Town Hall in 1973. On my bookshelves I still hold and regularly refer to these books. They cost me 60p and £1.00 in 1971. The centre book by Philip Gardner, is signed by Harry Chambers which will mean very little to most people but means a lot to me. He was an early publisher of Philip Larkin and Seamus Heaney. He was also my University Tutor for 20th Century European Poetry.
Norman Nicholson warns us not to wish our lives away but to seize the current day and squeeze every last drop of goodness and joy out of it.
My brother-in-law will be 89 this week or Rising 90!! If there is a more scary thought, I’d like to hear it. Still, we will all have to face it …. hopefully. I’m preparing for the next 25 years at this very moment. Rersearching investment opportunities to fund another quarter of a century of playing out.
Actually, I am turning over the potential of fixed rate ISAs and fixed rate Bonds with a variety of durations. I’m thinking of ISAs to mature after 1, 2 & 3 year durations. Actually, the interest rate is not markedly different. There is no way to really predict how interest rates will go but the BoE is predicting we will return to Bank Rate of 2.0% by this time next year so to lock in at more than double that will be useful. The worry is that Trump smashes things up.
I’m also looking at Fixed Rate Bonds which I can get a over the same fixed periods. It just means I will be paying tax on them. I don’t mind paying tax but I would rather not if it puts the principle at risk of erosion by inflation. I must admit that I am ceasing to be spooked by the lack of good rates from traditional, High Street names because the High Street no longer has traditional representation. They are all retreating on-line so everything will be internet/app based.
I would never have considered Aldemore Bank or Hampshire Trust Bank in the past. Now, I rely on the FSCS Compensation cover which guarantees £170,000.00 (2 x £85,000.00) for the two of us in one overarching institution. It allows one to be a bit more adventurous.
Tuesday, 3rd June, 2025
A sunny start to the day although we are warned of rain to come. Going out walking early before it arrives. I’ll finish off in the Gym on the Treadmill later.
Focus for today is to research new flooring for the Hallway. It is only 16m² so not a major project but the existing one has a couple of chips in the surface that catch the eye every time I walk in so it has to go.
Went in to our local town, Rustington, to look at flooring in reality and it became harder rather than easier. We basically have three, different choices to make. Do we want: Laminate Flooring, Luxury Vinyl Tiles or Engineered Wood? Ultimately, the decision will not be cost but appropriateness. It will be fitted while we are away for the month after returning from a fortnight in the North of England.
Went down to the beach as the weather changed and the sun retreated. Not many small boats expected today. The sea is quite unfriendly.
It never ceases to amuse me how my Father – who died when I was just 14 years old – would have been amazed at my interest in Gardening. He tried for years to cultivate (no pun intended) that interest without any sign of success. Yet here I am at the grand old age of 74 and the past 50 of those years has been spent gardening, particularly growing vegetables and planting trees.
Over that time, I’ve owned properties with acres of land around them. Particularly, in Helme Village in Huddersfield but also in Greece where we bought 4 acres of land. On this day 12 years ago, I was learning how to grow tomatoes, green beans, aubergines and bell peppers in the intense heat of a mediterranean sun. Experienced men from the island taught me to dig bowls in the dust dry earth and to fill them with water in the cool of the evening to get the plants through the next day. My success rate was …. partial. Lovely memory though.
Wednesday, 4th June, 2025
Not a brilliant day. Quite cool and blustery with intermittent sunshine. Had to teach some visiting Jehova’s Witnesses about the importance of Atheism. They even had a sad, young lad in tow. I warned him of the dangers of indoctrination. I think he understood. I’ve been communication in with friends myself – keeping the lines of communication OPEN.
Had a contact from a relative yesterday asking about hotels in Athens for October. Having spent almost 45 years visiting Athens every year, I am often asked for recommendations. It is usually a pleasure to pass on my experience. It is only for two nights at the beginning of a cruise when they want a central Athens hotel but I got a real shock this time. Almost every hotel I would normally recommend is fully booked. Not sure what is going on but I really struggled.
I was able to find a room in a small hotel that we used almost 30 years ago. I checked my records and it cost us just £37.00 per night including Breakfast. Today, they were able to book the same for £236.00 per night. I will write them a guide to Athens that I have acquired over the past 45 years so they don’t need to go through all that experience first.
Got a phone call this morning from our Thessaloniki hotel. They were supposed to take our payment for 8 days stay yesterday – one week ahead of our arrival. Since we booked 12 months ago, our Credit Card had been upgraded and I hadn’t renewed it on their site. Yesterday, they were supposed to take €4,356.00 for 7 nights. Currently that is £3,670.00. That is a penthouse suite with Breakfast. Bit embarrassing but soon sorted out.
As well as exercise, we have both done gardening today. The hedge has been trimmed, the cuttings swept up. New plants have been put out and herbs sown for the Summer. It is forecast to rain tomorrow so it is important to get these things done today. Life goes on.
I have to arrange financial investments for the middle of July now. I have to book work on my house for November now. I have to order new machines for the Laundry now, hopefully to be delivered and installed in August/September.
Thursday, 5th June, 2025
A wet start and plenty of rain forecast for today. The garden will be pleased but I will have to spend more time in the Gym instead of the sun. Talking of sun, as we prepare to fly off to mediterranean heat, we look nervously at the weather back home while we are away. Yesterday the forecast suggested the garden would see at least two days of rain. This morning, it’s all change and the garden will just see hot sun. I’m thinking of moving it to Northern England or even to Wales for the duration.
For the moment, I’m really concentrating on Retirement Income and how to ensure it is improving not declining in value over time. As this article from The Times Money section emphasises, less than half of retirees are confident their savings will see them through their lifetime. It must be genuinely upsetting to feel financially insecure at a time when it is difficult or imposible to increase your income. It is something I addressed even before we retired and have been working on ever since. Hard work and sacrifice is paying off. After 16 years of retirement and in our mid-70s, we actually feel more comfortable than when we were working.
A rule of thumb is that you should aim to have about two-thirds of your salary as an annual income in retirement. To fund a “comfortable” life, you need a pension of £44,000 a year as a single person or £60,600 between you as a couple.
This morning, I have been out to speak to our investment bank to arrange the next steps. They are withdrawing from the High Street and it will be our last visit there. Pity really, so many of their Financial Advisers are looking for new jobs after years of service with them. Fortunately for us, the rain has stopped and we can walk there.
Friday, 6th June, 2025
A day of scudding clouds and chill winds. Dry but threatening. I was exhausted last night and went to bed early. Consequently, I was up even earlier this morning and had completed an hour and half’s walk by 9.00 am. Today is the first Herb Harvest Day of the Summer. Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, Tarragon, Oregano, Mint and Chives are all being cut, washed, spun dry, chopped and bagged up for freezing.
There will be a couple more such days before the growing year is over and the freezers will be bulging with supplies to last 12 months. The Basil has already had one cutting and a batch of Pesto made and frozen.
I have always been interested in ideas – philosophical and political particularly. I have quite strong views developed over time through reading, listening and thinking. I try not to be dogmatic and to keep an open mind , prepared to change if I see a reason to do so. A couple of such questions are currently passing through public consideration.
I have long believed in the principle of assisted dying. I could see no reason why people should be denied personal autonomy over their own lives. No one has the right to deny me the right to end my life early if I so choose. Recently, however, I have been given pause for thought. Although I still utterly believe in the personal autonomy principle, I have experienced a number of occasions when I believe people’s deaths have been accelerated in what I would consider cases which facilitate the medical profession rather than the patient. Do Not Recussitate orders even lean in that way. The medical profession’s Do No Harm principle is put under serious stress even now and would be more so if they are drawn into assisted dying decisions.
Another principle of mine currently being challenged is having to prove one’s identity on demand. The concept of identity cards has long been rejected by Left Wing opinion. Identity Cards have always been considered susceptible to Far Right, Authoritarian governments in controlling their populations. Of course, this topic has come back on to the agenda partly for exactly that reason. Illegal immigration leaves governments looking helpless. Identity cards would allow those not legitimately here to be challenged more easily. Of course they would also allow all of us to be challenged (harrassed) in public on a daily basis. Do we want to grant the authorities that possibility?
Of course, the world is changing and rapidy. I have a Driving Licence, a digital Tax Record, a digital Health Record, a Mobile Phone record, a Credit Card record, umpteen service plans with online companies which display my personal tastes and my financial probity. I can look up and be looked up by others who can find my age, my address, my phone number, my Birth Certificate, etc, on the web in minutes. So much of me is out there – not to mention all the personal information I volunteer on my Blog. It is a short step to bring these things together in an Identity Card. I think I am coming around to that too.
Saturday, 7th June, 2025
A wet night has, fortunately, given way to a dry morning. The world outside looks thoroughly refreshed and so am I. Woke early – 5.30 am and listened to a political podcast from The Newsagents. It was an exciting start to the day. An interview with Jeremy Hunt about the Liz Truss effect on the prospects of the Tory Party. If you want excitement in bed, that’s the way to go! Anyway, that’s as much as you get today, Dear Reader.
I am 74 and I am lucky. The traditional expectation of Three score years and ten refers to the biblical expression for seventy years, meaning a typical human lifespan. Actually, it was more optimism than reality until quite recently.
It always shocks me – death and particularly with people I know/knew and especially those younger than myself. These two girls, photographed in 1972, were two years younger than me. I remember them on Freshers’ Week. The one on the left, Caroline Horncastle, is now dead. The one on the right, Heather Ward her best friend at College posted this photo yesterday in memory of her friend of more than 50 years. She had attended the funeral and said, She is now part of the hill in Allendale from whence she came.
What a thought. Caroline was born in Allendale – a beautiful part of Northumberland and that is where she is now buried. It hit me like a ton of bricks. The matter-of-fact acceptance of the situation. The ordinariness of the relationship and the report. The normalisation of putting the body of a vibrant, young girl in the earth where she was born.
They give birth astride of a grave, the light gleams an instant, then it’s night once more.
— Samuel Beckett, ‘Waiting for Godot’.
It may happen every day but considering it now, the thought is almost too much to bear. It emphasises how little time we have to burn.