A Disorderly Retirement
Last week I was considering whether we could – or should – admit defeat and stop trying to keep up with our constantly changing world, but this week I’m starting to wonder instead if I might just be a millennial in disguise. I’m always open to new possibilities, although this certainly wouldn’t have occurred to…
Despite all the pressure to stay up to date, to download TikTok, to embrace a brat summer, to monitor your blood sugar, to eat tubs of sauerkraut and to pay vast amounts for Oasis tickets, it’s perfectly fine if you just decide not to. In fact, it can be very satisfying to think of yourself…
I’m a bit sniffy about the current trend for self-care. It’s the ‘self’ part that bothers me, because I associate it with being self-absorbed, self-centred and self-indulgent, none of which leads anywhere good. However, I have realised that this past week I have been indulging in exactly that. To start with, I’ve imposed a news…
I’m always interested in how people spend their free time. I’m not talking about the people with young children or those with caring responsibilities – I think they probably just collapse in an exhausted heap whenever they get the chance – I’m wondering about everyone else. Even people who say they haven’t got a minute…
A few weeks ago I wrote about the many memberships and subscriptions we have and how shocking it is when you add them all up. It’s taken a while, but I’ve now listed them all, with the cost next to each item. I didn’t include things like gym, golf and choir memberships because we use…
Today I am typing my 200th blog. It’s hard to believe that I’ve been at it so long. When I started I didn’t even think about how long I might do it. Back then, my main concern was how I’d actually set it up and I don’t think I could have done that without the…
This week I have learned to beware of emojis. I was quite a late adopter anyway – it was only recently that I decided it might be fun to liven up my texts with little pictures. Now I’m growing wary and think I might have to be an early exiter. I had no idea that…
I have finally discovered life’s Great Truth. It has nothing to do with learning to be at one with the universe, discovering a great love for your fellow human beings or even that death and taxes are the only certainties. It’s that your to-do list will never, ever end. I should really have seen this…
I don’t know why it is, but for some reason unusual people have a tendency to approach me in public and launch into unexpected conversations. Maybe they recognise one of their own. I really don’t mind (after all, everything is copy) and the truth is that I quite enjoy it.
I know I promised that this week I’d report back on my cull of expenses, but while executive approval is pending, I’ve been thinking about foreign languages instead. This is because I have read yet another article about warding off dementia. Is this a modern trend, this torrent of advice from experts about how to…