A Disorderly Retirement
I’ve been thinking about how much it costs to keep ourselves entertained. Years ago, we grew vegetables and darned socks in our spare time, no doubt while listening to the wireless. Far from costing anything, these pastimes actually saved people money. I can definitely remember my parents mending and growing, although with the ingratitude of…
I’ve just come back from Africa and I’m thinking about mountain gorillas. Still. I did a quick search through my blogs and found that, since 2020, five of them have mentioned gorillas. It’s definitely been a recurring theme. I started out thinking how wonderful it would be to see them in the wild and then…
Yesterday I learned that ‘No’ is a complete sentence. Who knew? I think it’s one of those personal growth lesson thingies, the type you’re supposed to write on post-it notes and stick on walls around your house. Those life-affirming mantras like “I am worthy and loved”, “My boundaries matter”, “My children don’t hate me”, “Just…
In two weeks’ time we are off to Uganda to track gorillas. When I booked this trip about a year ago it seemed like a wonderful idea. I decided that preparation was everything and enrolled at a gym. I had gone to the gym for years, but never really went back after the pandemic. One…
All those guides to retirement say that life is cheaper once you retire, but I have my doubts. It might be the case if you ended up spending lots of money on commuting, smart work outfits and oatmilk lattes, but none of that applies if you work from home, which I did. Retirement can turn…
As still more coffee shops prepare to open their doors in Newbury, I do wonder when we’ll reach peak coffee. At what point will the supply of willing coffee drinkers just dry up? There are only so many people and, despite our best efforts, there’s only so much coffee we can drink. I’m trying to…
When it comes to wasting time, scrolling through the internet is for amateurs. There are far more interesting and creative ways to keep yourself occupied instead of cleaning the kitchen floor or sorting out your finances. In fact, I feel quite proud of my ability to find absorbing activities that enable me to avoid proper…
This week another illusion was shattered. It’s surprising I have any left. I have long been a fan of Stephen Dubner’s Freakonomics podcast, but it has taken quite a grim turn in recent weeks with its in-depth reports on the opioid crisis and I’ve been giving it a miss. However, last week’s interview with Tom…
I have started to wonder lately about my tendency to hang random things on walls. Things that really shouldn’t be there and, if I were of sounder mind, probably wouldn’t be. It all started with a beautiful old mahogany wardrobe that we were forced to buy many years ago when we moved to England from…
I am always quite fascinated by those people who lurk in the corners of museums. I’m not talking about unsavoury characters, but the room attendants, the ones who stand there quietly and make sure that no one chucks red paint at artworks or glues themselves to the exhibits. Personally, I’d leave those gluers attached –…