A Disorderly Retirement
People travel with many different hopes and expectations, but if I find myself somewhere that looks like nothing I’ve seen before among people who behave in ways I don’t expect, then I am completely happy. Japan is one of those places. I think about it quite often, particularly when I see people around me who…
There was a time when we did all the painting and wallpapering in our house. Finances played a large part, but I used to quite enjoy it and the results were extremely satisfying; however, those days are long gone. I must have been a different person then. I now know that it is even more…
I have just got back from a wonderful adventure in Japan and South Korea, and although my mind is full of vibrant images, what I’m really thinking about is food. I don’t eat meat, which is very easy at home, but a bit harder in countries where you have no knowledge of the language beyond…
I like a challenge as long as it’s not too hard and requires only the smallest effort on my part. A full marathon? Never. Half a marathon? Also, never. I can just about cope with Adriene’s 30-day yoga challenge in January. I can’t say I enjoy it exactly, but I know it’s good for me….
I promise to do better with my podcast recommendations this time and suggest more than three. I used to listen to current affairs podcasts such as The Rest is Politics with Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart, and Newscast with Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel, but I can’t bear to think about politics any more. When…
Sometimes you just have to take a stand, resist outside pressure and say what you really think. So here goes: I never want to watch another play by Shakespeare. The last one I went to see was King Lear at the Globe Theatre on the Southbank in London. The theatre is beautiful, so atmospheric with…
I do love a podcast, although it never occurs to me to listen to spoken-word radio. The problem with live radio, like live TV, is lack of control. Committing to tuning in at a specific time and staying right until the end is unthinkable in our current Age of Convenience. Everything must be available when…
I was reading the newspaper a few days ago (I know – so quaint) and an article caught my eye. I fall upon anything that isn’t about the dire state of the economy, the corruption of our politicians or the bounciness of Kate Middleton’s hair, so I was intrigued to see a list of annoying…
I’m wondering if you can reinvent yourself at 63. Madonna does it all the time, admittedly with mixed results. I suppose you can do it, but the question is whether you should. We have moved from a house located on the edge of a village opposite a field right into the middle of a town,…
I can only apologise for my long absence. I was away in Canada for a month and when I got home we didn’t seem to be any closer to buying our new house than we had been before we left. Our rental house was looking and feeling increasingly like an encampment rather than a home…