A Disorderly Retirement
My bookshelves fill me with shame. Not the fiction section – I’ve read most of those and am happily working my way through the unread ones. It’s the non-fiction ones that stare at me accusingly. The things I could have learned, the paths I could have taken, both literally and figuratively, if only I had…
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,…