Moving On By far the most significant and time-consuming operation this year was moving my Dad from Milton Keynes to the south Nottinghamshire village of Ruddington on 13th September. That reduced a tedious 1¼ hour motorway journey to a pleasant 15-minute drive when we wanted to visit him. The biggest problem was sorting through the… Continue reading Retrospective 2022
Category: stories
Retrospective 2021
Executive Summary This year can be summed up with the phrase, “steady as she goes”. Like everyone else in the affluent West, Covid rules continued to curtail our activities. Easing of restrictions in the summer brought hope of a return to the old normal but, as winter set in, the Omicron variant sent us almost… Continue reading Retrospective 2021
Retrospective 2020
Executive Summary It’s been a funny old year. Mary and I stayed well clear of the Coronavirus but it has obliterated most of the happenings that I would normally be blogging about. I am one of the lucky ones, though. As a pensioner, I don’t have to worry about losing my job or loss of… Continue reading Retrospective 2020
Retrospective 2019
Executive Summary It’s been a fairly uneventful 2019 for us on the whole. One more year on the life clock has, presumably, taken its toll but we don’t feel any older than we did 12 months ago so we are not complaining. Our cat, Persephone, is now on regular medication for thyroid and kidney problems… Continue reading Retrospective 2019
Retrospective 2018
Executive Summary Mary is still teaching conversational English to elderly Asian women for the WEA, doing volunteer work for Age UK and playing her part as a governor at the local primary school. Phil is enjoying his retirement to the full, writing his music blog, strumming his guitar and pointing his camera at anything that… Continue reading Retrospective 2018
Retrospective 2017
Executive Summary Mary continues to work part time for the WEA, teaching English one morning a week, mainly to elderly women of Asian extraction. She has also joined the board of governors for the village primary school. Both occupations have required attendance at training courses and meetings at various times throughout the year. Phil is… Continue reading Retrospective 2017
Retrospective 2016
Mary and I have been out and about quite a lot this year. A couple of trips had to be cancelled for health reasons but these turned out to be minor bumps on life’s sometimes rocky road. This year has also seen a notable rise in routine check-ups and medical preventative maintenance for me (bowel cancer screening,… Continue reading Retrospective 2016
Retrospective 2015
The most significant event of the year was, undoubtedly, moving to the North Leicestershire village of Wymeswold on 24th February. The move itself went smoothly and by the time I got to the East Midlands it was a lovely early Spring day, sunny and surprisingly mild for the time of year. It felt like a warm welcome… Continue reading Retrospective 2015
Band For A Day
Back in the early seventies when I was at university and trying, with limited success, to learn the bass guitar I was introduced to another student who was a drummer. I’ll call him John, not because I want to protect his anonymity, simply because I’ve long since forgotten his real name. At that first short meeting… Continue reading Band For A Day
Retrospective 2014
It’s been a year of change. Mary stopped working for City of York Council, I retired and we nearly moved to the Leicestershire wolds. It feels as though we spent more time sorting out our possessions and getting rid of decades of accumulated junk than anything else. And thereby hangs a tale… First Quarter Clear… Continue reading Retrospective 2014