When we bought our first house, interest rates rose 2% between making our offer and completing the sale. We barely had any money left to live on each month. Moving in with furniture donated by families, we bought a set of cheap stainless steel cutlery from Woolworths with a view to buying a more expensive … Read more
Over the past year, I’ve come to exchange greetings with an elderly couple who go out for a daily walk, stopping many times to rest. They put one foot in front of the other to keep walking, to stay mobile, to experience life as fully as they can. But it can seem the most difficult … Read more
Attitude. It’s really important. Today, I was sad to start taking down the Christmas decorations, but I had time not to rush it. This year is different to the past seven or so years when we have barely celebrated Christmas because we couldn’t bear the thought of it. I used to love Christmas, but things … Read more
Rest. For the rest of the year, rest. It’s important. In this winter scene, all appears at rest. The shops and cafés are closed, the boats have been lifted out of the harbour for safety, the trees have withdrawn and shed their leaves. But there’s a lot going on. How many of the business owners … Read more
In 2016 I chose three words to focus on during the year, following a suggestion by Chris Brogan, and I repeated this in 2017, 2018, 2019 and 2020, when I chose: vital – work – jigsaw. How did I do in 2020? Vital – My aim was to live more in the real world and … Read more
This is my pedometer. It’s 10 years old. Occasionally, I think about buying a new one. Once or twice, I’ve considered an Apple Watch. But this old pedometer is sufficient for me. While I’ve used a pedometer on and off for 20 years, I bought this one after an emergency operation where I lost 12lbs … Read more
Sometimes we don’t realise how much we can change our own lives and need to be shown the way. We could not have foretold the impact that an event taking place on 21 April 2000 would have on us. That was the day our first cocker spaniel, Felix, was born. I wanted a dog, an … Read more
After completing my MA in History, I have continued my attempts to fill in the gaps in my knowledge, although for every little bit learned I discover even more still to learn. One of the topics I am interested in is the Wars of the Roses, which confounds me with the complex relationships, and twists … Read more
In 2016 I chose three words to focus on during the year, following a suggestion by Chris Brogan, and I repeated this in 2017, 2018 and then 2019, when I chose: responsible – source – alive. How did I do in 2019? Responsible – I believe outsourcing personal responsibility to government, large technology companies and … Read more
Ticket to ride This ticket started me on a journey 50 years ago on Saturday, 2 August 1969. I didn’t know it at the time, but that train journey from Paddington to Ilfracombe, on the north coast of Devon, would bring me to the place where I would live 50 years later. We had a … Read more
My trusty lawn rake must be 29 years old. My Dad gave it to me, I think, as a birthday present the year Mrs Z and I moved into our first house, which had a garden some 50 feet long by 11 feet wide. To me, this was paradise. The house I was born in … Read more
In 2016 I chose three words to focus on during the year, following a suggestion by Chris Brogan, and I repeated this in 2017 and then 2018, when I chose: nibble – rest – clear. How did I do in 2018? Nibble – I succeeded in making a lot of changes and once I had started, … Read more
I’m not a fan of clipart or stock photography. I think this comes from seeing so many web sites and brochures showing pictures which have nothing to do with the organisation publishing them. If a company wants to demonstrate that it has happy, smiling employees, why not feature photos of its people rather than stock … Read more
The clock in our kitchen stopped working at the weekend. It’s a quartz clock with a battery in it, nothing special, but it’s useful for keeping an eye on the time when cooking or when we need to go out or do something at a specific time. We changed the battery, but it wouldn’t go. … Read more
Yes, feet are essential and my feet are essential to me. I walk a fair amount, usually between 15 and 22,000 steps a day, but I didn’t always. When I was younger, I used to cycle a lot, but then stopped when I started work and got a car. For quite a few years I … Read more
I am working with a business colleague to launch a new business exhibition in the area. It’s quite exhausting, but also frightening to get this off the ground. A lot of preparation has gone into it and we are just starting to promote it. We’re at the stage when you do things and get no … Read more
I was astounded to see that I started this blog 10 years ago with the entry: Drama coming . . . . . . soon. This was a reference to my heavy involvement in amateur dramatics at the time and my role in publicising six or seven productions every year. Since then, I have blogged … Read more
I was exhausted this morning and didn’t make it to the beach, much to the disappointment of deep spaniel eyes – we’ll go tomorrow, I promise. This made me realise that I needed to relax today and I decided to make a cake ,as I find baking very calming. The other day, we had been … Read more
I have always enjoyed photography, although for much of my life did not spend much time on it. Moving to live by the sea and walking with our dogs have given me plenty of opportunities to take more photos. Five years ago, after we lost our dear two spaniels and there was a lot of … Read more
It’s said that time heals or that painful memories grow less painful. 46 years ago, doctors were scratching their heads for five weeks as I was jabbed, x-rayed and subjected to all manner of medical tests, because they couldn’t find out what was wrong with me. (Some of those close to me say they still … Read more