Retirement Life in the Week Ended 1 December 2024
Yes it’s been another few days of to-ing and fro-ing between Essex and Devon. Fingers crossed that it’s over soon although our solicitors say that my parent’s move is unlikely to be before Christmas. What do those anonymous bureaucrats get up to when they do a property search and why does it take so long?
I’ve been getting on with life regardless. Maybe it’s good that the pace has slowed down. I’ve been getting a wee bit exhausted. Anyway here’s my offering for this week. Blessings to you all.
What We’ve Built
On Monday we popped to the allotment to assess the damage that Storm Bert caused. Yikes! On other plots we spotted a fully flattened shed, a thoroughly twisted polytunnel without its plastic and an octagonal greenhouse minus its roof.
Over the summer fellow allotment holders left a neighbouring plot. They gifted us this. We haven’t had time to erect it properly and it was blown over in the violent winds. Luckily no significant damage was done.
Maybe the storm gave us the impetus to put it up properly and that’s what we did with the help of a friend on Tuesday. The observant among you will notice a lack of distinct glass but this omission is intentional. Panes are often shattered by gales throughout the winter. Damage from our feisty South Westerly sea breezes are almost inevitable So we’ve decided to postpone that final part of our build until planting season starts in the New Year.
What I Spotted
I was back on the train again at short notice so I could attend a medical appointment with Mum. Life as a long distance carer is full of the unexpected. I’m ready to down tools in an instant and make the daylong trip across the country.
My fears about getting back to Essex in a timely manner after yet another storm was pretty much unfounded. Okay Storm Conall caused a bit of disruption to the rail network. but it’s aftermath only delayed me by thirty minutes or so.
I never tire of the views from the train window to Paddington. The part of the trip between Paignton and Exeter is particularly stunning, two river estuaries and the sea with far reaching views all the way home. In fact this stretch known as ‘The Riviera Line’ is categorised as one of the most scenic rail journey in the UK. My picture is of the approach into Exeter where there are marshlands adjoining the River Exe.
Further into my journey I spotted another completely different sight. While waiting at Stratford station a couple of massive goods trains came through. They must have been a mile long apiece. I gave up counting containers when I got to forty five!
What’s Come Around Again
Goodness knows how many years that I’ve filled the twenty four drawers of Louis’ advent calendar with Ferrero Rocher chocolates. It’s got to be ten now. His auntie made it for him when it was a wee one. It’s come out of the loft at the beginning of advent ever since. This year Louis asked me to arrange the numbers randomly. His wish was my command!
What I’ve Ordered
I’ve been doing my parent’s shopping online from Sainsbury’s each week. It works well. A saver slot with a four hour window for delivery adds just a pound to the cost of the groceries. I’ve had no trouble booking them with a day’s notice.
What my Mum and Dad eat is so different from my own diet though. Pease pudding and Stork margarine are regular requests. I also seem to order enough tinned fruit to get them through the apocalypse, all washed down with evaporated milk. Yuk! The fruit hoard includes an inordinate amount of tinned prunes in their own juice supposedly to keep Dad ‘regular’. I wonder if the bottle of fortified wine that I order for him each week helps in that department too!
Last week Dad asked for kidney soup. I’d never even heard of that. It seems that this particular delicacy went out of production many years ago although isn’t a figment of his imagination. I googled it and it existed once. Instead I ordered Dad a tin of Heinz Oxtail Soup as a substitute. Now that’s a real blast from the past. It seems to have made him happy.
What I’ve Bought
‘Tis not only the season to be jolly. It’s also the time that we’re overrun with toilet rolls because our Who Gives A Crap arrived. I have to be inventive with where to put them. Here’s some in a weird nook in the downstairs cloakroom. Our last delivery, about a year ago, caused an even more challenging conundrum as the company sent out two boxes by accident and said that we could keep both.
There’s quite a lot of eco friendly toilet paper delivery services around these days. Like anything that involves making a conscientious decision it’s a bit of a minefield. I’ve stuck with Who Gives a Crap for two main reasons. Firstly the rolls are really long, around 400 sheets on each. That’s a lot of bum wipes before you have to remember to restock the bathroom.
My second reason is probably the one that clinches it for me. The company donates 50% of its profits to Water Aid the charity that works globally to improve sanitation. It’s one of my favourite causes.
What I’ve Listened To
The lady above is Florence Scovel Shinn, a spiritual teacher and artist. Her name kept cropping up so, on the train back from Southend the other day, I decided to listen to her most famous book, ‘The Game of Life and How To Play It‘. I enjoyed it very much and was surprised by just how digestible it was. Perhaps I’m of the mistaken belief that people born before the turn of the last century are going to pepper their writing with thees and thous and thoroughly incomprehensible Olde English. Anyway this was not the case.
The essential theme of the book is that you will reap what you sow both physically and in your thoughts. It didn’t introduce any ideas that were new to me but it is a gentle, joyful text with lots of lovely anecdotes and affirmations. This one seemed absolutely perfect for a friend who is having a challenging time in her job so I sent it to her.
“I have a wonderful work, in a wonderful way; I give wonderful service, for wonderful pay!”
What I’ve Achieved
My blog has gone live! I’ve kept it in ‘Under Construction’ mode for the last month. I wanted to give you guys more than one post to read. But I promised myself that I’d get it up and running by the end of November and I’ve just made it. Phew!
Early adopters might have to bear with me for a while. I keep on coming across little glitches that I need solving. I’m working on narly problems such as getting social media links up and running and firming up my security so that it’s graded A plus rather than its current A. This blogging ain’t just about the writing you know!
My inner pedant is having a hissy fit. However I’m firmly of the belief that it’s better to share work in progress rather than wait an eternity for a level of perfection that might takes months to achieve. So here is my revived blog warts and all.
By the way this welcoming photo was taken on my trip to East Beach a couple of weeks ago. I wondered if there was a similar strange structure on the opposite side of the Thames. Perhaps as I said ‘Hello’ into the concave wall someone in Kent heard me loud and clear.
Disclaimer
This post contains links to companies and organisations just because I’m happy with the products or services that they supply or I’m spreading the word about what they do. There may also be affiliate links to Amazon for books and other items that I am personally recommending. If you decide to make a purchase from them, I might get a little bit of commission at no cost to you.