Each year (since 2002) I have sent out a Christmas letter to certain friends (especially those whom we don’t see too often) to update them with what’s happened in our lives. I’m aware that this is a controversial move: such letters are often the subject of jokes on TV panel shows where a parody of […]
This has been a year of the UK short break. Geraldine and I decided last year that due to Covid travel complications, we would not go on a foreign holiday in 2021. This year, we reached the same decision for different reasons. The climate issues altered our view on flying and so we reviewed our […]
It’s only when watching pre-pandemic TV programmes that I fully realise how much we’ve all changed since 2020. Welcoming handshakes are now very scarce, and we stand just that little further apart from each other. Some other changes, like my appearance, became more obvious, and in February, sixteen weeks after last seeing my hairdresser (due […]
To misquote Arkwright (Open all Hours), “It’s been a funny old year”, but sadly for most of us, 2020 profoundly lacked humour. The year started off fine, at least for me, but rapidly worsened as all my plans evaporated in March as I expect they did for most of us. I was reminded of the […]
It’s at times like these I really feel sorry for the Queen. How on earth is she going to write her broadcast message after the year she’s just had? I’m thinking of that now, because I’m struggling to find a way to start my annual letter, not that I’ve had a bad year (far from […]
This was my top year for cycling. I covered more miles than any other year, helped by a very long tour of the length of the River Rhine, plus several other shorter trips. Retirement’s great! Infographic recording my highest annual mileage Showing the routes I’ve cycled in 2019. This year’s local routes showing the Veloviewer […]
I used to become irritated by people who, once retired, rolled out the old cliché “I don’t know how I ever found time to work”. I am now trying my best not to be that person, although I can better understand why people say it. Yes, after 43 years in full time work, I retired […]
I’m late writing this letter, but since it goes out with the Christmas cards, you won’t notice, but I am usually better prepared than this. The lateness is due to things being busier than usual recently, but after the events late last year, I’m pleased that this is the case. You will recall that a […]
In mid-November, I enjoy taking a day off work on my own when I carry out a few jobs in preparation for Christmas. I look through all the photos I’ve taken during the year and compile a photo-book for the year, I write this note (which, for the past 15 years has acted as a […]
When I started with British Aerospace in 1986, I actually took a drop in pay, seeing this as a necessary sacrifice to start my new career, and move away from the uncertainty at Royal Ordnance. I had worked there for eleven years, but I felt that the opportunities at British Aerospace were greater. Within five […]