Dawned the new day

My shoulder wasn't great overnight and in fact during the day.  We went to the Black Tie lunch - it was a bit strange dressing up for it but we had the restaurant to ourselves and very nice it was too.  Chez Vous was given over to us for the afternoon and it was a nice lazy afternoon, starting with Champagne and ending with a beer before we went home we had the most marvellous food in between and some superb wines too.  All in all very nice.  A bit too rich for Mrs. F. but you can't have everything.

It was nice to rest my arm a bit but I had to still try and stop this damn leak at the connection with my new radiator and it did need  a serious tighten.  It looks to have sorted it but will leave it overnight and see.

I wasn't in a great mood this morning unfortunately and Mrs. F. got the silent treatment a bit.  The usual nonsense about going out - it does my head in slightly when suddenly after months of knowing we are going out there such a kerfuffle over what to wear, whether she knows anyone, then she left her glasses behind, then we had to get back into the house to pick up some driving shoes and a list of other things that really annoy someone who is organised like me.  Everything is a drama and I have things planned out and set out so that I know where I'm going, how I can get there, what the place looks like (thanks Google Street View) and so on.  I know how much money we need to take to pay for it and so on.  Mrs. F. knows that I'm this well organised and always have been and still I get it in the neck :-)  I don't tend to answer back in these situations as I'd obviously be wrong or stupid :-)

As it happens, it was all sort of OK.  

I think my underlying concern is that there's a hint of things to come and that what's called "Empty Nest Syndrome" may be creeping in here.  For 22 years we've done nothing other than look after the kids, feed them, take them to school and back and our lives revolved around them pretty much.  Many things went by the wayside, I gave up Golf, I hardly play my musical instruments or much of my music these days.  Now that A and L aren't around much we suddenly have a big house with 2 of us rattling around in it to such an extent that we can be in the same house and not see each other for hours at a time.  

Mrs. F. isn't a great fan of music, let alone my music, she doesn't particularly like going out for meals and similar events (which I get plenty of invites to).  She doesn't like going to "my sort" of concerts and there lies a bit of a problem.  She has no interest in other interests I have, History and family history nor does she read as prolifically as I do and certainly not the same sort of books, the only interests I see us having these days are holidays and walking but whilst I quite like warm hot places she doesn't, neither does she like cruising (sea or inland).  

It appears to me that 22 years investment in the children is well spent but the "sacrifice" in terms of our social lives does appear to be a bit heavier than I expected.   Something else to watch out for no doubt!  Oh well, at least we are speaking terms after the meal.

Oh Dear

My backup hard drive has crashed whilst I was transferring files - not happy with that as I may have lost some stuff but hey ho I will have to see if my local shop can recover the data.  I am somewhat annoyed as these things are meant to be pretty much bullet proof so I need to warn A as she has one of these for her work!

It's doubly annoying as I was in the middle of backing up and getting ready to move to a more cloud based environment - I will just have to do it if and when the recovery is complete.  At least all my important stuff is contained in the cloud as well as there.

I've been on my own here today as Mrs. F has been baby sitting for someone who was going to a wedding - the bad news is they were late and she has only just arrived home.  So another day here alone for me.  Whilst I got work done, it's been a pretty quiet time.  It often is unfortunately and something that I'm getting used to.

We are off out tomorrow for a Black Tie meal in the middle of the day - well almost afternoon as it is sit down at 14:00 - very late for us I have to say.  Mrs. F. doesn't really want to go, in fact she doesn't want to go to many of "my things" these days so she is doing it out of sufferance.  I hope that it won't show :-)

My shoulder is giving me a bit of jip still - hope it will be alright tomorrow.

A little better today

Not such a bad start to the morning excepting I have cricked my shoulder once again - it is an old wound which I got from plumbing years ago and having had to stem a small leak I've pulled the muscle and it is giving me a bit of jipp I can tell you.  So the bathroom should almost be done now as long as I've stemmed this tiny leak - a drop a day at most from the radiator.  I've done the final bit of grouting and set the bath cover back on and it looks OK.  I have some chrome pipe covers to install and then we are almost done.  A small amount of sealing still to go, as I've held off finishing the WC until I'm convinced that I can finalise it and seal it off properly.  It just needs a coat of paint now and I need to make that happen when there is sufficient time to let it dry.

I feel better than yesterday but still a little flat but I think that is to be expected as I'm trying to make some big decisions and I want to get these right because they are big decisions affecting not just me.  If it were just me then I think that I'd be OK.  I also don't want to be undiplomatic about things either.

Still not heard anything back about this job which is upsetting decisions on my calendar and is complicating me making other arrangements.

A Flat Day

Nothing leaves me as flat as having a few drinks and reflecting on another series of conversations that don't actually get me any further forward than I was when I started.

So today is one of those flat days where I don't see much going forward and I can't be arsed to do anything much, I have little inclination and despite wanting to break myself out of this cycle of ups and downs I haven't the "energy" to do much about it.  It's the sort of day when my coffee goes cold all the time and I have to warm it up in the microwave, things that could be done are left undone and so on.  

I dislike these days as I never quite get up enough head of steam to get myself motivated and up and at them.  I was planning on doing the bathroom but really couldn't be bothered and I'm sitting at my PC most of the day, goodness knows what I'm doing, it isn't much but there you go.

It is actually a nice looking day outside, the sun is shining and it's a crisp autumn day with the leaves turning colour nicely and yet that's not motivating either.  I know things are bad as I've put one of my Coldplay albums on :-)

Oh well, muddle on for the rest of the day and perhaps I'll pick up at the weekend :-)

And it leaves me...

No clearer than it did before.  I met my friend K and we had a few beers and then hit the Turkish Restaurant in town.  Had a nice meal (fish based) and a beer and then headed off to an old fashioned boozer that is still "out of the way" but has history when it was in the middle of nowhere!.  Got back and went to my local as "Billy No Mates" and did the quiz.  Of course I knew people but decided that I needed more booze.

Had a long and frank conversation with K but it sort of ended up as a problem area as I have to make some sort of decision.  The trouble is that I can't make any sort of decision regarding where to go next because whatever I do affects other people and I'm really not into upsetting others, I'm happy to take a "hit" on my feelings and work and so on but I don't want to upset anyone else.

Result?   I realise that my actions will affect others and that's why I am not making decisions.  I also realise that I don't want to be the catalyst of major change.  However, the change will be good for me but it will not be good for others.

Bottom Line?  I managed to express my fears but didn't get anywhere near sorting them out!

DIstraction

Of out in a moment to have a few beers and then grab some food.  Old friend and I need to catch up and see what's going on and what's to do.  I'd better get some food down my neck before going though as I'm certain it will be more beers than food.

My diet is getting a bit of a slap though with a meal on Tuesday night sending my count going way over what I normally eat and a few beers today will also send the figures off the graph.  I've gone back onto a modified diet at the moment with a bit of exercise, no bread or dairy (except cottage cheese) back to having FOCC (Flax Seed Oil and Cottage Cheese), lots of vegetables and I need to get back to using my juicer again in a more controlled way.

Food wise I'm cutting out most carbs but do have a few like rice cakes occasionally to keep that count up.  After the excesses of the holiday and really since my dad died when I stopped eating sensibly, I've put on all the weight I lost (well actually that's not accurate - I've put on a stone and so I'm still below where I started by about a stone from the beginning of the year).

In terms of exercise I'm doing burst work on the X-Trainer and doing some work on the Vibration Plate (no more than 5 minutes).  The burst work is doing two or three full speed - until you run out of puff and energy - bursts every couple of days.  These bursts of exercise are pretty much full on things but apparently are better than doing longer stints.  So let's give it a try.

Unfortunately I have lots of events that will interrupt my diet in the next three months but I will just have to take it easy.  I am recording everything I eat which seems to work nicely.  

What next?

It's a strange world and sometimes you have to laugh I suppose.  Well, I got a job potential today - to work in..... The Philippines????  What!  I've had loads of job things coming through for jobs that I used to be qualified for years ago.  I've had jobs totally wrong for me which are the results of computer glitches and because these recruiters don't actually read even the summary of my CV which would give them a good idea.

I get mistaken for a senior Programmer, a specialist in Forte programming and because of my past in the Construction and Process industries and get crazy jobs in strange places sent to my inbox.  However, a relocation to the Philippines certainly was an unusual one.

I'm still waiting to hear about a potential job in London and I'm still in two minds about whether to go for it or not.  

The Roller Coaster

Continues to take me up and down the emotional highs and lows of living with 'post cancer' survival.  I had a great day yesterday and yet arrived home and from being high I ended up being morose and down.  That's how quick it can come and go these days.  An interesting conversation this morning suggested that it can take a decade or more to get over the impact that having had cancer makes to your body.

Your body goes through all sorts of changes and of course the treatments and the operations and tests all take their toll.  It's difficult to explain to someone who hasn't had the full Hospital experience and the build up to operations and treatments quite what this means.  It's exhausting both physically and mentally and as I said many times in this blog it is very similar to Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and so there's all sorts of problems including depression and sleep problems, ups and downs and the most incredible fatigue you can imagine.  

What this means is that this makes it difficult to make decisions or be rational sometimes as your emotional state is switching about and making logical thought difficult.  I know and realise this and so tend to take my time to come to conclusions but of course in talking and writing it tends to put a different slant on things.  What I mean by that is that it depends on what my mood is like as to the way I write, talk and act so it's a bit like living with a schizophrenic I guess :-)

Anyway, I'm all OK today so far.

Sad Day

I went to a Lodge meeting tonight and my friend who has been having some "awareness" problems of late was in a bad way tonight.  He knows he has something not quite right with himself and that he forgets things and that he can get lost walking to the shops.  And another friend turns up bloated from his drugs which I think are steroid based.  He looks fine but he was so slow and I had to get him and another friend up the stair lift to the meeting and back down again and they were puffing and panting and not quite knowing what was going on.

I suddenly found out that I was taking responsibility for making sure they got up to the room, down from the room and to the dining room and to their wife's cars.  Of course, they are in their 80s and 90s now and I knew them when they were my age!!!!  Oh shit!!

I also had an interesting conversation with Mrs. F. this morning showing her the article I cited yesterday on the blog.  She hadn't realised and wanted to know what she could do and of course, there's nothing she can do, it's out of her hands and in my head. It's an interesting scenario I think.  Now she realises what I'm going through but there's not a lot she can do to change it - the only good thing is that perhaps my behaviour over the last few years may start to make sense.  The huge problem for me is that the cure is pretty nasty and needs me to separate my current life and make a new one.  The issue being that I cannot quite work out whether it is a single or joint effort required.

Oh shit, it's something that suddenly I can't contain anymore but I'm glad she realises that it isn't her - it's ME.  You see the problem doesn't sit with those who are secondary victims of bladder cancer, it sits with the victim themselves - me.  I have changed and that's got to be the case, it's happening to me after all.  For my immediate family, they've had one of their foundations messed around with but they've other things to do and they are busy living their own lives.  I support fully that they should live their own lives and move on and do what they need to do despite what is happening to me.  At the end of the day it makes little difference to them whether I'm there or not and occasionally I may have some input.  

Anyway, the sadness is that people I knew some time ago who were my age are now infirm and strange things happened like they lost their cases or didn't know how to operate things, I had to get them up and down the stair lift and these are people whom I respect dearly and there I am acting as nurse to them where a year ago they were fully able to get up and down the stairs on their own etc.

Suddenly it brought it all home I have to say.

Says it a little better than I can

A Guardian Article HERE.  "For many patients, remission of the disease is just the first step in a long and emotionally draining process of recovery"

It says much about the sort of problems I still have.  I'm not in remission either so there's still that to be tackled.  I believe remission is a minimum of 10 years clear for Bladder Cancer patients.  I cannot find the supporting information for this statement though.  I'm sure it is somewhere about there.  By remission it means completely clear with no recurrence which unfortunately for Bladder Cancer is very common.

There is more acceptance of the sort of problems we seem to get and Macmillan have a page worth a look too HERE. 

So if you might be wondering why I blow hot and cold and go up and down in terms of my demeanour, this may help you understand it.  It's probably a lot more complex but now 6 years on I'm getting a lot better and feel quite well although I'm still having problems with my diet and weight but I hope to be getting that under better control once I decide what I am going to do with myself.  I've some ideas and some avenues to explore in the next few days and then I think, if they draw a blank, that I will be looking to make some serious lifestyle changes for myself affecting work and leisure and home.  Let's see what these avenues bring first.

"Rates of depression and anxiety are very high when treatment ends," says Dr Michelle Kohn, director of Living Well, a programme that offers emotional and practical support to cancer patients at Leaders in Oncology Care, a private London-based clinic. "Other emotional issues, such as low self-esteem, anger, stress or sleep problems are also widespread."

I can vouch for the sleep problems and the anxiety and there's the other stuff like the mini panic attacks and the claustrophobia to deal with as well as my attitude problems :-)  I don't take any prisoners sometimes and appear to have lost my "diplomatic touch" somewhere along the line. I think you get past all the trauma and you have a "So what" attitude to other people's petty gripes.  It isn't (or I hope it isn't) one upmanship, it's more a case of trying to get people to get a grip and man up a bit.  Because the train is late or it's raining isn't a cause for depression and sadness :-)  

"On top of this, cancer survivors are often battling with physical and practical challenges, anything from huge financial losses, to the side effects of medication, profound fatigue, a confused-feeling known as "chemo brain", or lymphoedima (swelling). Their loved ones, meanwhile, might be increasingly baffled as to why they can't bounce back and make the most of life. "People suffer for years, often in silence, without any real support," says Kohn. "Life after cancer can actually be very difficult and lonely."

I can understand this stuff too, it is very difficult to see what my problem is, I don't look any different, I'm not horribly disfigured (although you may think so! :-) ) and it is a hidden disease to even those closest to you.  It is really difficult to get up and go when your get up and go got up and went :-)  I'm mostly past the fatigue bit now thank goodness although I can still sleep at the drop of a hat.  It's almost like passing out, I can sit watching TV and just drop off.  It's a bit worrying but it doesn't happen at work or driving or anywhere else so that's good.  

Some of the comments are telling.  There is one about guilt, the guilt of living, the guilt of not having chemo or radio, mind you as I was reminded, Immunotherapy isn't for sissies either!  But it is interesting that I felt internally bad that my dad (and some friends who have died) knew that I had survived and yet their prognosis wasn't good, how did they view me?  Well if the truth be known they were probably happy for me.  I do hope that they didn't feel any other way but I felt bad for them.  I thought about the other areas too and you see, all these things add up to what it means to survive.  It is great to be alive and to have (so far) my health coming back albeit gradually.  Dealing with the head bit is a challenge as those who read this blog regularly know.  You are diagnosed and the trauma of the symptoms and the diagnosis are just awful.  Then there is the gap whilst you think the worst and that your number is up.  Then there is the sudden realisation that there is hope and you can fight some of this and you can realistically stand a chance of survival.  You fight it on your own and you use your strength physically and mentally and make big changes in your life style.  The experience changes you in many ways and some are subtle and others not so.  You are, after all, fighting for your life and every ounce of strength goes into it.  It's exhausting, it's traumatic, it's terribly frightening and upsetting.  You keep up your front so that your loved ones are reassured by your strength of character that all will be OK and inside you are eaten away by guilt and you punish yourself for all your past transgressions, your life style, every time you upset someone and so on.  

Later on, you realise that you've been ill for sometime, there were tell-tale signs, the anger and bitter way you spoke to people, the flying off the handle at little things, the exhaustion, the inability to do anything, work or home stuff just getting delayed and having no interest in anything.  I thought I was just getting old!  I hated myself and my lifestyle but all that was in the past, it didn't do me any good reflecting back like that but that's what you do to yourself.  I know a lot better now of course.

Then there's the 6 monthly check to see if the Cancer has returned or not, you are never really free from this.

This all sounds very downbeat but it's more a case of saying that despite the fact that I'm here, quite well and clear of Cancer, there is still so much more work to do to get me out of the place I find myself in.  Gradually I'm getting there but very slowly.  I hate to admit it but I'm still struggling to get myself in a "good place" where I'm comfortable with my survival and my lot.  It is terribly difficult to describe this "place" to anyone and even here I haven't done it justice.  Of course things are a hell of a lot better now than 6 years ago but the internal damage still remains and the brain stuff never quite leaves you.

Moving on

It was dad's birthday yesterday and mum was OK until reminded of the fact but there you go, it i bound to be pretty awful and these constant reminders are things to be dealt with and to move on.  Things are what they are and that's it, move on.  Easy for me to say but then again, if I dwelt on the past too much I'd be fit for nothing and it's the same about the future.  I was impressed by Dale Carnegie's take on this and I've probably mentioned it before in this blog but as I will paraphrase here, you cannot do anything about the past, it is history and you can't change it and whilst you may be sorry for what you did (or didn't do) it's in the past and you cannot alter it. The future hasn't happened and if you worry about that it isn't constructive you have to live in the now, today as tomorrow may not happen.  Another friend died whilst I was away, suspected heart attack and there's my dilemma all over again.  I see this and I tend to live by this if I can.  I realise that I need to do something about my future and to live my life on a day to day basis and live for the day and for the moment.  The trouble is that it is just me that wants to do this.

So, for me, my dad is dead and I wasn't particularly emotional about it yesterday (his birthday) or today.  My brother seems to be having it bad, probably worse than my mum and the trouble is that there is nothing you can do about it and it happens - that's the way things are and getting all het up and steamed up about it doesn't solve anything at all.  I certainly remembered my dad yesterday and considered that there was no way he'd want me to be upset or choked up.  There's only good things to remember, fun and happy times, my education and what I am, surely they are things to celebrate and keep the memory alive.  Not sure that dwelling on such things actually achieves anything.  I've said it before, when I see my dad's photo I smile because it reminds me of good times.  Realistically we all have to die and it isn't nice but that's the cards we are dealt with and no matter what I do I can't reverse history as much as I want to.  I don't think I'm callous or being disrespectful, it is just what it is and can be no other way and getting all upset and emotional isn't going to do a lot really.  I don't decry that some people deal with it this way but it's time to move on and live your own life because, it is pretty short and it isn't a rehearsal, you can't go back and make it right.

So, time to move on, live your own life and whilst being respectful, realise that there but by the grace of God go I.  I'm alive thanks very much and that's great, time to get on and use the time left to do what you have and want to and try and do it without let or hinderance.  Throwing off the shackles of the past - damn difficult thing to do.  I like the following clip though - my business partner and I often say this to each other when getting caught up in the past and the circumstances we find ourselves in - ENJOY :-)  

Marvels of Engineering

On the journey up to Northumberland was very fast, faster than I remember it in the past but the roads are much better and we were already part of the way there.  I had planned to make two stops at some marvels of modern engineering or perhaps art.

The first was the Angel of the North.   It was cold and blowing a bit of a gale but we got out of the car and went and had a walk around anyway.

That's my mum at the bottom of the sculpture just to give you a rough idea of scale.  we were lucky that we had mostly sunny weather but it was very cold on this day and we certainly needed layers on as it was so windy and bitterly cold.

There is a new attraction not far on from here called Northumberlandia. There is a sculpture here on a massive scale "human landform sculpture of a reclining lady. Made of 1.5 million tonnes of rock, clay and soil, she is 100 feet high and a quarter of a mile long." we walked around it and my pictures hardly do it justice.  There is a good idea of what it looks like from the air here.  My pictures just show the ground level view:

It is on an amazing scale and was only open at the weekend as it is about to be officially opened later this month.  I was most impressed with the scale of the vision but you don't get too much of an idea even climbing the viewing areas. 

It was good to see them though and broke the journey up but we were still 4 hours too early to get into our Apartment so we visited a Garden Centre not far from here and then stopped at a lovely Inn for lunch which we found to be just 10 minutes drive away.  It had fabulous views over the local countryside out to the faraway hills and over towards Holy Island.  The Cat Inn - nice food and nice staff too.

And so we arrived at the Apartment a little too early but there was a parking place further on overlooking the sea and we sat in the car for about 30 minutes and were then able to get into the Apartment and unload the car.  A few hours later it was time to collect Mrs. F. from the train station and then we did some shopping and settled into for the night.

Dad's Birthday

Today, 7th October.  I really wanted to be away with mum and to have a day out, nice meal maybe or just doing something.  As luck would have it she is out with my brother and his family, one of the grandchildren hosting a meal for her so that will be good.  I just know it isn't going to be a good day but I'm sure that she will appreciate not being on her own later today.

It was good to get mum out of the house.  It has been 12 years since she had a holiday of any sort and we learnt just how reliant dad had become on mum especially in the past 4 or 5 years especially.  It's easy to see given the 20/20 vision that hindsight provides that he had been ill for quite some time, he even knew himself but could never quite put his finger on it.  Mum did well considering that Mrs. F. and I are walkers and we did wear her out a bit :-) What was nice was that she wandered around with us and we had a good time.  She even got herself back to the apartment on her own by bus whilst we walked about 3 miles back around the coast.  This is good news as the one thing we want is for her to get out and about and not to be stuck at home.  It wasn't the sort of holiday that we normally have but it was fun nonetheless to go around and see the north eastern edge of England and the Scottish border country.  

Highlights included a trip to Holy Island (Lindisfarne) and seeing a Pod of Dolphins leaping about in the bay.  We had an apartment directly overlooking the sea and just a stones throw from the Promenade.  It certainly was nice to have the sea so near but quite interesting to have the constant sound of waves breaking as a background soundtrack.

I've settled down a bit during the week and had the time I want to think things through.  A couple of job offers have come my way which I need to follow up this week.  I've got some clarity in my head about things but I need to ask some searching questions of those around me and I need to broach some difficult subjects.  I'm pretty much resigned to go along with what may happen in the short term with these job prospects but feel that I might prefer to run my own show still and perhaps doing the research business.  Alternatives still include working further out in the country or abroad for a while or (if my brain will let me) just take on a job that I'd enjoy doing rather than one that pays any real money.  There were jobs I saw on holiday that seemed interesting to do but probably wouldn't pay much where you could enjoy the work although wouldn't have much to show for it :-)

More as an when...

Of which more later

My "holiday" that is.  I'm back and once again have two of those moments in a car that I'd rather not have had.  One I'm overtaking a guy and the slow moving guy in front of him when the guy starts to come over on me seeing me at the very last moment and yet I was level with him when he started his manoeuvre and no indication that I could see. A BMW driver - enough said but another BMW driver around the corner from here decides that they will pass parked cars on their side coming over to my side of the road at high speed and almost causing a head on and they are remonstrating at me!  Pillocks.  One more, on motorway, all going at high speed except one in far right hand lane - had to undertake him whereon we see it is an old boy talking on a mobile phone oblivious of his surroundings, then he comes over to the inside lane but I see him retake position in the outside lane in my rear view!  Where do we get these people from and why hasn't the gene pool sorted them out yet - they should all be dead the way they were driving!

So - back home after a good week and some days.  Internet was intermittent and very very slow tethered to my phones so will have to update in the blog over the next few days.

A Reminder if I needed it

That Bladder Cancer can be fatal.  Andy Williams, aged 84 died today from it.  Read about it here.  At the same time, the same web site reported this "Cancer death rates set for a 'dramatic fall'" which they predict by 2030.  However, despite Bladder Cancer being the number 4 cancer, it doesn't appear on here.

It's a reminder, should I need it, that what I had could have killed me and may still do so.   I can't seem to get those close to me to understand what that feels like and what it means and how it alters your view and judgement.  I suppose they went through the possibility of what might happen to me but perhaps it doesn't impact as much as it isn't happening to you.  It is a bit like that moment in Lord of the Rings were Frodo is told that the burden to bear the Ring is his alone.  

There's something to be said for having experienced the life changing event that cancer presents you but only you "get it" fully and realise what it means.  

Andy Williams, dare I say I bought one of his records when I first started buying such things as a teenager although I'm blowed if I can remember what it was - perhaps the theme from the Godfather?  It's a good reminder to me to take this stuff seriously. 

Getting Ready to go

I have to admit to being a little excited about going away for a short while and I've just spent the morning sorting out the tyres with this puncture proof stuff.  It was actually pretty quick and I had all 4 tyres done in about an hour.  I've just taken the car for a run and it feels OK so far.  I have an air compressor which makes pumping up tyres OK but I normally rely on a proper tyre pressure gauge.  And where is the tyre pressure gauge?  You've guessed it - or rather like me you haven't, it is in Mrs. F's handbag and she is at work!  You can't make it up!

I'm going to phone the owner of the place later today to arrange getting the keys etc and I also need to clean the car (if possible) as it is raining on and off.  Perhaps I'll just make sure the internal windows are clean!

Not sure if I'll be doing any blogging until I get back so it could get lonesome here for a while.  I've started to get some good feelings about what I could do work-wise but got one hell of a shock when I looked at recommencing my University studies as they are now charging a hell of a lot more than when I was doing it before.  I'd have to be raking in the money to consider that.  Hopefully I can set my head straight this coming week and set out some initial plans of where to go next.

Out, Again

A visitor at yet another Lodge meeting.  As Master of my Lodge I get to go to lots of meetings as an honoured guest.  It's nice but I have at least 28 engagements to fill between now and June next year!  Plus I have a number of events that I'm invited to out of courtesy and some of those I should go to.

Luckily Mrs. F. can drive me to meet up with Flocky who is also going along and I can get a lift off of him there and back.

Tomorrow I'm going to clean the car, use this sticky non puncture stuff inside the Tyres, pack and get ready to go away on Thursday and take my mum away for a bit of a break.  She deserves a little break and to get away from things.  It will be nice to see the family up north and then go for a week by the seaside and just potter around.  I've found out how to tether my phone to my PC and also can now use this phone in the car via my Sat Nav so I'm pretty much set up.

Feeling a bit more "upbeat" about things today in terms of being able to think straight.  Had some more thoughts about my possible business and just need to expand on these a bit.  It would be nice to "make a living" from a business as opposed to making a business and not living.  I think I could make a good case for work life balance but would need to do some sums on that and make sure it makes sense and that I can make ends meet.

A good day, at last, feeling a bit more positive and a bit better about things which is nice.  Getting towards relaxing ready for Thursday onwards and time isn't important.  Quality and enjoyment, relaxing and taking it easy are.

So where do I start?

Let's start with a sad story - I heard today that someone I am acquainted with through a long convoluted process is dying of cancer.  He's 80 days over what they gave him and counting and continuing blogging about the experience.  I suppose the good thing is that people are talking about it. It's another one of those stories where you feel utterly helpless because you survived and it's no good me telling him what may or may not have worked for me.  I have no idea what he's been through, how he's lived his life etc.

What was distressing is that he was made bankrupt some time ago and now that he is dying, they are taking away a great chunk of his insurance payout instead of it being for his wife, it is going to pay creditors.  That seems wrong somehow and he wasn't informed that this was going to happen way back when but way back when he wasn't going to die from cancer!  Life can deal a series of low blows.  When you think you are looking after your kith and kin, the Government and the Tax guys can come and get you.  You certainly can't cheat on HM Customs no matter what the excuse.  It just adds to the burden that he is going through as he knows it's only time and that is borrowed he is on now.

So that's not where I was going to start at all but one of the things that I've understood by this episode is that it probably isn't going to make a big difference what I do for the next ten years or so.  I might need to consider myself already partially retired and to start to look at strategies for keeping active and with it as well as making a living.  I looked for jobs today and whilst some of them looked OK I realise that I can't come from senior management and multi million pound responsibility into a job kneading dough, sweeping floors and tidying tables any more than I can enter Government as the next PM.  I looked at Christmas jobs and they look interesting but here's a problem, I actually have social things I'm booked for and taking a day off here and there isn't going to cut it.  

This means that I've sort of answered one of the main questions and it's a fundamental part of the decision process.  I need to have a job that's flexible and works around what I want to do in the future (whatever that may be).  It very much scuppers a 9 to 5 existence and so that means that I need to be creative with whatever job I do so that it allows me this loose existence and to spend time on my own personal pursuits.  It also means that there is a level of income that I need to meet.  That's the challenge I need to look at next.  At the moment I'm bringing nothing in so anything will be a bonus!  What do I need is the next question?  As a friend of mine buys a car for more than I can hope to earn in 2 years what is important to me?  That's the other bit of the puzzle.  It's surely better to have a healthy and good life than loads of material things but it would always help to have a bit more money.  It's a balancing act that is very difficult to gauge.

Up and down, up and down

It really is getting worse with age I'm sure of it.  I shouldn't be surprised about this.  My father suffered from these depressed moments for much of his life and I shouldn't be surprised that I do to.  Additionally, I forget that I've been through a bit of a trauma with Bladder Cancer and it takes away huge amounts of your self confidence and strips you of your inner self belief and the bullet proof, indestructible, brush off and start again resilient you is laid bare and exposed for all the see and you're as vulnerable and exposed as a new born.  

It's far more than being seriously ill, there's the edge of the seat stuff, there's the six monthly check ups which despite so far all being good, might just one day realise your fears and there you are with a recurrence.  You see other people around you not as fortunate who are diagnosed and fall by the wayside and that reminds you, whether you need it or not, just how fortunate you are.  Then there's the experience of seeing someone going through the throes of terminal cancer, someone close to you, and then it hits home.

I find myself berating my current ineptitude, my procrastination, my inability to work out what to do next and I give myself a hard time and for what?  Currently I'm lacking direction and I'm putting off facing the future.  So presently I have up and down days and whilst I'm pushing myself to get going (Monza, Southampton and Scotland trips) it still isn't building the head of steam I want in terms of deciding what to do next.  Kipling's six honest serving men:


"I keep six honest serving-men
 (They taught me all I knew);
Their names are What and Why and When 
 And How and Where and Who.
I send them over land and sea,
 I send them east and west;
But after they have worked for me,
 I give them all a rest.

I let them rest from nine till five,
 For I am busy then,
As well as breakfast, lunch, and tea,
 For they are hungry men.
But different folk have different views; 
I know a person small—
She keeps ten million serving-men,
Who get no rest at all!

She sends'em abroad on her own affairs,
 From the second she opens her eyes—
One million Hows, two million Wheres,
And seven million Whys!"


The Elephant's Child - Rudyard Kipling

So What, Why, When, How, Where and Who are rattling around in my head and not getting answered or only partly answered.  I can find one answer but not every question gets an affirmative.  It's like a life game of Rubik's Cube just when you think you've got the answer and it will all work out, you get to a position as bad as when you started :-) 

For someone who was massively confident (and needed to project that) Cancer tore that down and left a façade remaining, someone who could still present themselves as such when needed but it's a veneer, tissue thin and easy to rip and tear down.  I suppose I can't really compare it with what used to be any more, it is in the past after all.  This is what I've got now but it is hard to deal with as you go out of your way to protect yourself from things that might puncture and deflate what little confidence you have left.  By that I mean that where I could easily get a job would actually be the worst place for me.  The cut and thrust of what I used to do would leave me drained emotionally and physically and I have no doubt that living that lifestyle invariably had a direct impact on my health.  Indeed, having escaped once, why would I go back into the Lion's den and try for a second go?  It doesn't make sense.

Of course, I've talked about "my" feelings and the problem is that I'm concious of what other people think about me too.  I know that it doesn't have much to do with them but there is some unseen pressure here I feel to get back to "normal" whatever that may be.  If you've not had cancer or a serious illness - a life threatening one - that could kill you - perhaps it doesn't make sense that there would be some "brain damage" some rewiring of the synapses that makes you think in a totally different way to the way you used to think years ago.

Today is a down day, tomorrow will be up as I'm going out, winter's coming and the dark mornings and evenings don't help.  A year ago we were working flat out to get the business investor ready and come November it will be a year since that milestone.  It's been just 4 months since we closed the business down and in those 4 months I've not really got that far although I've "done things" I haven't made much progress in terms of decisions but I've got lots of research and I've ruled a number of avenues out altogether.  The break coming up later this week might just help me get somewhere.  A week by the sea might help me calm down and rationalise things.

Ever get one of "those" moments

Tonight I thought "let's just kick it all in to touch."

Walk away from all my commitments and just drop everything.  Suddenly it felt like all the things I do for fun were actually holding me back somehow, were making demands on my time, weren't important and strangely I just thought what if they weren't there?  What if I didn't have to go out every Monday between now and next May and go to all these meetings.  Strange but the moment passed almost as quickly as it had arrived and went back into the subconscious.

Being (generally) a measured sort of person who very occasionally goes off the rails, of course I wouldn't do rash things but I've been thinking that maybe I ought to.  Maybe I ought to just cut loose on what I'm thinking at a particular moment or do something that for me might appear irrational.  

I doubt I would, it really isn't in my nature to do that.  It felt for a short time to be liberating and yet the danger being that it would be a moment of non logical, ill thought through action and that's not me either, well not most of the time.

The spark was seeing a Lock Keeper on a TV programme and I thought that looks nice, I'd like that, in the open air, in the country lots to do and see.  Yet, the Lock Keeper's wife didn't like it, had spent 30 years not really liking it.  It was "boring" and she "sat around doing jigsaw puzzles" and yet there was so much that you could do, the local fruit and harvest from all around, the beautiful countryside, you could learn to paint or take up photography or something.  I remember this sort of thing when I went to the Highlands of Scotland and mentioned to a local the wonderful vista looking out of the Loch and the Mountains and they said that they didn't really notice them.  There, out of our rented cottage window was the most wonderful landscape and only we appreciated it.

I feel that my mind is a bit fanciful at the moment.  I think I know what I'd like to do but it seems self indulgent and I cannot tell whether it will make me sufficient money to actually do it.  I need to work on it but my attention is peculiarly drawn to getting the hell out of where I am right now.  I yearn for the country (yes I know I live pretty close to it) and a simpler way of life, less demanding, more rewarding, more friendly, more fulfilling and I don't think I can get all of that here.  I think I can carve out a life for myself and perhaps make my way but I'm really not that certain about that and I'd need to be pretty certain that what I decide now will take me in the direction I want to go in - I just don't know what that direction is yet.

As I wrote earlier, you can't change your life in one big bang way, it isn't going to happen, or it isn't going to happen easily.  

Batten down the hatches

Lots of rain and wind on the way apparently.  It's been raining here all day long and it is set to get worse so they say.  

I've done a bit more to the bathroom and filled the door.  That now needs sanding down once again to allow me to gloss paint it.  I need to order some tyre sealant for my car.  Two tyres were down on pressure once again and I'm fed up with going and getting them resealed. I am therefore going to do it myself this time using tyre sealant (non puncture).  I'm going to ring the suppliers in the morning to see if I can get the stuff next day so I can actually do this on Wednesday when, hopefully, the weather will have passed over.  

I'm off on Thursday to pick up my mum and take her off to see her sister-in-law and nephew and niece for a couple of days and then we can head off for a weeks holiday which I'm looking forward to as I want to see if I can start to set out my future.  

Surprising what a mess I can make

I needed to prepare the bathroom door for painting but it was in a pretty bad state with 80 odd years of paint built up on it and I've taken away the hardboard cover to expose the real panelling.  Of course that has left pock marks all over the door.  So I decided to sand it down ready for filling.  The dust is absolutely everywhere!  Not a lot I could do though as it has to be done.  My hands are somewhat springy as with 3 or 4 hours of electric sanding I have a sort of RSI in my arms.  anyway, it is done now and I've cleared up the dust as far as possible.

There you go.  I'm now booked to go to Scotland which has pleased my mate and the lads in Scotland.  It sounds great.  I'm hoping that I can sort out a suitable way to get myself organised for that.

Cannot Change Your Life in One Go

Mmmm, that's sound advice indeed.  It appears that I have forgotten that particular maxim in my deliberations. 

There's a good argument to take some sort of job now whilst I sort myself out.  For the next week or so I'll be able to take time out to think as I take mum off to see her sister-in-law and nephew and niece then take her away for a week up to the Northumberland Coast..

I've definitely not been thinking straight - unusual for me but there are more than just facts to handle here, there's emotions and things that just aren't quantifiable around family, friends, pastimes and so on.  So where it's normally a case of applied logic and almost mathematical analysis, it needs to be a lot more intuitive this time around. 

Booked! Yay!

Not sure Mrs. F. is totally pleased that I am going to Scotland but there you go, I've booked the flight and got a further discount.  That's really useful so I can go to Southampton, stay overnight and get to the airport (a mere 4 miles away) and fly up to Glasgow.  Sweet.

I enjoyed my time at Strathaven  a few years ago and they missed me last year.  My friend and I did a little "turn" or skit brilliantly found by Flocky Bicep.  We performed this in front of about 120 people and it brought the house down.  We are now struggling to find something equally amusing for two players to do.

Here is the skit itself:

If Nelson was alive today


Nelson: “Order the signal, Hardy.”
Hardy: “Aye, aye sir.”
Nelson: “Hold on, that’s not what I dictated to Flags. What’s the meaning of this?”
Hardy: “Sorry sir?”
Nelson (reading aloud): “‘England expects every person to do his or her duty, regardless of race, gender, sexual orientation, religious persuasion or disability.’ – What gobbledegook is this?” 
Hardy: “Admiralty policy, I’m afraid, sir. We’re an equal opportunities employer now. We had the devil’s own job getting ‘England’ past the censors, lest it be considered racist.”
Nelson: “Gadzooks, Hardy. Hand me my pipe and tobacco.” 
Hardy: “Sorry sir. All naval vessels have now been designated smoke-free working environments.”
Nelson: “In that case, break open the rum ration. Let us splice the mainbrace to steel the men before battle.” 
Hardy: “The rum ration has been abolished, Admiral. Its part of the Government’s policy on binge drinking.”
Nelson: “Good heavens, Hardy. I suppose we’d better get on with it ……….. full speed ahead.” 
Hardy: “I think you’ll find that there’s a 4 knot speed limit in this stretch of water.”
Nelson: “Damn it man! We are on the eve of the greatest sea battle in history. We must advance with all dispatch. Report from the crow’s nest please.”
Hardy: “That won’t be possible, sir.”
Nelson: “What?” 
Hardy: “Health and Safety have closed the crow’s nest, sir. No harness, and they said that rope ladders don’t meet regulations. They won’t let anyone up there until a proper scaffolding can be erected.” 
Nelson: “Then get me the ship’s carpenter without delay, Hardy.” 
Hardy: “He’s busy knocking up a wheelchair access to the foredeck Admiral.”
Nelson: “Wheelchair access? I’ve never heard anything so absurd.” 
Hardy: “Health and safety again, sir. We have to provide a barrier-free environment for the differently abled.”
Nelson: “Differently abled? I’ve only one arm and one eye and I refuse even to hear mention of the word. I didn't rise to the rank of admiral by playing the disability card.”
Hardy: “Actually, sir, you did. The Royal Navy is under represented in the areas of visual impairment and limb deficiency.”
Nelson: “Whatever next? Give me full sail. The salt spray beckons.” 
Hardy: “A couple of problems there too, sir. Health and safety won’t let the crew up the rigging without hard hats. And they don’t want anyone breathing in too much salt – haven’t you seen the adverts?”
Nelson: “I’ve never heard such infamy. Break out the cannon and tell the men to stand by to engage the enemy.” 
Hardy: “The men are a bit worried about shooting at anyone, Admiral.”
Nelson: “What? This is mutiny!” 
Hardy: “It’s not that, sir. It’s just that they’re afraid of being charged with murder if they actually kill anyone. There’s a couple of legal-aid lawyers on board, watching everyone like hawks.”
Nelson: “Then how are we to sink the Frenchies and the Spanish?” 
Hardy: “Actually, sir, we’re not.”
Nelson: “We’re not?”
Hardy: “No, sir. The French and the Spanish are our European partners now. According to the Common Fisheries Policy, we shouldn’t even be in this stretch of water. We could get hit with a claim for compensation.”
Nelson: “But you must hate a Frenchman as you hate the devil.” 
Hardy: “I wouldn’t let the ship’s diversity co-ordinator hear you saying that sir. You’ll be up on disciplinary report.”
Nelson: “You must consider every man an enemy, who speaks ill of your King.” 
Hardy: “Not any more, sir. We must be inclusive in this multicultural age. Now put on your Kevlar vest; it’s the rules. It could save your life”
Nelson: “Don’t tell me – health and safety. Whatever happened to rum, sodomy and the lash?” 
Hardy: As I explained, sir, rum is off the menu! And there’s a ban on corporal punishment.”
Nelson: “What about sodomy?” 
Hardy: “I believe that is now legal, sir.”
Nelson: “In that case………………………….kiss me, Hardy.”

My mate is a great straight man and I camped up the Hardy role and after a few beers it made for a great evening.

Quiz Night

Wow - we just won the first three rounds of the Quiz Night.  After all these years of doing it, we had an extra person on board, my business partner, and the numbers just came up right for us.  So between the 5 of us we won £30 which was sweet.

We didn't win the jackpot being one number short - but that could have been £100 on top of the £30.

Lots of trouble of course in the village for that - I mean to win one round is Ok but 3 of 4 is unheard of.  Well, as I've always said, it's more about the fun of taking part and we are quite a funny little group and keep the others amused with our biffer answers and impersonations - I managed to get at least three good Monty Python quotes in to the mix to confuse the other teams :-)

Feeling quite good and also looks as if I can make the trip to Scotland after all.  I am due in Southampton on the day that the guys go to Scotland.  However, I can fly from Southampton to Glasgow and so that will allow me to get to the meeting once again where before it seemed impossible.  Thanks goodness for cheap flights and for lateral thinking!

My Eulogy for my Dad

I think that after 11 or 12 weeks I can get around to publishing the edited version of the tribute I gave for my dad.  I've changed names to initials where needed.


Good morning and thank you for coming to support us today.  We hope that you will also be able to join us afterwards at the C Hotel 

Before I talk about Dad, both Mum and I wish to take this opportunity to thank T and S for their invaluable support.  They’ve been available at a moments notice around the clock when dad has needed attention at home.  They have provided mum with transport to and from the Hospital, which is a long way from the house, over many weeks, and on more times than we would have liked.  They’ve shared some of the most traumatic moments of this past year and have been by mum’s side supporting her during each and every one of them.  

T and S - Thank you for being there for mum and for dad.  We hope that you can now take a well earned break and not be on edge all the time waiting and wondering what the next phone call will bring.

I know that It goes without saying, but I’m going to say it anyway, that mum, throughout dad’s illness, has been with him every step of this roller coaster journey and she has been at his side throughout and I know that dad appreciated that you were there being a loving and familiar face in scary, unfamiliar and sometimes unpleasant or bewildering surroundings.  Thank you for caring for dad the way you have and for being there for him.  I know that you would have had it no other way but we thank you nonetheless for that.

So what can we say about Dad?  You can’t sum a life up in 5 minutes and I don’t intend to do so but perhaps I can just give you a flavour of what he was like and just a few reflections on what life could be like in the F household.  

Dad was a very private and in some ways enigmatic man, I doubt many of us TRULY knew him fully.  He worked hard, he had an encyclopaedic mind and was quick witted.  He was a very practical man a shrewd and intelligent business man.  He travelled extensively throughout the Middle East and the rest of the world and was lucky to escape from the Lebanon when the crisis kicked off there back in the late 70s and early 80s.  

Dad loved gardening as T and I can testify having been “encouraged” to help turn over and then double dig the clay sodden ground of the appropriately named Claywood Close, in Orpington when we moved there from London in 1967.  It was there that T and I hit, with a resounding and echoing thud, what we thought - with our over active young minds - must and could only have been a second world war bomb buried in the mud and it was dad who carefully checked and found it to be the submerged trunk of a large tree ploughed into the ground by the builders.  

We also spent many days creosoting the enormous fence around the garden for pocket money something that would have Health and Safety people going bonkers today. There was no minimum wage in 1967 but knowing mum and dad we probably got paid over the odds and it supplemented our pocket money very nicely indeed.

Once finished, Claywood Close was an amazing riot of colour and had a huge vegetable plot and mum and dad produced one of many amazing gardens there and in fact all their subsequent houses.  It was one of dad’s great joys and the floral arrangement on his coffin reflects his great love of flowers and of their wonderful colours.  He knew all the Latin names of the flowers, shrubs and trees and where they’d thrive best and his vegetables were amazing, it was like having your own Geoff Hamilton or Alan Titchmarsh in the house.  

T and I probably didn’t get the health benefits of all those home grown vegetables.  Back then T and I thought a packet of Rowntrees fruit pastilles would deliver your 5 a day and we probably still think that today.

Dad was a great lover of music and we have tried to reflect some of that today but with such varied artists as Queen (one of his favourites), the Rolling Stones, Status Quo, Country and Western and Traditional Jazz in dad’s collection to choose from it proved difficult.  We hope you enjoy the choices and that he would to.  I was going to explain, but you can ask us later, why we had the Acker Bilk songs.

The house was a happy musical place, although I’m not sure that all of T’s and my music choices were always fully appreciated.  If the music got too loud and we didn’t turn it down when asked, dad would pull the fuse out and all the power would go off to our bedrooms rendering our record players useless.

Together with my Trumpet, dad’s and my electric guitars, Tony’s drum kit and dad’s keyboard we must have been great neighbours to live next door to when we got together to make music (well we called it music).  

It’s not a widely known fact but my dad was the greatest cricketer in the world, he was also the best footballer, the fastest runner and the best table tennis player or at least he was in our back garden.  To us he was Freddie Truman, Brian Close, Bobby Moore, Bobby Charlton and Gordon Banks all rolled into one and as every child knows, their dad is a superhero, indestructible and totally brilliant at absolutely everything.  

We learnt how to trap and strike a football, how to bowl an off break, why you polished the cricket ball on one side, how to play a forward defensive stroke, bowl a googly or thrash a loose ball to the boundary.  He was a demon at Table Tennis too and had a table tennis trophy to prove it.  He even built us a table tennis table which saw plenty of action. 

He played a mean game of cards and a shrewd hand of dominos too and like his dad, my granddad, he wasn’t averse to dropping a biffer in every now and then, you have to watch out for those Fs I can tell you!

Not only in the field of sports was he proficient he also taught us woodwork, how to saw straight “let the tool do the work” he would say, how to hang wallpaper, paint, lay bricks, plaster, and he taught us electrics and plumbing too. 

Dad loved doing crosswords; he enjoyed Science Fiction books and got great pleasure from modern technology and what science could now do.  Often he would reflect on how things he had read about as a young man had come true especially Rockets and landing men on the moon, computers, mobile phones, medical advances and the like.  Dad was always well read and could talk to you on almost any subject you wanted to bring up.

Dad had a keen and shall we say “well developed” sense of humour.  We call it the F sense of humour, it can be pretty dark, it can be downright stupid and it can be witheringly funny too.  Even just a few weeks ago, when a nurse asked if she could take his blood pressure he said, "as long as you bring it back again afterwards!"  His sense of humour and stoicism and dare I say bravery saw him through these past difficult months.  He battled on and whilst there were some pretty bad days he kept courteous and polite and he tried to bring his humour to bear throughout. 

Always the joker, on one occasion he kept other patients amused by holding up two urinal bottles to either side of his head looking like an over sized Shrek character.  His final admission to hospital was due to a fall and even that became known as Dad’s “Del boy moment” as he crashed through the door of the bathroom.  He managed a wry smile when we told him that one.  

Dad adored the humour and sometimes silliness of films and shows like Airplane, Only Fools and Horses and Dad’s Army as well as comedians like Tommy Cooper, Eric Sykes, the Two Ronnies, and of course Morecambe and Wise.  We’d be watching these with him rolling around with laughter and it was even funnier if mum didn’t get the joke or see the funny side as that would make us laugh even harder.  It’s fair to say that we had lots of fun growing up with mum and dad.

It could only be him who on one occasion sent his sons off to the playing fields looking for Sheep’s feathers.  It kept us happy for hours and hours until we finally twigged what was going on.

As I said earlier, Dad enjoyed Cross words and puzzles of all kinds – he could normally complete the Telegraph crossword in around 10 minutes – it would take me that long to get just one answer – in fact it still does.  He was brilliant at doing things on Countdown and programmes like University Challenge.

He used to ‘wind up’ some of our fellow commuters on the train.  Sometimes, when the crossword was particularly difficult, he would make a large gesture of folding his newspaper early on in the journey and looking at the city gents struggling to fill in theirs, he would sit back and say “that was an easy one this morning” and smile.  

He was a bit of a rascal too as he would get us to arrive early at the station and he would sit in someone’s regular seat.  They’d spend the journey up to London rattling their newspapers at him or mumbling things like “I say Gerald, isn’t that chap in your seat?”  T and I had difficulty keeping a straight face on these occasions and would set each other off trying not to laugh.  

On other occasions he would throw his voice and make cat meowing noises whilst people would be looking around searching for the poor non existent creature.

Dad used to drive mum to distraction sometimes with his japes getting an “Ern, get away with you!” or something like that.  Life was never dull in the F household.  He’d drive the car on the white line of the road when there were no other cars around to get mum to tell him to “Ern, get off the cats eyes”.  He’d carry on doing it to see just how far he’d get before getting a bash on his arm.  T and I would be scorned not to encourage him but that was part of the fun of going out on an expedition in the car and dad was always up for a laugh.

Dad was a man of promptness and celerity he would hate to be late and by now he’d be looking at his watch, shuffling his feet, lifting his eyebrows and rolling his eyes at me for making a long speech and he’d be horrified that I was saying nice things about him so I’ll end with this.

We remember Ernie, our dad, with a great deal of affection and with enormous pride.  We are very fortunate that he and mum were together for 56 years and we are grateful for their love and the solid family home and foundation they built for us.  He was a great dad, a fabulous granddad, a funny and a generous man and above all he was a really nice bloke and we will miss him dearly.

“So Long Dad” 
Be good 
Oh yes - And if you can’t be good, be careful.


I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed (I think that is the right word) composing and delivering it.  He was indeed a very special man after all.  He'd just hat for me to say it that's all :-)

Cheapskate Manufacturers

Mmm.  The new towel rail cost a lot of money for what it is so why when you have an expensive piece of equipment do they provide cheap inferior screws?  I don't know either but having one sheer off as I was screwing it home - thereby losing the thread in the wall and not being able to retrieve it is a colossal fail and a further waste of my time.  On top of that the shower tidy looks great but comes with 2 screws where patently it needs 4 to secure it properly!

This lack of attention to detail and obvious design flaws are so common that I am certain that in everything I have done in the bathroom I have had to compromise, adjust and make good mainly because no one has actually installed these things in real life.  Pah!

I totally forgot that this time next week I will be away with my mum starting a week's vacation, taking her away for a break.  It has been 12 years since she has been away and also, I hadn't quite realised that she probably hasn't been on her own in 20 or more years.  Dad needed a lot of attention (I think that is the right way to put it).  She went out today up to the village and got in a bit of a mini panic attack.  Sad isn't it?  Understandable but I hope that a week will be a good investment and that mum will enjoy some time away from the house and we can get to see some nice attractions and the coastline is meant to be amazing.

We will have to make sure we don't tire her out :-)

Reflections on a way of life

I was taken by the way life is led in Italy.  Not perhaps in Rome but in Bologna which I found to be a most charming city.  It is a trap that one can often fall into when on holiday and you think about the idyllic life, a "lifestyle" business venture.  The restaurant was a case in point.  

The chef, as we left, was sat at the table, drinking a beer and possibly a Grappa, smoking, playing cards with some locals.  We customers were left to finish off our drinks, shake hands with him and the waiters and wander away after a memorable experience that cost far less than a meal, a night at the theatre etc :-)  For a reasonable amount of money we had spent a gastronomic and entertaining evening in the company of people who not only enjoyed what they did, but shared that joy with you.  It was infectious as they were passionate about food and if you asked a question they delighted in telling you where the food came from, how it was prepared and so on.  When you said that you enjoyed some particular part they beamed from ear to ear with pleasure and gratitude.  Their work was done, it was the thrill a performer gets from applause, the comedian gets from laughter.  It had nothing to do with Michelin Stars or anything like that.  There is no huge tourist industry in Bologna and so many people were Italian and so this was no show for the tourist either.

What impressed me was the genuine joy of this one restaurant in the world, in a tiny back street, in a place that not many tourists go - there was no rip off pricing or difference between one and another, we paid what the locals paid and we enjoyed and joined in with the experience as much as they did.  Frankly this attitude is rare in the UK.  I think you do find it in small out of the way places and quaint villages.  I've seen something approaching this in the deep in the country pubs where enthusiasm and home fare make a pleasant change from the city and townscape pervaded by chain shops.  All High Streets look the same with their Costa, Starbucks, Dominos, Tesco, Sainsburys, McDonalds and so on.  You can go to any town or city in the UK and they all look like each other.  That cannot be said for Italy or France for example.

There's no identity in the UK, no personality no passion for service although where you do find the odd pocket of it, they tend to thrive.  Small restaurants with a reputation tend to be where it is at.

There's also a line between living and running a business to balance things too I think.  I imagine that the restaurant we went to was successful and that he made a reasonable living as did the waiters and staff.  It wasn't being made into a chain or franchise, it was what it was, had been always stuck away down a back street and there was no need to make so much money as people were satisfied with what they had.

It's an interesting set of variables to be added to my review of what I want to do next.  Without doubt this chap was really good at what he did and his staff were as passionate about food,drink, service etc as he was and that made a huge difference.  I doubt anyone was paid mega money either but being at work, enjoying their jobs and enjoying a laid back life just seemed to do it for me.  Something that allowed you to express yourself like that and to have the environment (and that's also important) to not be expected to be constantly climbing the greasy pole also play a part.

Wow Spammed

In my inbox loads of comments for this blog but none appear here.  Good old Blogger software managed to pick out the spammy nature of the comments and not one of them got through.  Yipee.

Back from Southampton before midnight which is pretty good I have to say.  We were expecting a 1 am return but the roads were clear both ways and we had a good journey.  Have to say that it was a good meeting and the food was nice, if anything there was a bit too much time between meeting and food but they needed to set that up so I had a few more Gin and Tonics than normal - in fact, it has become my latest tipple.  Normally I'd have a scotch but I find a nice long Gin really hits the spot!  

Had a brief chat with Flocky Bicep this evening on the way home, at least I got some of the frustration of my present doldrums experience off my chest.