Passing on.

I learned last night that an old friend has passed away. I haven't seen him or his wife for about a year since I moved out of the village where I used to live with Madame.
Anyway, his passing has made me realise how lazy I am at keeping in touch with old friends. It starts to get to the stage that I'll end up only seeing them at the funerals of other old friends I've neglected. Having said that it works both ways and few of them have made the effort either but that isn't a reason for me to neglect them.
I must make a mid-year resolution to get back in touch with as many old friends as I can, who am I fooling, of course I won't I'll continue as I am bumbling along bumping into people here and there and losing touch with others because that is what I'm like.
We didn't even keep in touch with family over the years so I come by this apathetic approach to friendship honestly and will undoubtedly slip off this mortal coil myself still wondering how old such-and-such is getting along these days without bothering my butt to do anything about it.
So, if I'm not travelling I will attend my old pal's funeral, meet up with a few other old pals, make promises to stay in touch that none of us will keep and come back to my lair and wonder why I feel so lonesome at times.
And on that happy note I will say ttfn, Peace and Love.  x

I wish I had a plan.

I wish I had a plan. I say this to myself quite often and then I realise that I do have a plan. That plan is to rent my current living space until I reach 60 then retire and with my retirement lump sum buy a static caravan to live in during the Spring, Summer and Autumn months here in the UK. During the Winter months of December to February the idea is to close up the UK premises and decamp to somewhere warmer, preferably the far South West of the USA but failing that Spain or Portugal.
Now this seems to me to be an eminently doable plan most of the time. At other times I worry that I'll not be able to find a site that will let me do this for the required time or that my lump sum will not be sufficient or, I could go on but there isn't enough time to cover the minutiae of my worries. At these times I say to myself, I wish I had a plan, then realise that I do have a perfectly workable plan and so on ad infinitum long into the night.
All I have to do is hang on and make the best of what comes my way until the plan can be put into place. So next time I say I wish I had a plan, please feel free to tell me to button my lip and get on with the plan which I may have mentioned previously.
That, I think is enough piffle from me for now so Peace and Love, ttfn. x

35 Years

Today, April 2nd 2014 marks the 35th anniversary of my starting work in Southend-on-Sea. I was a young lad cast adrift in a strange town. Where has the time gone?
Two marriages, one engagement and many ups and downs later here I am sitting on my own in a rented house writing this.

As I see it I can look at my current situation in two ways:

(1) I am alone with no secure home and no-one to share my life with, or
(2) I am free to do what I want, when I want and go where I please with nothing holding me back.

Now, depending upon my mood I will be leaning one way or another. Currently, I'm feeling a little 'meh' so my inclination is somewhat towards (1) above but who knows when (2) will kick in? Sooner rather than later would be my desire but I will just go with the flow.

Until the next time Peace and Love. ttfn. x

Number 300

As this is blog post number 300 I want to make it special.
Today is Mothering Sunday in the UK. I'm all for mothers, I wouldn't be here without one so all-in-all I think mothers are a splendid idea. The fact that they are women is also an added bonus because along with loving mothers I have a particular fondness for women so we're on a winner all the way so far.

My only issue with Mothering Sunday is the huge amount of advertising that comes along with it. In that respect it is much like Father's Day, Valentine's Day and Christmas. Interestingly though Easter seems to be less of an over-hyped holiday in my opinion, I don't know why but apart from the pushing of choccy eggs and bunnies there is more of a All Quiet on the Easter Front thing going on. You might disagree of course and I value the right of people to hold divergent views from mine no matter how misguided they may be.

Anyway, as to Mothering Sunday, I will not call it Mother's Day, I think that a day to celebrate all the things that our mothers do for us and all the sacrifices they make and the worry they go through to make our lives as happy and safe as possible should be celebrated and lauded as much as is humanly possible. Yes, mothers are a splendid group of people.

Having said all of the above let's also remember those who for various reasons might not have cause to celebrate. Those mothers who have lost children, children who have lost mothers and people who are unable to have children should also be in our thoughts today.

And on that note I'll stop. I'm not sure if I succeeded in making number 300 special but regardless of that Happy Mothering Sunday, Peace and Love. ttfn x

I can't decide.

I can't decide whether I like London or not.
On the one hand it is a vibrant multicultural metropolis with so much to see and do that it would take a lifetime to cover everything it has to offer. On the other it is expensive, busy and smelly. While people rarely have the chance to take a breath and chew the fat with a stranger.
Being a country bumpkin I find it all a bit much to handle. I like the fact that where I am in Northumberland people have the time to say hello. The beautiful coastline and countryside are literally a breath of fresh air and people are rarely in a rush.
London isn't a bad place though, many of the people I meet through work are very pleasant and friendly, staff in shops and bars are generally polite enough although with everywhere being so busy they don't have the time to spend chatting like they would in a Northumberland pub or shop. On the whole though people don't go out of their way to be unfriendly, they are just preoccupied and busy.
You meet unpleasant people wherever you go, London doesn't have a monopoly on rude folks, I know a few round my way who could benefit from a manners transplant.
All in all I think that as a country boy London is a good place to visit but I certainly couldn't afford to live there either financially or emotionally and I'm always glad to get back to the comparative peace and tranquillity of good old Northumberland.
On that note I'm off to see if my eggs are boiled.
Peace and love, ttfn. x

Sitting

Sitting in a canteen
Cup of tea on board
Waiting for my first scene
Acting as a fraud

Will I be the main man?
Or will I be adviser?
If the choice is not mine
I'll be non the wiser.

The Sea

I wish the waves would eat me up at times and yet at others not.
Where would I be if I'm in the sea when better feelings come to me?