Almost all my phalaenopsis orchids are in flower at the moment. This is just one of the more stunning, taken a couple of days ago in natural daylight.
Today is one of those things that happens just once in a lifetime; a veritable Red Letter Day.
Today is Old Farts Day.
Because today is the day I officially become a fully paid up state-registered geriatric, having reached the exalted age of 65 years.
No, I don’t know how it’s happened, especially when my head still tells me I’m no more than 30, but my body thinks it’s 197?
I guess reality must be some variant of “split the difference”.
Of course I’m still as imperfect and useless as I always was, but the older I get the less I actually care.
As this time last year, this month’s “ten things” list is suitably topical.
Regular readers will recall that I don’t do new year resolutions. In general, especially the way we do them, I think new year resolutions just set you up to fail: we always try to eat the elephant in one go. I’m going to go to the gym every day is unrealistic; but going once or twice a week (which would be a good start) is perhaps achievable. And so on.
I also don’t believe in mortification of the flesh and making myself do things which I don’t enjoy. We’re always told to do things like yoga, listen to music, or drink tea as great stress busters — they’re fine if they work for you and you enjoy them. But there is one much, much better way to manage your stress: If you don’t enjoy it, don’t do it. And that applies, in triplicate, to new year resolutions!
Nevertheless here is a list of 10 things I am going to try to do in 2016, in no special order:
The eagle-eyed will see that some of these are things I failed (or indeed succeeded) at last year. And, of course, some are going to be a lot harder than others, so it remains to be seen how successful I shall be, but we’ll give it a go and not be majorly disappointed if we fail.
Back at the beginning of 2015 I made some predictions as to what I thought would happen during the year. How well did I do? Well no, not very well. But then I didn’t really expect to. Here are the results:
UK
Overseas
Personal
For once being wrong most of the time was actually quite a good thing!
2016 predictions to follow in the next few days.
As I’ve done for the last couple of years here is a survey to summarise my engagement (or, more accurately, lack of it) with 2015.
In summary it has been a bit of a crap year what with a couple of nasty gastric bugs, worse depression than I’ve had for years, more voluntary work than I felt able to cope with (yeah, I know, self-inflicted) and the death of my mother. But then life’s not fair and shit happens.
At the beginning of the year I posted ten things I wanted to do in 2015. The results are in and I think it fair to say I didn’t just lose; I was overwhelmed and crushed — which just proves how bad the year has been:
1. Kick the depression LOSE
2. Drink more champagne WIN
3. Keep breathing WIN
4. Restart meditation LOSE
5. Take more photographs LOSE
6. Be drawn/painted/photographed nude by someone other than family LOSE
7. Have at least one 2 week holiday LOSE
8. Celebrate my mother’s 100th birthday with her LOSE
9. Visit Horniman Museum LOSE
10. Go somewhere/do something I’ve not done before WIN
3/10 is not terribly good, now is it! Could do very much better; must try harder!
Looking at the year through the usual 25 questions doesn’t improve things either.
1. What did you do that you’d never done before?
Buried my mother — well you would normally only ever do this once!
2. Did you keep your new year’s resolutions, and will you make more for next year?
I keep telling you I don’t do New Year resolutions.
3. What would you like to have in 2016 that you lacked in 2015?
A properly working body and head.
4. What dates from 2015 will remain etched upon your memory?
26 May and 17 June: the day my mother died and the day we buried her.
5. Did you suffer illness or injury?
Had a very nasty gastric flu just before Easter and again in late September. And then there’s the depression and the diabetes.
6. What was the best thing you bought?
Anthony Powell’s Caledonia.
7. Where did most of your money go?
Survival, I think.
8. What did you get really, really excited about?
Nothing; I don’t do excitement, just like I don’t do panic and crisis. But completing my set of Anthony Powell first editions was good.
9. Compared to this time last year, are you:
a. happier or sadder? — sadder due to the worsening depression.
b. thinner or fatter? — the same to within a kilo, but that’s overall still way too much.
c. richer or poorer? — richer, thanks to my mother.
10. What do you wish you’d done more of?
Nothing.
11. What do you wish you’d done less of?
Everything except sleep.
12. What was your biggest achievement of the year?
Buying Caledonia.
13. What was your biggest failure?
Can I have three things? My mother not making her 100th birthday (by about 5 months). Overall illness. Depression.
14. How many one-night stands?
I don’t collect night stands; I have one bedside cabinet and that is perfectly sufficient, thank you.
15. What was your favourite TV program?
What’s TV? I’ve hardly looked at TV all year. Is there anything worth watching these days?
16. What was the best book you read?
According to the reviews I’ve posted here it would be Maureen Evans’ Eat Tweet: A Twitter Cookbook. But there are several other close contenders.
17. What did you want and get?
Caledonia
18. What did you want and not get?
Good health.
19. What one thing would have made your year immeasurably more satisfying?
Mum living to 100.
20. How would you describe your personal fashion concept in 2015?
“Henery, how do you like my new frock?”
“Min … Where did you get that sack dress?”
“I got if off the coalman.”
“You mean he’s walking around naked?”
[Spike Milligan and Peter Sellers in The Goons, 1958]
21. What kept you sane?
Noreen and sleep.
22. Who did you miss?
My mother and Victor.
23. Tell us a valuable life lesson you learned in 2015:
“Journalism is printing what someone else does not want printed: everything else is public relations” [George Orwell]. In other words, it’s all marketing bollox.
24. A quote or song lyric that sums up your year:
The Beatles, When I’m Sixty-Four
25. Your hopes for 2016
Something better — I’ll post more on this later, probably as ten things to do in 2016.
God, I hate everything being so down! We need happiness and wins.
But anyway, enough of me. How was your 2015? And what are you hoping for in 2016? Do tell!
Today Dora, my mother, should be celebrating her 100th birthday. But sadly she died towards the end of May, thus missing out by just over four months. As a tribute, and as this week’s photographs, I thought we should have what are I think the first and last images I have of her.
As far as I know I don’t have any photos from Dora’s childhood (but I should scour the family albums again), so this first is of a self-portrait in oils she painted when she was about 21 (she couldn’t remember exactly when), could be the earliest I have.
I’ve just realised that I have neglected my duty to post this week’s photograph — basically because I spent most of Monday engrossed in family history and discovering that one of my gg-grandfathers was tried in 1864 for fraud against his employer, the South Eastern Railway. I may write more about this in due course as he then seems to have disappeared from the radar and we’re still searching for the wreckage.
Anyway to this week’s photograph, a very old one from the archives, of the reflections in the Manchester office block where I was running a project.
Just for fun, and because I boringly can’t summon the energy to write something erudite, I thought we’d have another A-Z. So here are your 26 starters …
A: Amusement – People watching
B: Birthday Gift – Gin
C: Cat’s Name – Tuna
D: Dislike – Egg custard
E: Elementary – Chemistry
F: Flowers – Daffodils and old roses
G: Goat or Sheep – Neither except to eat
H: Headache Remedy – Sleep
I: Intelligence – Should easily beat stupidity but seldom does
J: Jam – Apricot
K: King or Queen – The larger the bed the better
L: Luxury – Anything I can’t (or won’t) afford
M: Meat – More pork
N: Night or Day – Quite like both
O: Ornament – Dust-gatherer
P: Primary School – King’s Road
Q: Quirky Possession – Pigeon skull
R: Rock Group – Caravan
S: Sport – Cricket
T: Toffee – Yes, as long as it’s covered in dark chocolate and doesn’t pull my fillings out
U: Umbrella – Work of the Devil
V: Venial Sin – Always
W: Weblog – That’s So Zen
X: XXL – The best size for eggs
Y: Yuck – Being sticky
Z: Zero – Revolutionised mathematics
No I’m not going to tag anyone — join in if you feel inclined.