The Retirement Thread

[oldwheels]

If I could I would be up to the Highlands in an instant. It’s a shame that newcomers are made to feel so unwelcome.

Not all incomers. There are a few who stick in my mind as being nice and useful people. Francis Drake is one such who had been skipper of Bloodhound and visiting royalty called at his house. He got on well with local fishermen as he was a good seaman and could splice wire rope to cord.
Others are just a waste of space as they had ideas of snobbery which does not work here.
The main bone of contention is that they take up houses which should be available to local workers.

 

[oldwheels]

By "big white bits" you mean lumps of fat

In Stornaway these are called marags but probably cannot get them now.

 

[oldwheels]

Just as well it is a dry day here as it is 80 or over jag day. Very slick and quick and actual jag was quick and painless. Since I was on my own I had to wait in the car for 15 minutes in case I keeled over. There were a couple of "meet and greet" ones outside and I noticed they kept an eye on those like me waiting till the time was up.
I am not as ancient and decrepit as I thought looking at some of those tottering in. Never realised there were so many of us here. Most of them I recognised but had not seen for years.

 

[Dirk]

By "big white bits" you mean lumps of fat

 

[Tenkaykev]

A walk in the fresh air with Mrs Tenkay took us along a path by a small park that is adjacent to the local allotments ( current waiting time 8+ years )
For several weeks now I have been noticing the occasional faerie themed doorways placed on the trees that line the path.
They're just a few inches in height and some are quite well hidden. I'm not sure who is doing it, or if it's a "thing" but It's certainly got me looking out for more of them.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

The good news is that my Good Lady is home, got home dinnertime. We've had a social Worker round to see her this afternoon, and we've now got a care package in place which see's 2 carers in 4 times a day. The bad news is that she's not a lot better than she was when she went in, also, I've already fallen over the commode, I don't think it will be the last time I do that either.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

A walk in the fresh air with Mrs Tenkay took us along a path by a small park that is adjacent to the local allotments ( current waiting time 8+ years )
For several weeks now I have been noticing the occasional faerie themed doorways placed on the trees that line the path.
They're just a few inches in height and some are quite well hidden. I'm not sure who is doing it, or if it's a "thing" but It's certainly got me looking out for more of them.

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I get adverts for those on my facebook page sometimes, the last time we were at Middleton Hall they'd got a few of those scattered round the grounds.

 

[classic33]

If I could I would be up to the Highlands in an instant. It’s a shame that newcomers are made to feel so unwelcome.

In ways I understand it, they'll often pay more than market value for the property, thereby depriving someone who is local the chance to remain there. And they often expect the same level of services as their previous address. Often a city, that they left due to no open areas. And on the television it looks so nice, now if they had a smellyvision, and watched that whilst leaving it on constant for a few days...

 

[classic33]

We're detached.

Okay, two grockles in adjoining properties then.
Get it renamed "Grockles's Grove".

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

A walk in the fresh air with Mrs Tenkay took us along a path by a small park that is adjacent to the local allotments ( current waiting time 8+ years )
For several weeks now I have been noticing the occasional faerie themed doorways placed on the trees that line the path.
They're just a few inches in height and some are quite well hidden. I'm not sure who is doing it, or if it's a "thing" but It's certainly got me looking out for more of them.

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The local kids (presumably) have been doing that around Nethy Bridge for a little while now, very lovely.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Others are just a waste of space

Charming

 

[oldwheels]

Charming

My comments are quite mild in comparison to many locally. There is no objection to people coming here to work and perform a useful function. Those who come to retire with time on their hands to meddle in affairs they know little or nothing about are not so welcome as they always know better than anyone else and have no knowledge or even interest in the history.

 

[classic33]

My comments are quite mild in comparison to many locally. There is no objection to people coming here to work and perform a useful function. Those who come to retire with time on their hands to meddle in affairs they know little or nothing about are not so welcome as they always know better than anyone else and have no knowledge or even interest in the history.

That's the other side I've seen. Those already there deciding who should be allowed to enter/live there.

A house has skipped a generation, their parents lived elsewhere or been left to the grandkids in a will. There's an air of it "doesn't or shouldn't belong to them", even if the family have been there a while. The wishes of dead are thrown aside not long after they've been buried.

The "new" occupants can be driven mad in trying to continue their lives because of this. The fact they've lived there, all their lives becomes irrelevant.

 

[Dirk]

I've never felt anything other than well accepted in Devon.
Maybe because I moved here for work 16 years ago and didn't 'take a local's job'.
I've been here long enough now to know the area and people, and they know me.
It's the first place I've ever lived that felt like home.

 

[ColinJ]

Smart meters can crash... (Or rather, their communication hubs can.) Did you know that?

I wondered why I hadn't had my quarterly gas and electricity bill so I logged in to my online account to see what was going on and found that no readings had been taken since mid-November! I went on British Gas support chat and followed the agent's instructions. A status light on the hub was flashing red, which I gather was a sign that something wasn't right. I had to take my readings manually and type those into the chat box. I also had to supply the serial number of the comms hub, which apparently would allow engineers to deal with it remotely. I was promised that this would be done within 5 days.

Why on earth don't they get in touch if there is a problem taking readings rather than just ignoring it for over 10 weeks!

It may be a pure coincidence, but for some reason my gas/electricity accounts also appeared to have been reset. Details of previous readings and payments were gone and I was being treated as a new customer, despite having been using this account for nearly 6 years! They are looking into that too. In fact, I will log back in and see if they have sorted this out in the 4 or 5 hours since the Chat session...

Ah... The account is back up to date; that date being November 19th, 2020!

I'll leave it a few days and check again. I'll just have to remember that I am actually about £300 worse off than my bank credit would lead me to believe. At some point my winter fuel bill will arrive!

At least my £140 Warm Home Discount has been credited to my account.