The Retirement Thread

[Dirk]

All of our birdies have disappeared today as well. Not even a seagull around.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

All of our birdies have disappeared today as well. Not even a seagull around.

The seagulls are probably at the seaside mugging tourists for their chips

 

[oldwheels]

Out in the back garden this morning clearing last years dead grown from my perennial sun flowers, amongst the usual weeds that the clearance revealed was a familiar one that I've not had in the garden before, I better make sure I remove it or I might get in trouble for cultivating it.

A bale of some kind of vegetable matter was washed up on the shore at Grasspoint on Mull some years ago. The guy who found it [ Captain L. not a local yokel] had no idea what it was so just stuck it on his compost heap.This ended up on his veg patch and it was only then that the actual content was found out by a visitor when an unfamiliar crop appeared. The jungle drums were faster than the phone in those days and Plod appeared fairly promptly. The whole lot got burned asap.

 

[welsh dragon]

We had pork chop, bacon, egg and beans today. Mr WD is still hobbling so it was up to chef WD to prepare this culinary delight. I do think Mr WD might be faking this bad back a bit for some reason.

 

[ColinJ]

GPS accuracy , the best explanation I’ve read is it is like taking an excitable puppy on a five metre lead for a walk.

I find it generally pretty good, certainly fine for selecting which exit to take from roundabouts, that kind of thing.

I have done 'out and back' rides whose tracklogs show parallel lines where I have gone up and down the same road - I can tell which side of the road I was on.

I think the devices must do some averaging of readings. I've noticed that there is a delay registering changes in elevation, as if the GPS is checking that I definitely AM climbing or descending. Once some threshold has been reached, the GPS rapidly ramps its reading up or down to catch up.

Thanks Mo , a treat for @ColinJ when he joins us .

Ha ha - that is EXACTLY the kind of thing that I dreamt about the other night! Rather them, than me - their legs must have really ached by the time they finished...

I think my parents had a picture of me as a toddler on my tricycle. I haven't got it but my sister probably has because she kept most of the family photos after our mum died. I'll ask her next time we speak.

 

[postman]

Just been out really out.Wetherby a lovely walk beside the river in parts.Down little lanes and past some very very expensive houses.A latte in a very busy Wetherby where we bumped into two old friends who had escaped from Alwoodley for some time out.Sadly saw the back end of an accident,bicycle and a small car.About seven police cars,one ambulance and just on the roundabout in a field the air ambulance helicopter.So on the way back Mrs P dropped a bombshell.It's all come about with this hospital visit care problems with her parents.
Would i consider in a few years downsizing,yes i would came my quick reply,we both are in agreement,the house will get too big,the garden is ok but we have the land.Now Meanwood is a nice place,so i would not consider downsizing to a lesser part of Leeds.Have you thought about the coast,yes came back another quick reply.Northumberland,oh yes i said or the East coast,so we are both on the same page and within the next five years.Exciting times are coming.

 

[oldwheels]

Dull and slightly damp day so a bit of garden tidying still.
Met a neighbour I had not seen for a few days who pointed at her head and seemed to twirl her finger a bit.
" Got your hair cut I see ".
It must have been really bad as everybody I meet remarks on it.

The only real fall I had was about15 or 20 years ago at Bunessan Agricultural Show. I liked the small shows and the food was usually really good as well as the Bank Van who dispensed free booze to known customers { yes really}. A lot of socialising was done as well.
Anyway I had been up getting food and on the way back [sober] slipped on a damp grassy mound, landing heavily on my right shoulder. Fortunately my wife was there as packing up was a nightmare with the pain and I had to drive 55 miles home with only my left arm operational.
Our then locum GP decided it did not need an xray and over a period of weeks the pain disappeared.
Now with no provocation the same pain has reappeared and suddenly reaching forward with my right hand is excruciating.
Things from the past sometimes come back to bite you.

 

[oldwheels]

Just been out really out.Wetherby a lovely walk beside the river in parts.Down little lanes and past some very very expensive houses.A latte in a very busy Wetherby where we bumped into two old friends who had escaped from Alwoodley for some time out.Sadly saw the back end of an accident,bicycle and a small car.About seven police cars,one ambulance and just on the roundabout in a field the air ambulance helicopter.So on the way back Mrs P dropped a bombshell.It's all come about with this hospital visit care problems with her parents.
Would i consider in a few years downsizing,yes i would came my quick reply,we both are in agreement,the house will get too big,the garden is ok but we have the land.Now Meanwood is a nice place,so i would not consider downsizing to a lesser part of Leeds.Have you thought about the coast,yes came back another quick reply.Northumberland,oh yes i said or the East coast,so we are both on the same page and within the next five years.Exciting times are coming.

Don't want to be a dampener.
While downsizing is a good idea it can be a mistake to move away from your local area particularly as you get older. You have to make a completely new set of contacts like doctors, dentists as well as friends and all sorts of facilities and it is not often easy. I have seen a lot of people make that mistake and regret the move.
My advice for what it is worth is if you settle on a particular location is to go there in a rental for a few months to get the feel of the place from a resident's point of view before making a final decision.

 

[ColinJ]

Northumberland,oh yes i said or the East coast,so we are both on the same page and within the next five years.Exciting times are coming.

Beautiful, but I would worry about the weather on the NE coast.

I'd rather head SW so I'm feeling slightly tempted to head for Devon one day if my financial situation ever improves. Mind you, property prices and rents down there are getting on for double what they are here so that might not be possible.

Perhaps I'll stay here and time my visits to Devon to coincide with bad weather 'oop north'. You can see from @Dirk's photos over the winter that the weather is typically much better there than Yorkshire. I will be able to go down any time that my sister's spare room is not occupied by other guests.

 

[oldwheels]

Beautiful, but I would worry about the weather on the NE coast.

I'd rather head SW so I'm feeling slightly tempted to head for Devon one day if my financial situation ever improves. Mind you, property prices and rents down there are getting on for double what they are here so that might not be possible.

Perhaps I'll stay here and time my visits to Devon to coincide with bad weather 'oop north'. You can see from @Dirk's photos over the winter that the weather is typically much better there than Yorkshire. I will be able to go down any time that my sister's spare room is not occupied by other guests.

I have a similar attitude to going to Benderloch which is near Oban. I do know the area well but I think financially it is probably not possible as nobody is going to give me a mortgage at my age while I sell my existing house. I any case I do not really want to move permanently from my present location but would like to escape the tourist plague for a while when it all gets too much.
I do have an ensuite at my son's house but have to use their kitchen and in any case DiL would be offended at my being totally separate I think as she feels an obligation to feed me despite my protests.
It is not easy living in somebody else's house even if they are family and I cannot remember who said it but
" Guests are like fish. They go off after a few days".
I try to { or rather used to] watch the weather forecasts and aim for a few days of good weather to get out on the cycle paths and some quieter roads.

 

[Dave7]

Just managed a walk.....2 1/2 miles. It was exceedingly warm.
I did stop off part way round for a toasted tea cake with lots of butter and apricot jam.
I trust that is allowed

 

[12boy]

OW...As Dave Van Ronk once sang, God bless the child that has his own. No living with my kids for me unless it was in detached quarters.
Another crystal clear, chilly morning with a ride, I hope. Yesterday's trial rides were peachy keen and I lust after another one. no shortage of fun stuff after that either....a grocery trip, a quick visit to the hardware store and cutting some baling twine to fasten together my recycled fence slats into walkways in the garden as the slats are all drilled now. I will soak the dog's left front paw in Epsom salts. And a little yoga and a pushup or two. How sweet it is.
The style here is to refer to pet owners as the Mom and Dad of their pets. I'm not in love with that.
Now, the important decision.... which of my fleet shall I ride?
Be well and safe.

 

[Exlaser2]

I am sure Dirk has already corrected you but butter is not required......it is a definite no no.

Butter is only required if they are very stale . But tbh all these questions are irrelevant. The only important question is which way maximises the amount of jam and cream you can pile on it 😂😀

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I've been for a walk this afternoon, I walked up through the back of the Prologis industrial estate then tuned into the estate to get out on to Bennetts rd and then onto Watery lane, Penny Park lane and home, it was like summer walking around in my shirt sleeves.

 

[oldwheels]

OW...As Dave Van Ronk once sang, God bless the child that has his own. No living with my kids for me unless it was in detached quarters.
Another crystal clear, chilly morning with a ride, I hope. Yesterday's trial rides were peachy keen and I lust after another one. no shortage of fun stuff after that either....a grocery trip, a quick visit to the hardware store and cutting some baling twine to fasten together my recycled fence slats into walkways in the garden as the slats are all drilled now. I will soak the dog's left front paw in Epsom salts. And a little yoga and a pushup or two. How sweet it is.
The style here is to refer to pet owners as the Mom and Dad of their pets. I'm not in love with that.
Now, the important decision.... which of my fleet shall I ride?
Be well and safe.

I remember baling twine with nostalgia. I don't suppose it is easy to get nowadays as bales not wrapped in polythene are not common. It was used for all sorts of things like holding up your trousers or as a belt round an old coat used for working out on wet days and more commonly nicky tams.
Nicky tams for the uninitiated were tied round your trouser legs just below the knee to raise the hem up a bit out of the mud. The posh ones were leather but the common herd just used baler twine.