The Retirement Thread

[gavroche]

Hi all.

Times have been crazy just lately.

Mum had been deteriorating, slowly at first, but then with quickening pace. After becoming unresponsive for a while, she slipped quietly away yesterday. She was 91, a pretty good innings. She never went out to work after her first maternity. Dad was fully blind in one eye, and mostly blind in the other. He did his national service, initially hiding his blindness, until caught out during bayonet practice, where he apparently just ran at the source of the noise and nearly ran the Sargeant Major through - or so the story goes.

They sent him to what was Ceylon notionally to join the pay core, but they discovered his gift for the piano, and he spent two years playing piano in the officers' mess. He came home after two years, and told the story with something of a twinkle in his eye, that it was a toss up whether to stay and keep playing piano there, or come home and marry my mother.

I was aware that she had exchanged letters, Xmas cards etc with the same school friends, evacuation friends, work friends, pen friends around the world, but she didn't say exactly with whom. Dad had kept in contact by letter with a number of people from his past too. Perhaps it was more of a thing in those days, prior to there being a telephone in every household. After he went in 2014, Mum had kept the letter writing going with those friends of his too, well those that remained.

The process of sifting through began earlier in the year. There were some real surprises. Dad had corresponded mostly with musical chums and acquaintences as well as army chums, work chums, even childhood neighbours.

There are letters between Dad with Mick Jagger's father, Dorothy Squires, Yehudi Menuhin, my primary school headteacher whose father he had known apparently, and letters between Mum with Beryl Reid, Dame Shirley Williams and others. There's nothing so much remarkable in their content, but they are charming for their geniality - a tone that has become lost over time. It's as if, we Brits are not the same people as those from that generation; sadly, yesterday, Old Father Time claimed another.

Sorry about your mum passing away but you have one consolation. From what you said, she had a good life and that's really comforting. x

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I've been for a short bimble this morning, 38 miles. Rode over to Ullesthorpe and kept it as main road as i could, It was very cold and icy first thing, I wasn't impressed, I nearly ended up on my arse walking down the garden path.My road and the next road weren't ridable and I had to walk out to the main road, leaving Coventry I was suprised to find the road past the garden centre hadn't been treated, I had fun on the climb before the Garden Centre, every time I leant into my stroke I spun the back wheel up. I stayed main road between Shilton and Withybrook but used the lane to get on the Fosse way, I could have done with a pair of skates on the lane, I walked most of the climb out of the village, once on the fosse I stayed on it till I got to the A5 then did a right and left to pick up the road into Ullesthorpe. On the way back I just reversed my route untill I got to the lane to Withybrook, I ignored the lane and stayed on the Fosse until the next junction, then turned right to ride into Witheybrook then followed my route out back into Coventry, fortunetely the road past the Garden Centre had cleared by the time I was back on it. Thats my last ride of 2020, my total mileage for the year came to 4802 miles, not bad considering how the year has been.

 

[gavroche]

Back from Exeter and it was a bit of a wasted journey of 100 miles. They still don't have the test results but they changed her dressings . We have to go back a week of Friday for that.
I saw a few cyclists braving the weather and struggling to go up the 12 to 16% uphill roads.

 

[Dirk]

I agree. Never found them funny at all.

I loved MP. They were a logical follow on from the Goons.

 

[Dirk]

Back home now. Caravan back into storage.
House is freezing cold and going to take a while to warm up.

 

[ColinJ]

No phone call from Ernie yet so doubt I am a millionaire this month either

My bubble pal has just left. As she was about to go she got a text saying that she had won a prize in some lottery or other. It was clearly a scam - "Dear Mr or Mrs [female name]..." definitely wasn't a good start. Suggesting contact through a URL like dodgy123xyzscammers12jhj.com/jkashdksau12376999 also rang alarm bells! She asked if I thought it was genuine... I pointed out that winning a lottery that you haven't actually entered is always a worry!

PS Another worry is that they know her name, mobile number, and where she lives!

Get your head had around this..... hotel room.....£135k PER NIGHT .
We have been there several times while on holiday, so its interesting to us.
I know Chorley Paul has been there.

I didn't realise that you and Paul are so wealthy!

 

[GM]

My condolences, sorry to hear your sad news. Stay strong.

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Hi all.

Times have been crazy just lately.

Mum had been deteriorating, slowly at first, but then with quickening pace. After becoming unresponsive for a while, she slipped quietly away yesterday. She was 91, a pretty good innings. She never went out to work after her first maternity. Dad was fully blind in one eye, and mostly blind in the other. He did his national service, initially hiding his blindness, until caught out during bayonet practice, where he apparently just ran at the source of the noise and nearly ran the Sargeant Major through - or so the story goes.

They sent him to what was Ceylon notionally to join the pay core, but they discovered his gift for the piano, and he spent two years playing piano in the officers' mess. He came home after two years, and told the story with something of a twinkle in his eye, that it was a toss up whether to stay and keep playing piano there, or come home and marry my mother.

I was aware that she had exchanged letters, Xmas cards etc with the same school friends, evacuation friends, work friends, pen friends around the world, but she didn't say exactly with whom. Dad had kept in contact by letter with a number of people from his past too. Perhaps it was more of a thing in those days, prior to there being a telephone in every household. After he went in 2014, Mum had kept the letter writing going with those friends of his too, well those that remained.

The process of sifting through began earlier in the year. There were some real surprises. Dad had corresponded mostly with musical chums and acquaintences as well as army chums, work chums, even childhood neighbours.

There are letters between Dad with Mick Jagger's father, Dorothy Squires, Yehudi Menuhin, my primary school headteacher whose father he had known apparently, and letters between Mum with Beryl Reid, Dame Shirley Williams and others. There's nothing so much remarkable in their content, but they are charming for their geniality - a tone that has become lost over time. It's as if, we Brits are not the same people as those from that generation; sadly, yesterday, Old Father Time claimed another.

My condolences @monkers

 

[Flick of the Elbow]

Today’s outing was just a 5 mile circuit of pavements, the green spaces that are normally available are currently white and covered with large family groups that are impossible to keep distance from. Pavements and streets very tricky underfoot, lots of uneven snow frozen hard.
Snowing again now. Yellow warning for snow and ice from this evening until 2pm tomorrow.

 

[rustybolts]

I've been for a short bimble this morning, 38 miles. Rode over to Ullesthorpe and kept it as main road as i could, It was very cold and icy first thing, I wasn't impressed, I nearly ended up on my arse walking down the garden path.My road and the next road weren't ridable and I had to walk out to the main road, leaving Coventry I was suprised to find the road past the garden centre hadn't been treated, I had fun on the climb before the Garden Centre, every time I leant into my stroke I spun the back wheel up. I stayed main road between Shilton and Withybrook but used the lane to get on the Fosse way, I could have done with a pair of skates on the lane, I walked most of the climb out of the village, once on the fosse I stayed on it till I got to the A5 then did a right and left to pick up the road into Ullesthorpe. On the way back I just reversed my route untill I got to the lane to Withybrook, I ignored the lane and stayed on the Fosse until the next junction, then turned right to ride into Witheybrook then followed my route out back into Coventry, fortunetely the road past the Garden Centre had cleared by the time I was back on it. Thats my last ride of 2020, my total mileage for the year came to 4802 miles, not bad considering how the year has been.

Bloody hell, well done Dave , that's some achievement and a log of a year of hard riding. I would not have the nerve to take a bike out in dodgy conditions but I don't clock up your mileage , Top Man !!

 

[PaulSB]

Yes, it is surprising how "humour" has changed IMHO. Perhaps, we were all much more innocent, all of those years ago

It has changed without doubt. I think comedy falls in to two categories:

Classic comedy which stands the test of time; Last of the Summer Wine, Fawlty Towers, Morecambe and Wise, Only Fools and Horses, HIGNFY as examples

Of it's time: pretty much everything I can't recall!!!!!

 

[PaulSB]

I'd rather pluck my eyes out with a fork than use anything like that.

Ouch!!

 

[Dave7]

There was me thinking you didn't do expensive holidays.

We didn't actually stay in one of their rooms.
We had a slightly down market static van about 20 miles along the coast.

 

[Dirk]

Oh well - there goes our New Years Day walk with our best mates.
They've gone into tier 4 and we've gone into tier 3.

 

[12boy]

Sorry to hear of your loss, Monkers. Folks of your parents' generation certainly knew how to write. My ma died in Madras, India when I was 4, and reading the back and forth letters between my dad and his and her parents was a pleasure and helped me know her and all of them better. With those little Par Avion envelopes it was necessary to think about each word and make them count. It's a skill that will go away with them. And manners and common courtesy were important.
I don't like the wheels on the old lady trolleys too well, but the bike hod one seems to be far better. I've found my little Brompton can carry a fair amount in the shopping bag that goes on the front block and it actually handles better and is more stable with it. About as aero as a brick, though, and not great on ice or snow.
It's -18C with the wind chill this morning and although it will get warmer the 20 mph wind will be in the 30s. Perhaps a walk instead of a ride, keeping out of the wind in the alleys, and coming back with a tailwind. I once had a lady transfer to one of my Wyoming Social Security offices from Florida. I told her as she drove from Florida to her new office to stop in Cheyenne at a sporting goods discount store where she could get a deal on long underwear, boots, gloves and other clothing that would make life better in the Wyoming winter. Her cousin visited her at one point and when I met him him she introduced me as " the only manager that told her what kind of underwear to buy".
When my dad died I inherited a few bucks and his broker who I dealt with till he retired, and now his son. The broker used to say many of his clients had only 2 emotions....fear and greed. Fear because they were afraid of losing what they had, and greed because they wanted to make more. Sure was true for us.
Be safe and well.