The last month has been an interesting learning experience for me with our new wheels.  Thought you might be amused at how my 62 year old head is coping with this new fangled bit of technology. Even now, after a month of driving our new wheels, I find my right hand reaching for the non-existent … The post Update on our new wheels appeared first on Maturing Well ..read more

We have both gone down with the most horrid humdinger of a summer cold, ever.  I can hardly believe how a simple cold can make me feel so unwell.  We might expect this in winter but it seems ten times worse in the summer. It felt like a touch of hay fever to begin with; … The post Humdinger appeared first on Maturing Well ..read more

New wheels and I’m feeling old.  I never really appreciated how easy my previous 17 year old Toyota car was to ‘operate’ until it got replaced. I had been thinking the old Toyota was modern enough.  After all, you had to press a button on the key to unlock the car.  You would know soon enough if you had reversed into something by the sound of the crunch. With our new wheels, you simply walk towards the car, grab the door handle and it all magically unlocks itself and welcomes you.  And as for reversing (or going forward for that matter), you hear a beeping sound which gets ..read more

Now what?  We have a new Government.  Yay!  On Thursday I walked along to the village hall which had become the polling station.  As ever, I was thankful I had the right to put my mark on the ballot paper in just the right place. Although we were all fairly sure we would see a Labour majority across the country as a whole, I wasn’t sure what would happen locally.  In the neighbouring constituency, we have seen the long standing Conservative MP, Andrew Selous, beaten into second place by a young Labour candidate.  I think Andrew Selous was a decent chap, if a littl ..read more

Tricky questions for the Conservative candidate Everyone in the UK knows we are heading towards such an important general election.  In the months and years leading up to this, I felt sure I was going to vote against the Tories but now, astonishingly, I am not so sure. Without doubt, the outgoing Conservative Government have made such a mess of the country.  Many aspects of their behaviour has been an absolute disgrace.  Firstly there was Cameron appeasing the Brexit branch of his party by promising a referendum which has led to a disastrous result.  Aside from the economic ..read more

Contemporary British Portrait Painters exhibition 2024 When I retired 6 years ago (where have those years gone?) I was heading towards art as a hobby.  Things have drifted and after giving myself a ‘talking to’ I’m looking to take up the hobby again. That ‘talking to’ is something I do quite often.  I give myself something of a hard time when I stand back and look at my life.  I keep asking myself questions and checking I’m doing the right thing and whether it fits the plan inside my head. This kind of ‘self-talk’ quite often takes place when I’m in the car on my own; as the mil ..read more

Ukrainian flag flying over Whitehall We have just passed the first year with our Ukrainian family.  Hardly a point of celebration but worth noting in some small way. Our family, consisting of a teenage girl, her 25 year old sister and their middle aged mother have been with us for a year now.  While we get on okay with each other, it is clear they just don’t want to be here.  I think that’s most understandable, who can blame them for being like that? What started as escaping the horrors of the war for just a few months last year, it has turned out to be for the long haul.   ..read more

Micheal Gove. Crown copyright creative licence There have been quite a few resignations in the news, this time with our political leaders jumping ship ahead of an election defeat.  Amongst those quitting are Michael Gove and Dame Andrea Leadsom.  Now I have a resignation myself, but nothing to do with politics, or maybe it does? When I retired 5½ years ago, I was taken on as a trustee of a local charity, one that I have admired over the years.  For various reasons I have decided to step down, with immediate effect. Recently I went to see the CEO and let her know ahead of an emai ..read more

Sometimes small victories mean a lot, even the arrival of a new green wheelie bin counts.  This, with a couple of resignations and the news of a general election, it brought a smile to my face. Six weeks ago the blummin Council managed to trash our green wheelie bin.  Idiots. I ordered a new one and was told we would have to wait up to two weeks for a replacement, even though they broke it and we have paid separately for them to empty our green bin (breach of contract?).  The Council’s instructions were to leave the broken bin in the normal collection place, where it would be ex ..read more

Cawston Press Beetroot juice I blame that chirpy Michael Mosley for getting me onto this Cawston Press beetroot juice journey.  Hopefully readers will find this review entertaining and, possibly, helpful. Dr Michael Mosley seems to be popping up on our radio and TV quite a bit these days, especially as we are taking steps to improve our diets even more these days.  As I do enjoy the occasional beetroot in my salads (which I know he’d approve) I decided to buy some beetroot juice. In Sainsbury’s they sell fresh beetroot juice (so they tell me) or the Cawston cartons which can be found ..read more