Showing posts with label Old. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Old. Show all posts

Friday 29 July 2016

Summer, Rain and Old Man


Summer is with us, I can tell by the rain!
I have an old tape of a series of 15 minute programmes re King George V diaries.  These cover 1914 and the year leading up to war.  In all he details the weather first, he was after trained by the Royal Navy and weather watching comes natural to those working outside let alone at sea.  From January right into July his comments almost always feature cold winds and rain!  On occasions it is warm enough to set up the tent and work outside in the garden but even by July 22nd he is complaining of 'Rain again' and 'You would not believe it was July.'  
When war erupts (the UK war began on 4th July) the weather was lovely and people had a days holiday to scamper down to the s ea or head for country pubs.  On returning they discovered they were at war.  No doubt it rained again after that.
Now being officially old I had to confirm my details with the local council and posted the details in their letterbox this afternoon.  I then walked in the cloudy sunshine around town looking for bargains and got caught in the rain.  Innit though? 
The details posted show I am now officially too old for anything but voting Conservative and visiting the 'Derby & Joan' club.  For the past 15 years I have however been officially able to buy one of those retirement properties for the over 50's (not that I have money) and wonder why 50 is still seen as old?  With my good looks people often mistake me for someone in his twenties (oh yes they do) and I am amazed at the aged faces around me who are considerably younger and often more unfit.
One postie I have known for about 15 years has always looked to be on the verge of retirement yet she is still not of that age!  Incredible!  Next door the two folks I once thought had retired are only around 55!  They look much older but I suppose that much alcohol can have that effect.  In the museum we allow old people to enter at half price and on occasion I have to guess carefully what the age is, it is not easy to tell.  I have got into trouble once or twice this way unsettling a woman or two who was touchy about her years.  Most of course are happy for me to argue they are only 39 and chancing it.
There are times in your life when age matters.  Being a teenager, reaching 18 and officially allowed in pubs or to drive or whatever you have been banned from until then, although in other nations the age may differ of course.  Waking up one day and realising you are the age you always considered 'old' or 'Granddaddyish' and realising you are now old is another!  Now I have reached 65 and the paperwork says 'You are now useless, just death to come, please move quickly to Bournemouth or Eastbourne.'  Rejoice!  Rejoice! 

Tuesday 29 January 2013

Bus Pass



I have my bus pass.  Another sign that the years are passing is the ownership of a Free Bus Pass for old folks.  This is indeed a boon for those desperate to get about the world and short of cash, indeed it is, but it means I am old.  
I sent of the picture, included my birth certificate (I mistook it for my dad's at one point until I realised I did not possess my dad's birth certificate!) and awaited a response.  Within a few days the paperwork returned.  Within another few days the credit card sized Free Bus Pass also fell through the door.  
I'm old.
I think I need a walking stick and a bottle of 'Sanatogen.' 
The problem is the bus times.  I looked them up today, and while there are frequent buses to where I ought to go it takes for ever!  Journeying into the big towns takes about an hour, which I expected, but even dawdling six miles away takes almost 45 minutes!  The bus passes through little villages full of yokels, trundles along country lanes, and takes for ever!  

Now you will realise a problem with this.  Sitting on a public transport omnibus means that the public will clamber aboard said bus and behave like the er, public will do.  This is the very reason the members of parliament were to willing to forego their first class tickets on the trains, they would have to meet the public!  I need not remind you there are no first class seats on a bus.
The last time I went on an hour long journey on a bus the women who boarded discussed Uncle John's foot for most of the journey.  I need not inform you of my opinion of this needless (loud) chatter, especially Uncle John did not belong to any of them but a next door neighbours friend over the roads, neighbours brothers uncle John!  
The return journey was badly times as the bus filled with adolescents from a collage who wished to play bad music (Tish Tosh Tish etc) on headphones, discussed their wishfull thinking love lives, and reminded me where I left my chainsaw.
    
The other niggling problem is that I look 25.  This means the drivers will not believe the card is mine.  I foresee many an argument ahead here. However the good side is that I may travel anyway, and this means photos from places as yet unseen!  Isn't this good?
What? ....oh! 

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Tuesday 26 June 2012

How Old?



 
                                                                       Young at Heart
                                                                         Slightly older
                                                                       In Other Places
 
                                                                          Don't Worry
                                                                    About Your Health
                                                                          It'll Go Away
 
                                                                           I'm Retired
                                                                 I was Tired Yesterday
                                                                I'm Tired Again Today
 
                                                                            At My Age ....
                                                                    Happy Hour is a Nap
 
                                                                        Live Each Day
                                                                    Like It's Your Last
                                                          One day, You'll Get it Right
 
                                                                           Life is Easy
                                         It's the Freakin' People Who Make It Difficult!
 
                                                            I Always Cook With Wine
                                                Sometimes I Even Add it to the Food

                                                                I'm Speeding Because
                                                            I Have to get There Before
                                                             I Forget Where I'm Going
 
                                                                           At My Age
                                                                        "Gettin' Any?"
                                                                         Means Sleep
 
                                                                Be Nice to Your Kids
                                                              They Will Choose Your
                                                                      Nursing Home
 
                                                              I Believe in Having Sex
                                                                    On the First Date
                                                                  At My Age, There
                                                               May Not Be a Second
 
                                                   The Only Trouble with Retirement
                                                     You Never Get a Damn Day Off


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Tuesday 10 February 2009

Theory Test


That's Driving 'Theory Test' I should explain, not a test looking for a theory. I have a few of those and some of them pretty strange I can tell you and once I had joined the blog world I came across a great many more strange theories I can tell you!!!!! However the thing is I have to pass the 'theory' bit before I can take the 'practical' part and prove I am safe to drive alone on the road. (Stop sniggering at the back!) I passed with (almost) flying colours and will book the practical test tomorrow. Hopefully this will be soon and then you lot out there can start worrying!

The fields being saturated for some weeks meant that the melting snow has once again flooded the county. When I came here I read that this was the driest county in England, not today! The many dips in the country roads meant that many flooded as the water came of the fields or overflowed river banks. Those of you near rivers and streams will now what this is like. On top of this many new houses have been built on flood plains! How daft is that? It is difficult to control a river when it floods and some folks are watching the results of this tonight. The town centre where I took the test has a river running through it and here it is almost up to the bridge. Further down it has broken the banks and I watched the ducks despair at any chance of lunch today! Even they would not risk the fast flowing water. One of my pretty young girl friends took 25 minutes to drive 400 yards she said and completed the journey in one and a quarter hours! It would take about 30 usually.


As the train trudged slowly along it struck me that I would need to work for another seven and a half years before I get the pension and can officially retire - if I can actually get a bloody job first of course! However a horrid thought crept up on me - I was thinking about pensions! Where has life gone? I have done nothing but fail and make a mess of things and already life is over! Jings!
Excuse me while I lie on the floor and despair.....