The 'R' Word

For the last two days we’ve crossed the border in to Wales, a part of the UK I love - it has so much to offer, especially the great outdoors. Its lockdown rules are different and mostly stricter, which is something you do need to be mindful of.  Yesterday we headed to the north coast, initially between Rhys and Colwyn Bay and then headed west to Conwy. It was great to see and smell the sea again. It was bracing but we managed a walk along a cycleway cum footpath before heading back to the car for a bit of lunch in out in to the Irish Sea and a large wind farm in Liverpool Bay (I think it’s called). We did I feel a bit like a pair of old dears - we’ll be driving to a beauty spot with the Sunday papers next and having a nap. The only slight drawback was the lack of toilet facilities but we managed to find relief in the al fresco sense.  Next stop was Conwy, which is located on the Conwy estuary and has a very imposing castle (where Prince Charles was invested as the Prince of Wa...

But only as far as Ellesmere and then after a morning of rain and a fair amount of wind. Also, it was time to empty the chemical toilet after, well, using it to meet all of our toileting needs, which wasn’t so bad as it turned out. Not great but ok.  Ellesmere is a lovely country town which sits on the junction of two canals and they’re clearly an important part of its heritage. One branch heads west to Llangollen and the famous and dramatic aquaduct (Victorian and therefore cannot be attributed to the Romans), which is on our list! It did mean mixing with fellow human beings and visiting some shops, which we did with trepidation and face masks. We only saw one other person with a mask, which is incredible considering the clear benefits. They represent another example of the shambolic messaging from the UK’s shambolic and corrupt government. They really are the worst ever and that’s going some.  We had a walk around the town, along the canal and to the Mere, which is a large l...

A great start to the blog - I’ve managed to miss days 3 and 4. Still, I’ll only blog if I think there’s something mildly worthwhile saying. Of course, if you’ve read the opening two posts you may well be asking “and when precisely is that going to start?” It seemed liked a good idea to get away as soon as possible after I finished work, which would have been fairly straightforward in a non Covid world. However, having a caravan means we can be self sufficient and self contained and we therefore booked a field in Shropshire for two weeks. Technically, it’s a CL site, which means it’s licenced by the Caravan (now the Caravan and Motorhome) Club for up to 5 pitches. As I commented earlier: a field.  It does mean electricity and water are provided and somewhere to empty the chemical toilet but it’s still a field. Birch Hill Farm on the outskirts of Ellesmere to be precise with views of the Welsh hills to the west and Liverpool across the Cheshire Plain to the north.  It’s such a r...

The day started earlier than it did when I was working (and definitely since the lockdown and the resulting need to work from home) due to a momentous event - Rach had an appointment to get her hair cut or, more accurately, shorn as it had been so long. Well, I did offer to take Rach to her 8.45 appointment - let's face it, I no longer have an excuse not to. Also, it meant avoiding public transport, which in the current circumstances and uncertain times, this seems to make good sense. And it was a right old gloomy day. This entailed making our way in to the centre of Nottingham for the drop off and then for me to head off to one of the retail parks to wait. It should have been an hour however John (Rach's hairdresser) had forgotten he had an early appointment today and, by the sound of things, was still in his PJs when she called him. Fortunately, John lives reasonably close but it did mean I had 90 minutes to observe the comings and going of the Castle Marina Retail Park rathe...

Today is the first day of the rest of my life. Well, I suppose this applies to every day (and is something of an overused cliche) but this really is  something of a fresh beginning because yesterday was my last day at work after agreeing to take voluntary redundancy (VR). It's all happened very quickly and I've created this blog to help process my thoughts as I work out what happens next, and also to chronicle that journey. I had wanted the blog address to match the title, 'The R Word' (as in 'Retirement'), but that was taken already, which suggests this is not the most original of subjects! The blog is therefore for my own benefit but if it helps someone in a similar situation to formulate their own ideas about the next stage in their life, that will be a bonus. It will also be interesting to look back when I have a better idea about where I'm heading. I mention Retirement (with a capital R!!) because I really don't know if this applies to me in my curr...