Happy New Year, health and happiness to All.
This year celebrates 20 years of enjoyable retirement for me, having
worked from leaving school at Easter 1956 (aged 15) until the end of
February 2006. (Tue 03/04/1956 - Tue 28/02/2006)
Luckily, successful so far too, we're both still here, enjoying our
weekly town lunch and great annual breaks, locally and abroad.
It is my intention to finish driving this year, no more car tax, AA,
MOT or insurance. I have renewed my licence for three years though,
that's free and handy for ID. It'll be busses, trains or taxis from
the end of February following 65 years of being mobile.
On 01/01/2026 08:27, Bri. wrote:
Happy New Year, health and happiness to All.
This year celebrates 20 years of enjoyable retirement for me, having
worked from leaving school at Easter 1956 (aged 15) until the end of
February 2006. (Tue 03/04/1956 - Tue 28/02/2006)
Luckily, successful so far too, we're both still here, enjoying our
weekly town lunch and great annual breaks, locally and abroad.
It is my intention to finish driving this year, no more car tax, AA,
MOT or insurance. I have renewed my licence for three years though,
that's free and handy for ID. It'll be busses, trains or taxis from
the end of February following 65 years of being mobile.
Happy New Year to you and all.
Personally I hope this year I can drive! Been having assorted troubles with sciatica and a knee I twisted and been using mr kat as a chauffeur recently.
Happy New Year, health and happiness to All.
This year celebrates 20 years of enjoyable retirement for me, having
worked from leaving school at Easter 1956 (aged 15) until the end of
February 2006. (Tue 03/04/1956 - Tue 28/02/2006)
Luckily, successful so far too, we're both still here, enjoying our
weekly town lunch and great annual breaks, locally and abroad.
It is my intention to finish driving this year, no more car tax, AA,
MOT or insurance. I have renewed my licence for three years though,
that's free and handy for ID. It'll be buses, trains or taxis from
the end of February following 65 years of being mobile.
Happy New Year, health and happiness to All.
This year celebrates 20 years of enjoyable retirement for me, having
worked from leaving school at Easter 1956 (aged 15) until the end of
February 2006. (Tue 03/04/1956 - Tue 28/02/2006)
Luckily, successful so far too, we're both still here, enjoying our
weekly town lunch and great annual breaks, locally and abroad.
It is my intention to finish driving this year, no more car tax, AA,
MOT or insurance. I have renewed my licence for three years though,
that's free and handy for ID. It'll be busses, trains or taxis from
the end of February following 65 years of being mobile.
kat <littlelionne@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01/01/2026 08:27, Bri. wrote:
Happy New Year, health and happiness to All.
This year celebrates 20 years of enjoyable retirement for me, having
worked from leaving school at Easter 1956 (aged 15) until the end of
February 2006. (Tue 03/04/1956 - Tue 28/02/2006)
Luckily, successful so far too, we're both still here, enjoying our
weekly town lunch and great annual breaks, locally and abroad.
It is my intention to finish driving this year, no more car tax, AA,
MOT or insurance. I have renewed my licence for three years though,
that's free and handy for ID. It'll be busses, trains or taxis from
the end of February following 65 years of being mobile.
Happy New Year to you and all.
Personally I hope this year I can drive! Been having assorted troubles with >> sciatica and a knee I twisted and been using mr kat as a chauffeur recently.
DAMHIKT, but my advice would be for you to see a private chiropractor about those two problems, which may be connected in the sense that either the one caused the other, or thererCOs a third as yet unknown cause for them both.
My 86-year-old friend and former colleague had issues with his back that caused considerable discomfort, to the extent that he needed a frame to
walk anywhere. He was being treated by a hospital, but after two years they discovered they had been applying the wrong remedy, making the original problem worse.
On my advice he saw a local chiropractor, and was astonished to get four
days pain-free after a single treatment. His chiropractor told him that
they see two kinds of people - those who the hospitals canrCOt treat, and those who the hospitals mistreat.
Whatever course you choose, I hope it works out for you.
A Happy and Healthy 2026 to all.
On 01/01/2026 08:27, Bri. wrote:
Happy New Year, health and happiness to All.
This year celebrates 20 years of enjoyable retirement for me, having
worked from leaving school at Easter 1956 (aged 15) until the end of
February 2006.-a-a (Tue 03/04/1956 - Tue 28/02/2006)
Luckily, successful so far too, we're both still here, enjoying our
weekly town lunch and great annual breaks, locally and abroad.
It is my intention to finish driving this year, no more car tax, AA,
MOT or insurance. I have renewed my licence for three years though,
that's free and handy for ID. It'll be buses, trains or taxis from
the end of February following 65 years of being mobile.
A Happy New Year from me too.
August 2026 will see me completing 25 years of retirement, and March 2026 will
be when my faithful steed (a 1965 Morris Minor that I bought in 2008) reaches
the end of its 61st year on the planet.-a Although as a Historic vehicle it doesn't legally need an MOT, I do arrange an annual service and MOT because that
gives me confidence that it remains roadworthy. It passed its MOT last November
and I have a couple of "advisories" which are things that are to MOT standards
at the time of testing but will probably need attention before the next MOT. I
fixed one advisory within a few weeks, and the other can wait for the warmer weather.-a I don't use the car much (about 500 miles between MOTs) but my creaky
bones and the weight of a weekly shop are incompatible these days, hence the weekly outing for the car to provide door to door transport.
As for health and happiness, neither of those can be considered a "given". Using an array of very complicated looking hospital equipment I was diagnosed
some years ago with a condition that I had to notify to DVLA and they gave me a
"medical condition" driving licence, and they ask for a medical opinion on my
continued ability to drive every time I apply to renew it.-a So far, so good.
After annual visits to a hospital consultant for repeats of the diagnostic tests, I was told that the readings were almost identical for every one of the 7
annual tests they have given me, so I was considered fully stable and I was discharged to my GP's oversight after that.-a The GP gives me an annual medical
MOT and that has so far shown I am still stable.-a The next check will be in March 2026.
The happiness bit went out of the window in the middle of 2025 when my wife of
almost 48 years died in hospital of natural causes which didn't respond to the
treatments provided.-a She was my first serious girlfriend so I am navigating
around a huge hole in my life.-a Christmas 2025 was particularly difficult. First
there was the Christmas card list.-a For years we had a routine.-a My wife chose
the cards to send and wrote "To [whoever]" inside and I looked them up in the
address book, wrote the address on the envelope and put the stamp on.-a I had
never needed to know who to send cards to because my wife had all that information in her brain, and then I was faced with going through the address
book and trying to remember whether I had used that address the previous year or
not.-a I did a reasonable job, though only after a couple of days of going backwards and forwards through the address book.-a I only received one card from
someone I didn't remember to send a card to.
Then Christmas dinner for one was mentally challenging, but I did manage the full spread of turkey, roast spuds and parsnips, boiled carrots and sprouts, all
in a quantity sufficient to cater for a microwaved reheat on Boxing Day as well.
Also on Boxing Day the remainder of the turkey was weighed into portions and put
in the freezer to be defrosted whenever I fancy turkey again. Nothing was wasted.
I have friends and neighbours helping me along, by phone calls, chats in the street and one who drops round for a half-hour cup of tea and a natter (about
anything and everything) a couple of days a week.-a I also have a dyslexic friend
who for years has used me as a proof reader for anything she writes (all lower
case and without punctuation) to make it readable to whoever is going to receive
it, and she has just carried on using that service as usual, and that has helped
me enormously by giving me routine objectives to achieve.-a It is a really useful
"life goes on" reminder, as is cooking healthy meals each day rather than resorting to take-aways, because I still have ahead an annual GP health review
to keep my driving licence renewable.
I apologise for the length of the above, but writing it all down has been therapeutic.-a On a more cheerful note, I did a hunt on the internet for some
Christmas carols to have playing in the background while I ate Christmas dinner,
and I came across a slightly different take on the "12 Days of Christmas" scenario.-a I downloaded it to share, and we are still in the 12 days period so I
am sharing it here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7g3pk8001bstdlciq3hnz/Yet-Another-12-Days.wmv?
rlkey=7c86cjtrrwief8qt7vre0s395&dl=0
Enjoy!
Jim
On 01/01/2026 12:31, Spike wrote:
kat <littlelionne@hotmail.com> wrote:
On 01/01/2026 08:27, Bri. wrote:
Happy New Year, health and happiness to All.
This year celebrates 20 years of enjoyable retirement for me, having
worked from leaving school at Easter 1956 (aged 15) until the end of
February 2006. (Tue 03/04/1956 - Tue 28/02/2006)
Luckily, successful so far too, we're both still here, enjoying our
weekly town lunch and great annual breaks, locally and abroad.
It is my intention to finish driving this year, no more car tax, AA,
MOT or insurance. I have renewed my licence for three years though,
that's free and handy for ID. It'll be busses, trains or taxis from
the end of February following 65 years of being mobile.
Happy New Year to you and all.
Personally I hope this year I can drive! Been having assorted troubles with
sciatica and a knee I twisted and been using mr kat as a chauffeur recently.
DAMHIKT, but my advice would be for you to see a private chiropractor about >> those two problems, which may be connected in the sense that either the one >> caused the other, or thererCOs a third as yet unknown cause for them both. >>
My 86-year-old friend and former colleague had issues with his back that
caused considerable discomfort, to the extent that he needed a frame to
walk anywhere. He was being treated by a hospital, but after two years they >> discovered they had been applying the wrong remedy, making the original
problem worse.
On my advice he saw a local chiropractor, and was astonished to get four
days pain-free after a single treatment. His chiropractor told him that
they see two kinds of people - those who the hospitals canrCOt treat, and
those who the hospitals mistreat.
I have a slight curvature in my spine, which gives me backache if I stand too
long.
Discovered that several years ago when I thought I needed a new hip due to
a lack of movement, but it was that causing it. No idea what caused the sciatica but it has cleared up.
The knee, I blame some awkward stairs in a cottage in Southwold. I felt the twist.
If it wasn't for the knee I could walk easily enough. It is better than it was
which is why I think I should get back in my car soon. As it is I can walk better without any sort of aid than with one, pushing anything or even using a
stick makes me stand all wrong!
Whatever course you choose, I hope it works out for you.
A Happy and Healthy 2026 to all.
And to you.:-)
I apologise for the length of the above, but writing it all down has
been therapeutic.
On 01/01/2026 14:30, Indy Jess John wrote:
I apologise for the length of the above, but writing it all down has
been therapeutic.
I'm glad to hear you found it therapeutic - I'm sure a lot of people
would be greatly encouraged by your ability to cope and even thrive in
such circumstances. Feel free to give yourself a pat on the back from me.
On 01/01/2026 08:27, Bri. wrote:
Happy New Year, health and happiness to All.
This year celebrates 20 years of enjoyable retirement for me, having
worked from leaving school at Easter 1956 (aged 15) until the end of
February 2006. (Tue 03/04/1956 - Tue 28/02/2006)
Luckily, successful so far too, we're both still here, enjoying our
weekly town lunch and great annual breaks, locally and abroad.
It is my intention to finish driving this year, no more car tax, AA,
MOT or insurance. I have renewed my licence for three years though,
that's free and handy for ID. It'll be buses, trains or taxis from
the end of February following 65 years of being mobile.
A Happy New Year from me too.
August 2026 will see me completing 25 years of retirement, and March
2026 will be when my faithful steed (a 1965 Morris Minor that I bought
in 2008) reaches the end of its 61st year on the planet. Although as a Historic vehicle it doesn't legally need an MOT, I do arrange an annual service and MOT because that gives me confidence that it remains
roadworthy. It passed its MOT last November and I have a couple of "advisories" which are things that are to MOT standards at the time of testing but will probably need attention before the next MOT. I fixed
one advisory within a few weeks, and the other can wait for the warmer weather. I don't use the car much (about 500 miles between MOTs) but my creaky bones and the weight of a weekly shop are incompatible these
days, hence the weekly outing for the car to provide door to door transport.
As for health and happiness, neither of those can be considered a
"given". Using an array of very complicated looking hospital equipment
I was diagnosed some years ago with a condition that I had to notify to
DVLA and they gave me a "medical condition" driving licence, and they
ask for a medical opinion on my continued ability to drive every time I apply to renew it. So far, so good. After annual visits to a hospital consultant for repeats of the diagnostic tests, I was told that the
readings were almost identical for every one of the 7 annual tests they
have given me, so I was considered fully stable and I was discharged to
my GP's oversight after that. The GP gives me an annual medical MOT and that has so far shown I am still stable. The next check will be in
March 2026.
The happiness bit went out of the window in the middle of 2025 when my
wife of almost 48 years died in hospital of natural causes which didn't respond to the treatments provided. She was my first serious girlfriend
so I am navigating around a huge hole in my life. Christmas 2025 was particularly difficult. First there was the Christmas card list. For
years we had a routine. My wife chose the cards to send and wrote "To [whoever]" inside and I looked them up in the address book, wrote the address on the envelope and put the stamp on. I had never needed to
know who to send cards to because my wife had all that information in
her brain, and then I was faced with going through the address book and trying to remember whether I had used that address the previous year or
not. I did a reasonable job, though only after a couple of days of
going backwards and forwards through the address book. I only received
one card from someone I didn't remember to send a card to.
Then Christmas dinner for one was mentally challenging, but I did manage
the full spread of turkey, roast spuds and parsnips, boiled carrots and sprouts, all in a quantity sufficient to cater for a microwaved reheat
on Boxing Day as well. Also on Boxing Day the remainder of the turkey
was weighed into portions and put in the freezer to be defrosted
whenever I fancy turkey again. Nothing was wasted.
I have friends and neighbours helping me along, by phone calls, chats in
the street and one who drops round for a half-hour cup of tea and a
natter (about anything and everything) a couple of days a week. I also
have a dyslexic friend who for years has used me as a proof reader for anything she writes (all lower case and without punctuation) to make it readable to whoever is going to receive it, and she has just carried on using that service as usual, and that has helped me enormously by giving
me routine objectives to achieve. It is a really useful "life goes on" reminder, as is cooking healthy meals each day rather than resorting to take-aways, because I still have ahead an annual GP health review to
keep my driving licence renewable.
I apologise for the length of the above, but writing it all down has
been therapeutic. On a more cheerful note, I did a hunt on the internet
for some Christmas carols to have playing in the background while I ate Christmas dinner, and I came across a slightly different take on the "12 Days of Christmas" scenario. I downloaded it to share, and we are still
in the 12 days period so I am sharing it here: https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/7g3pk8001bstdlciq3hnz/Yet-Another-12-Days.wmv?rlkey=7c86cjtrrwief8qt7vre0s395&dl=0
Enjoy!
Jim
Oliver <ofspam@blackyonder.co.uk> wrote:
On 01/01/2026 14:30, Indy Jess John wrote:
I apologise for the length of the above, but writing it all down has
been therapeutic.
I'm glad to hear you found it therapeutic - I'm sure a lot of people
would be greatly encouraged by your ability to cope and even thrive in
such circumstances. Feel free to give yourself a pat on the back from me.
Happy New Year everyone, wishing you all the very best for 2026
Have read a comment about FN being missing, just wondering if perhaps he >hasnrCOt renews his sub to newsgroups
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