My life pendulum has swung well past the midpoint of my life. So, most of my worries are for my kids and grandkids.
What does the future hold for them ?
The biggest concerns are the lunatics that have taken charge of their personal asylums.
First and foremost, there is Russia with Putin at the controls. He has to be insane. His actions and his total lack of humanity surely indicate insanity. I mean, does he ever hear the words coming out of his mouth, stop and think, “That doesn’t sound right, doesn’t make sense”. Single handedly he has put us right back to the days of the “cold war”.
Next, there is China with Xi Jinping at the controls. Did China protest with the rest of the world when Putin started his war with the Ukraine. No, they stood on the sidelines waiting to see how it would all pan out. Also, I believe, waiting to see what the worlds reaction would be. China has it’s own “Ukraine” in the shape of Taiwan.
So that’s two major powers who would push us to the brink of a 3rd world war.
And then we have North Korea, under the control of another lunatic, Kim Jong Un. He heads a country, home to some of the most oppressed people in the world. His posturing presents a real threat to world peace. And, for just a moment, the US installed their own lunatic, Donald Trump, in the White House. The world was forced to stand by while those two loose cannons traded tit for tat, insults like children in the school yard.
In my view, the world has never been a more dangerous place. There are so many smaller countries that could be the fuse for a bigger conflict.
And then there is Gaia, Mother Earth, our home world. The home that we have systematically trashed. Slowly, we are waking up to the enormity of what we have done. Global Warming, plastics in our oceans, toxic waste in our rivers.
Is it too late to fix our planet ? I don’t know.
What I do know is that our legacy for our children and grandchildren is a monumental challenge of global proportions.
And that is what worries me about the future. I won’t be here to see it, but I hope our offspring are successful.
It was my birthday recently. My daughter took me out for a birthday meal. This little fella appeared during the meal, then followed me home. He has now taken up residence on our deck !!!
As the title says, this is a quiet place. Gerry loves to spread the seat with cushions and settle down with her latest book.
Although I built the deck, assembled the seat, and planted the pots and tubs, I don’t get a look in.
It is, after all, her Quiet Place
I guess that really isn’t the point. The point is that Gerry enjoys it. Surrounded by antirrhinum, petunia, geranium, and Begonia flowers. And that is good enough for me.
It didn’t take me long to identify my daily habits.
I have found that I eat every day. Not just once but multiple times per day.
Is this a habit or an addiction ?
Sometimes, depending how busy I am, I’ll eat just the once, usually in the evening. Habit ?
But, often, I will eat two and three times per day. Sometimes, while preparing dinner, I will make a sandwich, even though dinner will be ready in 30 minutes or so. Addiction ?
Yesterday, we met up with my sisters for lunch and culture. This irregular event is something we do as we live about 90 miles apart. We choose a venue around the midpoint between us, meet up for lunch, and have a good old chinwag. Sometimes, like yesterday, we manage to fit in some fresh air and exercise too.
So lunch first. Our chosen meeting point was The Wheatsheaf at Woodmancote, Henfield, where the food was very tasty, with a Brazilian twist. Needless to say, I couldn’t resist the Moqueca, a Brazilian fish and Tiger Prawn stew. It was delicious 😋
We are Britain’s largest “Prairie,” or “Naturalistic,” garden, with eight acres of stunning garden to roam around. Unlike most gardens of a comparable size, we have no castle or stately home! We designed and planted the garden ourselves, on Pauline’s family farm in West Sussex. Instead of armies of servants and gardeners, we planted all 35 000 plants with help of amazing friends and family!
Our garden encourages exploration using a network of small wood chip paths which snake through the huge borders. Come and visit, please do walk on the grass and in the borders! Sussex Prairies-an extraordinary garden created by ordinary people!
On entry, the winding path leads you past “Audrey II” the banana tree, standing guard.
“Audrey II” …. Little Shop of Horrors
Past a glass encampment. All that was missing was some lighting.
A Faerie High Rise !!
And on to a pair of very friendly pigs. We soon discovered they like their backs scratched
Me Providing The Requisite Back Massage
But we were conscious of the many signs informing us that “Pigs Bite”
This Little Piggy ….……. Not Yet Gone To Market.
Moving on we entered the gardens proper where we were presented with this view.
Tea Shop – Where We Ended Our Day
The tea shop was ignored at this time as we set off to explore. Here are a “few” snaps that I took to give you a taste for what this garden offers.
Glass HouseYours For A Shade Over £19,000
Although there are formal paths and open lawn areas, you are encouraged to go “off-piste” and wander amongst the plants to better enjoy the scents and textures.
What’s Got These Birds All Of A FlutterIs That An Intruder ?Aha, There’s The Cause Of The CommotionBottle Birds – All Made From Milk Cartons !!!Bison Approaching – Majestic and “Rust”icAnd There They Go Marching Across The Prairie
Throughout the garden, there are many sculptures. Many featuring stained or painted glass.
Shell or Fossil ?
The changeable weather, sunny then cloudy, meant that they were constantly changing with the light
The beauty of these gardens is the huge variety of colours and scents. Also, the textures of the grasses. Chris, my sister, spent a great deal of time fondling the grasses, commenting on the softness or coarseness.
The gardens are laid out in such a way that, typically, you can’t see everything from a single vantage point.
Rather, you catch glimpses from one area to the next. The paths gently curving, leading from one area to the next.
An Artists Painting & Easel !!
I don’t know if the kids being at school has any real bearing on things, but it was really peaceful here.
Flutterbies – Butterflies
There were times when I was truly on my own. No others in view or earshot.
She Looks Cold
Just the occasional face peering out between the plants
Wheelie ?GoldenDahliaMy FavouriteOur Family Namesake Dahlia Both Friendly & Sinister ?DahliaDahlia
To be honest, before starting out from home, I was fully prepared to be disappointed. Any doubts I had were soon dispelled. This place is lovely. We actually spent around two and a half hours here, but the time flew by.
So, at almost five o’clock, we slipped into the tea shop to grab cups of tea, ice creams and flapjacks.
Then, sadly, it was time to wend our way home. A lovely day, good food, good company, and an agreement to return to the Sussex Prairie Garden later in the season.
If you were forced to wear one outfit over and over again, what would it be?
Simple answer, I’m already doing it.
Either, jeans or dark shorts and a polo shirt.
These are the clothes I feel most comfortable in. It has been many years since I felt the need to wear anything more formal.
When I first started work, it was in a small (8 people) engineering works and then, later with the MOD as a Fitter/Turner apprentice. During my apprenticeship and later, on my tools, I typically wore jeans and a t-shirt under my overalls. A few years later, still in the MOD, I became a Ratefixer / Planner. Here, the expectation was that you dressed like a “professional.” If not wearing a suit, certainly smart trousers, jacket, collar and tie.
I left the MOD to join IBM where I stayed for 38 years. In the beginning the dress code was quite formal. But over the years, in line with the real world, the requirements were relaxed. As long as you weren’t customer facing. And I definitely wasn’t. So, over the years, I ditched the jackets, tossed the ties and reverted to my natural slob.
And so here I am, back where I started, wearing the same outfit, day after day ….. my retirees uniform.
Which food, when you eat it, instantly transports you to childhood?
Believe it or not, the humble boiled egg, is the one food that truly transports me back.
When we were kids, there were chickens and geese in our backyard. My dad used to feed them on commercially available feeds, but Mum used to give them all the veggie scraps from the kitchen. Stuff like potato and carrot peelings, trimmings from home grown leeks and the leaves from cabbages and cauliflower.
It’s hard to describe the flavour. The yolk always had a rich taste. Something that your typical supermarket factory produced eggs fails to match. As soon as you crack the shell, lift the lid. You can tell the egg is not going to meet expectations. The colour of the yolk is a dead give away. My childhood eggs all had a rich golden yolk. Today’s supermarket offering tends to be a pale yellow.
Obviously, the birds diet has a lot to do with how the eggs look and taste.
When was the last time that childhood memory was triggered ?
We were on our way down to Central France and had stopped at a B&B. They had chooks roaming around their orchard. The eggs served for breakfast, supplied by those hens, were simply delicious.
My wife and I have a daily routine. Every morning, we “Wordle” while having our first cuppa of the day, accompanied by toasted tea cakes or toasted muffins.
We are a little competitive, each of us gloating over who has the longest winning streak.
Once we have finished wordling, my wife will move on to reading her latest Kindle based book. I, in contrast, will complete my daily Soduku, Codeword, and Crossword puzzles. Just recently, I have also added Quordle to my daily routine.
Only once I have completed my word puzzles do I join my wife and immerse myself in my latest fiction choice.
Of course, this all gets booted into touch by the demands of family and friends.
Somewhere in there, we manage to find time to garden, travel and socialise.
But here’s the conundrum, being retired means that we have plenty of spare time. At the same time, due to our advanced age, we have less and less time left.
So, we get to choose how we spend our time. None of it is wasted, just spent. Wisely, or otherwise.
WrAnTz 