It was good to see a well-spaced group of walkers out the front this morning: I’m sure the Amblers enjoyed today’s spring weather. We meanwhile have not been so enterprising: a couple of loads of washing out, dry and in, thanks to solar and wind energy, and neither of them bought from the French state-owned utility that fleeces us for gas and electricity (apart from running the washing machine, of course: you can’t fight the monopolies).
We have gardened. We returned from our local nursery this morning with a few more plants, some bean poles and what felt like half a ton of grit for the extended rockery. Bought plants are in and watered, as are a number of transplanted subjects, and a few that we have raised from cuttings. More tomorrow: a few drifts of penstemon, I think, and a spot of architectural box.
Two days hence, I shall have been retired (from salaried employment) for twenty years. My ambition, as was my grandfather’s, is to get more in pension than I did in salary, and I wouldn’t be surprised if I’d achieved my target already. I’m just too lazy to do the calculations. This does not take inflation into account, of course. But I’m achingly conscious of how well off my generation is with its final salary pensions.
The car was unenthusiastic about starting this morning, as it has the last few times I’ve fired it up. It helpfully told me that the battery charge was very low, and advised me (duh!) to drive it to recharge it. Well, the trip out was complicated by idling at a couple of lots of roadworks within half a mile of home, a detour to let the police get on with dealing with a crash, and still more roadworks on the way home (by a different route). Par conséquent, the battery was in better shape when we got home, and the coolant and sump oil had got up to decent temperatures. With advancing years, I have become a rather more anxious driver, and driving today on our narrow country roads didn’t help. Oh well: we realised when we got home that we had a lot more on the nursery shopping list than we actually bought, so maybe I’ll have another go tomorrow - once the next lot of washing’s out.
1 comment:
20 years of retirement? Bah. I've been retired and collecting a USS pension since 1989; I worked 24 years full-time for that and got twelve extra years added when I took early retirement. I've certainly collected more in pension than I did in salary, though inflation might knock that into a cocked hat. My yearly salary in 1965 was £1740 a year, take-home £99 a month. The figures now are rather higher; and, yes, I too am conscious of having been born at the right time. JVP
Post a Comment