Retirement: Five Years On

July 2, 2022 / fgrtommo / 1 Comment

Five years ago today, I experienced my first day of retirement after almost 40 years of corporate working. I haven’t done a stroke of paid work since retiring and I haven’t regretted that for one minute. I have been lucky that my health has been good (I know a few new retirees who have not been so fortunate) and that earning and saving during my working life has meant that I could retire in my early 60s and still live comfortably (again, not something that is possible for all).

*^{Taking The Retirement Step Five Years Ago: Mr Archer Has Left The Building!}*

I have also been lucky in that retirement moved me more permanently to our family home in a lovely part of Gloucestershire but that I could also keep a degree of access to my London flat for a few years. That meant that I could wean myself off London cultural life gradually. That London facility has just been sold and now I am tied much more to Gloucestershire day to day (something that probably means Long-Suffering Wife is a little more long-suffering these days). However, while cultural exploits are now less frequent, the countryside here is highly alluring, the rural walks are delightful and the pandemic lockdown had already trained me to make the most of the local.

*^{Long, Local, Countryside Walks – A Great Retirement Treat}*

Five years ago, I wasn’t sure what to expect from retirement (that was one of the reasons why I started this blog when I retired) and there certainly have been some surprises along the way. The Covid pandemic has been a big one and that has curtailed a lot of the travel that I anticipated doing. Middle Son’s accident a few years ago was also completely impossible to anticipate and has taken a while to recover from. Now a needless world war is causing more widespread disruption in which to plan.

*^{Pre-Covid Travel We Did Manage: South Africa}* ²⁰¹⁸

Our sons’ locations have also been unpredictable and yet this has determined a lot of our travel. When Youngest Son was in Australia we went there (twice); currently he is in Belfast and we have visited there twice too. Middle Son remains in London so we have seen him there but we wait on tenterhooks as to where he will move to next and more permanently.

*^{Northern Ireland Summer 2021; (Typically Very) Early Morning Trip With Youngest Son}*

Meanwhile, Eldest Son is settled in Edinburgh with his partner and they have produced the loveliest retirement surprise – our First Grandchild – and so Edinburgh has become another regular destination.

As I did a year after leaving employment, I have gone back to the initial impressions I had of retirement which I set out after the first six months (here and here). To recap, the main personal lessons, in summary, were:

Work didn’t and doesn’t define me and I don’t miss it
There is plenty to do in retirement
There is still need for structure
Holidays (trips away from home) are more relaxing now
I miss London, but not as much as I expected
Summer Is A Good Time To Retire
Remember That Retirement Affects One’s Partner Too
Spend Time Getting To Know One’s (New) Neighbourhood
Don’t Rush Into Any New Big Time Commitments
Health, As Always, Is Critical.

Once again, I don’t see much to change or add to that. I have certainly found plenty to do in retirement and have enjoyed getting involved more in the local community, but a key attraction is that little has to be done in a hurry. Even though I have taken on a few commitments around the village, particularly regarding local climate action, and even though some of these have become quite substantial, the pace is much more relaxed. As in work, there seems to be much to do but, in retirement, most can wait until tomorrow.

*^{Our Meadow And Vegetable Patches: Varying Levels Of Untidiness}*

I have been able to create new routines and structures for my day primarily around walking, shopping and cooking. They help provide some balance between doing and doing very little that create a feeling of busyness but with a flexibility on timescales that is just challenging enough for me.

That flexibility is perhaps the most attractive thing. We can travel or not. I can offer to help with something or not (I remain careful not to promise things I can’t deliver). I can go out gardening today or leave it till later because Wimbledon tennis is on or it looks like rain. I can take a long walk because the weather is nice or I can sit and play a computer game for an hour or two. I can cook simply or take the time to explore into new cooking territory. I can go to a Forest Green Rovers away game halfway across the country or sit nervously alongside the radio commentary.

*^{Who Wouldn’t Want To Travel Halfway Across The Country To See The New Forest Green Rovers Away Kit?}*

The choices are more attractive than when I was working, the execution of those choices is more relaxed, and it’s been a very good five years!

Friends, Family and Parochial Busyness

June 16, 2022 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

Since retiring almost five years ago, I have frequently been surprised by how busy I have felt. Late May and Early June have certainly felt that way although, when I look back, I’m not sure why.

Certainly, I have done a one or two weeks of work on follow up activities relating to a Village Meeting that the local Climate Action Network group I belong to arranged with the Parish Council. And, ok, we have had visitors other than family coming to stay for the first time since the start of the pandemic.

We also had the festivities around the Queens Jubilee (though in our village, these only really stretched to installation of a new commemorative bench and, more engagingly, a four day beer festival in the village pub). We even hosted a long-promised but long awaited drinks event for a few locals in our garden. Plus we had a really lovely visit from our First Grandchild (FG), his parents and his other Grandparents. Oh, and the London Barbican flat that I used before retirement was sold!

*^{Village Pub (The Hog) Ju-Beer-Lee Beer Festival}*

Does that sound like a busy month?

In any case, almost all of it has been a lot of fun and, in the case of the work on the presentations of the summary of feedback from the Village Meeting, I feel like I have achieved something worthwhile for the greater good. I get to present most of it to the Parish Council next week so I hope they will feel the same way.

Lacing all these little events together has been the routine of shopping, cooking, gardening and walking.

Shopping and cooking has been marked by an uptick (in my perception, at least) in the frequency and innovation of my evening meal preparation. I am enjoying cooking more and more as I gain confidence in swapping out recipe ingredients for others to add variety and to use up vegetables otherwise likely to be wasted. ‘Important’ meals for most visitors usually remain the in the ambit of Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) but no longer is this a golden rule and my (in)famous Coronation Chicken (courtesy of Thomasina Miers) got an outing when my Best Man came to visit during the village pub beer festival a couple of weeks ago.

*^{This Coronation Chicken Recipe From Thomasina Miers Is Easy But Creates A Delicious, Colourful, Warm Salad}*

Gardening has been more fraught with the need to focus on the Village Meeting, days of relatively inclement weather, and early afternoon indolence combining to delay planting out of straggly, pot bound vegetable seedlings. Now almost everything is in the ground the slugs are having a better time of it, but at least my seedlings have a chance of producing something.

The local walks have been increasingly pleasant as the weather has improved on our way to the longest day and summer. Plus I have got real enjoyment from using a mobile phone app that identifies birds from their birdsong. The app is called Merlin Bird ID (although I understand from others I have spoken to that there are several alternatives). When I first tried it a few months ago, I wasn’t sure it was accurate. Now I believe it is and using it has begun to help me learn to identify birds before I even open the app and turn the recording/identification function on. It’s adding another pleasurable dimension to my walks in much the same way the app Candide did for me from sometime last year as I tried to identify plants as I went.

*^{Much Loved Sycamore At The Top Of Our Lane}*

LSW and I are off to Lyme Regis this coming weekend where, Covid permitting, we will meet up with Middle Son, Youngest Son and their partners. I’m looking forward to that – and the break in my (busy) routine – immensely.

*^{Last View Of The Barbican Flat – Empty And Sold!}*

A Pensionable Age

May 13, 2022 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

It was my birthday last week and I am now, officially, a pensioner. I can’t wait to get my bus pass and try it out!

I had an absolutely wonderful birthday week and, for the first time in what might be decades, I spent my actual birthday with both my Dad and my sister who has her birthday just the day before mine. She is staying with my Dad and so I popped up to Nottingham to see them both on the way to see Forest Green Rovers’ last, critical game of the season in Mansfield, and then on to Edinburgh.

The weather in Nottingham was kind enough to enable some pleasant local walks but the highlight of my stay – apart perhaps from our joint birthday meal out at a local restaurant – was an evening playing Mahjong.

My Dad (and now my sister) has inherited a fine and thankfully complete bone and hand painted Mahjong set which my Grandad brought from India when he returned to England. The game is a delicate balance of luck and skill but the pleasure really comes from the handling of the bone bricks and counters. Playing again as a family was such fun although we all missed the fourth hand in the game – Mum.

*^{Three-Player Mahjong; My Winning Hand (Hehe!)}*

Of course the next highlight was Forest Green Rovers’ game at Mansfield. We needed to achieve a better result on the day than Exeter City (who were playing at home in Exeter) to win the English Football League Division 2 Championship. We came from behind twice against Mansfield with two fine goals right in front of us to gain a draw. Then, a minute after our result, we heard that Exeter had lost; we are Champions! Joy was unconfined on and off the pitch!

I had to leave those celebrations early and quickly to get my train north to Edinburgh. I arrived just before midnight in the midst of First Grandchild’s (FG’s) sleep training. I was quiet and careful not to disrupt the discipline of feeding him at fixed times and of forcing him to settle himself when waking during the night. FG’s progress during my few days in Edinburgh was transformational but not entirely linear – nor will it be continuous going forward. But the direction of travel is extremely positive and, for Eldest Son and, especially, his partner, the huge reduction in FG’s demands during evenings and the night is already life changing for them (and FG).

*^{Big Beach And Big Sky: Portobello, Edinburgh}*

Seeing FG again was a real treat and I had such a great time in Edinburgh again. I visited the Royal Botanic Gardens once more (with a sleeping FG). I am now familiar with the gardens but, of course, it is now Spring so everything looks different – and even more interesting – than it did during my last visit. The last of the tulips are out and the rhododendrons are looking gorgeous. The trees are freshly in leaf and the birds are super-active. Fortunately, FG slumbered throughout.

*^{Royal Botanical Gardens: Tulips In The Demonstration Garden}*

It is at this time of the year that one can see that, indeed, the Botanical Garden in Edinburgh has the largest collection of rhododendrons in the world. There is such a variety on show and now is peak flowering time. A small but interesting exhibition in Inverleith House set out the characteristics of rhododendrons, their world distribution, their history in gardening, and the challenges to indigenous plant-life some varieties have caused as they have escaped into the wilds of the northern hemisphere, including Scotland.

*^{Edinburgh Royal Botanical Gardens: Fresh Leafed Trees And Flowering Rhododendrons}*

I also went to a superb exhibition of Barbara Hepworth’s work at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art. It was a straightforward retrospective but, I thought, the pieces on show were not only excellent illustrations of the progression her art took through her life but were, in several cases, just astonishingly good. I loved the exhibition.

*^{Barbara Hepworth At The Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art}*

In part, as I have noted during previous visits to Edinburgh galleries, my pleasure was heightened by the fact that there were no crowds vying for views of the work on show. Exhibitions in London may be more high profile but they can also attract crowds that can detract from the show. Being another capital and highly cultural city, Edinburgh can attract big names and marvellous works but without the huge audiences – at least, outside of Edinburgh Festival timings.

*^{More Hepworth At The Scottish National Gallery Of Modern Art}*

My final cultural exploit in Edinburgh was to see the Scottish National Portrait Gallery. The big ‘wow!’ here is the Great Hall of the building itself. As one walks into the building for the first time, it is a jaw-droppingly beautiful space.

*^{The Great Hall At The Scottish National Portrait Gallery}*

The art on show is, predictably, almost exclusively portraiture. I can only take so much of that and I may have overdone it as the chronologically organised galleries became a bit of a blur after a while.

*^{The Library At The Scottish National Portrait Gallery}*

There was however, a mixed but, overall, interesting exhibition on the Scottish census. This included a piece of a project by Kieron Dodds to photograph ginger-haired people. These tend to be in distinct geographic pockets around the world – apparently, for example, 13% of people in Scotland are have ginger coloured hair and there are distinct preponderances of ginger colouring in parts of the Caribbean and Russia. The project felt relevant given that FG’s current hair colour is also a little ginger.

Then it was back to London to carry out a chore or two in the Barbican flat prior to sale (we hope). I saw The Northman in a cinema – my first cinema visit for a long while. It was worth seeing on the big screen if only for the amazing Icelandic scenery but, apart from one twist exquisitely delivered by Nicole Kidman, it was, for me, no more than a bit of moderately entertaining, macho-violent, Nordic swashbuckling.

I capped off birthday week with breakfast with Middle Son – always a treat to get an update on his shifting plans. Then home to get my bus pass application in……

Getting To Skye At Christmas

December 31, 2021 / fgrtommo / 1 Comment

On Christmas Eve 2020, shortly after we had smuggled our sons out to our Gloucestershire home just before the 2020 Christmas Coronavirus lockdown, Youngest Son (YS) suggested that we hire a house in Skye for Christmas 2021. Everyone was extremely keen on the idea and, after a few quick texts, our sons’ girlfriends were enthusiastic too. I handed YS my credit card and he immediately booked a brand new, designer house on the western edge of Skye with the hope that Covid would be long passed or at least largely neutralised.

A year is a long time in which much has happened. Covid is changed but very much still with us and it is still hampering all travel, socialising and entertainment. Also, our first grandchild – not even a dot when we booked the house in Skye – has arrived recently. That meant that Eldest Son and his partner had to drop out from our 2021 Christmas adventure. To compensate, we all decided to incorporate a stop in Edinburgh on the way to and from Skye so that we could all (re-)introduce ourselves to First Grandchild (FG) around Christmas.

Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and I travelled by train to Edinburgh. It’s a long journey but we decided against using the electric car because, in Winter, it requires charging so frequently that the journey would have taken a whole day. We decided again a flight from Bristol because the cost for taking our bags was almost as much as for us plus we are trying to avoid flying in a probably futile (but well meaning) effort to reduce our carbon footprint. Fortunately the trains were entirely on time and, with the exception of some rowdy 20-somethings who got on at Darlington, mask wearing was common. We felt fairly safe and comfortable.

Getting to Edinburgh a few days ahead of the others (staying once again in an excellent Premier Inn Hub with small but perfectly formed rooms) enabled us to spend more time with FG and his parents and have a couple of extra days in the city we are coming to love.

^{Blue Sky V}*^{iew Across The Meadows To Arthurs Seat, Edinburgh}*

The weather was very mixed. We had some wonderful blue sky days and some that were dull and moist – the local word is ‘dreich’.

*^{Murky, Moody View Of Edinburgh Castle}*

Regardless, at night the Christmas lights on the commercial buildings and between the curtains of the Georgian terrace houses and flats enlivened the atmosphere.

With the last-minute news that Middle Son’s cold symptoms wasn’t the result of Covid and that he and his partner’s PCR tests had proved negative, we all convened in an AirBnB armed with negative Lateral Flow Tests. We were all able to have multiple turns at holding FG who was, of course, absolutely lovely. He is engaging eye contact increasingly and, although he usually maintains a vaguely suspicious and curious look, is starting to smile. And then we set off for Skye.

First we loaded up two hire cars with our luggage and panicked a bit when we saw how little room was left for the planned ‘big shop’ to get food and drink for the following seven days on Skye. In a further wrinkle to our plans, Scottish licensing laws forced us to split the shop for food from that for drink which we postponed until Fort William. Ultimately, it was all good and we got what we needed (and more).

At first, the drive across Scotland was through the dreich weather. Then, suddenly, we were driving through wonderful fairytale, mountain landscapes overlaid by miles and miles of hoar frost. I have seen such frosts in local pockets before but never on this impressive scale. It was a magical sight.

^{(Blurred) Pictures Of Many Square Miles Of Hoar Frost From A Moving Car}

*^{Blue Skies Over Hoar Frost At Dalwinnie}*

Then, as darkness began to close in, we passed the romantically positioned Eilean Donan Castle, looking rather mournful in the descending gloom, and then traversed the Skye Bridge onto the island. Remarkably, there was still 90 minutes of driving to go (MS and YS took the strain on that).

In darkness we found the house we had rented, unloaded all our goodies, confirmed the high quality of the premises, allocated the bedrooms, got the woodburner going, stretched our limbs and enjoyed the first of the evening meals prepared on a rota among the six of us. It’s so nice having young people around who have the energy and willingness to prepare a fish curry for six after driving for day; delicious.

*^{Our House For Christmas Week: Wood House (https://harlosh.co/wood-h)}*

When I was working, Christmas was a time to wind down and chill out. When I started out on my career, I tended to work around Christmas but the pace was usually slow since few others were around and I could relax (relatively) without wasting precious holiday. Increasingly, as the boys arrived and the family home moved to the country, I realised the benefit of an extended break at Christmas. It became a time of winding down.

Retirement now seems to be bringing a reversal. Recently, Christmas seems to be one of the most energetic times of the year. Christmases have been increasingly busy, especially for LSW as she focused on Christmas lunch at our house with large numbers of family. We stepped up the activity levels even further with our Scottish adventure this year. In a subsequent blog post I’ll describe the benefits of that uptick in activity as we spent Christmas on Skye (spoiler: it was fabulous!).

Happy New Year!

Momentous November

November 30, 2021 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

It’s been a very good month for me. Early in November, our new, first grandchild arrived safely. We were able to visit his city of birth, Edinburgh, to congratulate the new parents in person and hold and cuddle the little fella for the first time. Even in those first few days we saw him change and settle into a routine that is destabilising and sleep depriving for his parents but which looked normal. We miss him already and can’t wait to return to Edinburgh just before Christmas and again in 2022.

*^{The First Of The New Baby Congratulations Cards}*

I’ve been looking forward to being a Grandad for a few years. So far, it is just as I expected. I feel proud and loving, but glad I can feel all that emotional warmth without all the challenge and awkward practicality of having to be a new parent. That looks as demanding as ever but Eldest Son (ES) and his partner are more than coping and their rewards will be immense too.

It is so great that I’m now retired and so we can pop up to Edinburgh without having to slip the visits between any work commitments. Also, the fact that the pandemic has curtailed any plans for exotic holidays abroad over the last year or so means that we can splash out on the rail travel and hotels without feeling too extravagant. If our other sons have children too (say, in Belfast and/or Bristol) than I can see these sorts of lovely, spirit-lifting Grandad visits are going to become a major preoccupation!

We saw Edinburgh this time in cold but mainly sunny weather – the haar was nowhere to be seen. As before, we were impressed by the number of small independent shops and cafes. Two of our three breakfasts (at Urban Angel and Union Brew Lab) were really excellent. We even managed a lunch and a coffee break in a couple of cool and friendly places with a completely relaxed grandchild.

The Royal Botanic Garden and Inverleith Park were also lovely and the preparations for the Christmas light show in the former looked very promising. We had a very pleasant time walking miles around the city and practicing our pram pushing skills. We also were able to meet with the other grandparents again over a tasty Indian takeaway meal they provided while the little one snoozed in his Moses basket. I understand that he snoozed a bit less after we left!

This month was also momentous for the passing of my Dad’s 90^th birthday. I was able to visit him briefly in Nottingham to celebrate this big milestone. We marked the occasion with a very substantial and very satisfactory meal at Côte, which is an old favourite, and with a tipple or two from my Dad’s impressive collection of liqueurs. He misses my Mum, as we all do, but we had a quietly relaxed and convivial time comforted by the knowledge that at least she was aware, earlier this year, that her great grandchild was on his way.

In between all this celebration, Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and I also managed a rather ad hoc visit to London to see LSW’s sister and then our Middle Son (MS) and his partner. I love going up to London to catch up with developments around the City and the East End, visit the galleries and just absorb the bustle.

^{I Won’t Ever Tire Of The London Skyline}

Of course, that bustle is reduced during the ongoing pandemic. Nonetheless, the restaurant MS took us to (Sager & Wilde) was busy and had a great atmosphere (as well as good food) and the exhibitions at Tate Modern were booked up. Still, I loved meandering around the Tate Modern. The Turbine Hall had an interesting mobile exhibit and the general collection I walked through on the 3^rd floor was, as usual, a little staggering in terms of the quality of the art.

*^{‘In Love With The World’ By Anicka Yi In The Turbine Hall Of Tate Modern; Like Floating Jellyfish}*

*^{Works By Emily Karne Kngwarreye And John Mawurndjul In An Exhibition Of Australian Art At Tate Modern}*

Back in Gloucestershire, in the gaps between all these excursions, I have managed to sustain the normal routines of watching my football team (Forest Green Rovers still ‘top of the league and having a laugh’), walking, cooking, a bit of garden clearance ahead of winter, and some activity around our local Horsley Climate Action Network (HCAN) group.

*^{Watching The Village Football Team On Weekends When Forest Green Rovers Don’t Have A Game}*

A particular relief is that, following the 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26), I have managed to write and publish our quarterly HCAN newsletter. LSW and I plan to travel to Edinburgh on a more frequent basis next year to watch our new grandchild develop and we will also visit MS and Youngest Son when we can. Therefore my commitment to HCAN may reduce to simply sustaining that newsletter routine. It’s been a momentous month and momentum around family is going to continue to be the priority as we move towards, and into, 2022.

Village Climate Action

September 29, 2021 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

The last few weeks seem to have been busy. It’s funny how retirement has changed my feeling of what a busy life is. I can dawdle through breakfast, stroll around the local area while ‘getting my steps in’ most of the morning, browse the newspaper for an hour, snooze a bit after lunch, and cook and watch box set episodes in the evenings. Compared with a 45-50 hour week in a helter-skelter office, it’s a breeze. And yet, working in our local, village climate action group, which generates the pressure of a few extra meetings, the need to manage a few peoples’ surprisingly acute sensitivities, a commitment to arrange and attend a couple of public events, the responsibility for our newsletter and the imperative of responding to a score of emails, my days can suddenly feel very full.

*Dawn This Morning On The Way To Town – Just To Prove I Do Get Up Early Some Days In Retirement!*

I have enjoyed being part of our local village climate action group since I retired. It has been a good way to become better known in the village, to meet villagers I didn’t know when I was commuting to London each week, and to feel part of the local community. Our main objective is to keep the climate and ecological crises high on village residents’ radar.

To that end I have helped prepare for and then man a couple of stalls advertising our existence and interests in the last couple of weeks. The first was in our local market town at the annual Nailsworth Town Meeting where we helped out our (big) sister climate action group.

*The Nailsworth Climate Action Network Stall At The ‘Town Meeting’*

The second was at our local village fete. Given the size of our village, this fete (especially the ever-expanding dog show) punches well above its weight. It also has the benefit of always having nice, sunny weather – I don’t know how the organisers manage that!

*Horsley Village Fete Morris Dancers In Full Swing*

While Long-Suffering Wife crowned days of organisation and food preparation by slaving away managing the teas and cakes service in the Village Hall, I stood in blazing September sun in front of or climate action group stall trying to catch the eye of passers-by that I could have a chat with. Speaking to strangers is something I am not comfortable with but I now know enough village people well enough to intrude on their fun by saying a few words about the climate emergency before moving on to other village news.

*Our Climate Action Network Stall At The Horsley Village Fete*

It’s more tiring than expected though – or again is this just because I’m getting soft in retirement? I was glad that I had the excuse of a football game to see and could slope off well before the end (especially as my team, Forest Green Rovers, won to go top of their league). I offset my feebleness and lack of stamina on our fete stall by spending a few hours afterwards collating the results of some informal surveys we conducted. So I feel I did ‘my bit’.

A highlight in the activities of our climate action group in the last few weeks has been a visit to a local farm where the farmer is trying to farm sustainably. It was a fascinating visit even though the weather was at the other end of the scale from that we had at the fete – cold, wet and windy.

The farmer is what he called a ‘generational farmer’; that is someone who is part of a family tree that has farmed the land for generations and who hopes to pass it on to his kids. That is important since he therefore has a vested interest in thinking about the long term health of the farmland he owns and has a sense of stewardship for.

*View Towards Horsley Village From The Farm*

He emphasised the need for corridors (such as overgrown hedges) for wildlife through what he called a ‘mosaic’ of different habitats and productive fields. He strives for a balance between his responsibility to produce food for the nation (and make enough profit) and the need to maintain biodiversity and soil health (so there is longevity to that profitability). Some of what he is doing is experimental. In most cases, the sustainable agricultural activity has a clear, short term cost but an unclear, long term benefit. It is an act of faith that is only justifiable to the farmer personally because he and his family hope to farm the land for decades.

*Some Of This Year’s Milling Wheat Crop (Awaiting An HGV Driver!)*

His 80 cows have so much space and are so semi-wild that we didn’t see them at any time during our 90 minute trudge through the drizzle. Among the stretches of arable fields were re-wilded areas, copses, overgrown hedges, fields of colourful mixes of plants that encourage field birds, and of legumes that replenish the soil. Some areas of poor soil have been turned over to natural grassland which has reduced erosion and allowed flora and fauna diversity to prosper. Some harvested fields have been left to regenerate with spilled seed that protects the surface from the elements and provides a habitat for voles which are predated by barn owls and short-eared owls.

*Part of the Farm ‘Mosaic’: Untended Grassland, Legumes, And Field Bird Crops*

It was a life affirming and uplifting visit. Clearly there are many challenges in farming in this sustainable way – not least the uncertainty in bureaucracy and payments as we move from EU to UK farming policies, protocols and subsidy administration following Brexit. Indeed, farming sounded like a lot of hard work. Not like retirement!

Sons: Home And Away

August 4, 2021 / fgrtommo / 2 Comments

We recently lost Middle Son and his partner to London. They had been staying in our rental ‘tin house’ a couple of villages away from us while London stagnated and then started to bounce back from the Coronavirus lockdown. Now he is back enjoying a resurgent but safer (I hope) London. However, we have been compensated by a recent visit to Northern Ireland to see Youngest Son (YS) and his partner and then, over the last few days, a visit to us by Eldest Son (ES) and his partner on their way to a wedding.

*Dunluce Castle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland; Emerging From Morning Mist*

These contacts with our sons are priceless. When I was working there didn’t seem much time for more than transactional exchanges with them. Of course, now it is they who are time-constrained by work. However, since retirement, I feel more relaxed and have more time to understand their lives and what makes them tick.

Plus, they live in wonderful places. We loved our trip to Edinburgh to see ES a couple of months ago Now, all things being well, Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and I are planning further trips there later in the year pre and post-grandfatherhood/grandmotherhood.

Meanwhile, Northern Ireland has continued to surprise and our trip a couple of weekends ago to see YS there was lovely and, once again, enlightening. We were lucky that our trip coincided with the rarest of events in Northern Ireland – a warm and sunny period of weather! I’m joking, but certainly the weather was a treat and helped show off Belfast and surrounds in their best light.

*Sunset Over Orlock Point From The Old Coach Road, County Down, Northern Ireland*

YS was, as ever, keen to ensure we saw the best of County Down and County Antrim. He planned an itinerary for us of forest walks, waterfalls, mountain walks and coastal walks and drives. The trip was dotted with excellent breakfasts and dinners in cafes and restaurants run by young, creative entrepreneurs who have imported the best of big city cuisine to Belfast and the nearby towns. The high quality reminded us of or meals in Australia when we went there. Even in Ballymena which seemed relatively run down, there was a café, Middletown Coffee Co, selling some of the best breakfast fare I have had; the toastie was tremendous.

In a similar vein, Boundary Brewing, which we went to on our first night in Belfast, was just about the best pop up warehouse bar I had ever been to. A lot of Belfast is rather unreformed with architecture focused on function and security but pockets of Belfast are truly inspirational in the way they are taking off with creative businesses, eateries and drinking holes.

*Boundary Brewing: Wonderful Space, Wonderful View, Wonderful Beer, Wonderful Pizza*

Of course, YS maintained his reputation for taking us off to see wonderful sunsets and sunrises. The sunrise we saw demanded a 4.00am departure but YS’s enthusiasm as he prepared everything the night before for coffee by a campfire as the sun came up, and his willingness to allow us all to snooze in the car as he hurtled to the 5.20am sunrise, was compelling. We made it to a deserted White Park Bay just as the sun peeked over the horizon and through the just-enough-cloud that YS had laid on for us.

*Perfect Sunrise Over White Parks Beach, County Antrim*

I think we will all remember the moment for ever; or at least until the next sunrise YS takes us to.

*Finding A Spot For A Campfire and Coffee; Plenty Of Options At This Time Of The Morning!*

Breakfast that day was also excellent; this time it was in Portstewart at Awaken. By the time we had driven the coast road back to YS’s home we were ready for a quiet pint in a local pub, a gentle stroll in a nearby park, a nap and a pause in eating before setting out to another well-appointed new restaurant, Yugo East. There we had a multi-course, fixed-price menu of considerable sophistication. I’m not sure why I didn’t expect this level of quality in Belfast but I am coming to do so.

Our forest walk was at Glenariff Forest Park which was delightful and which we will return to when there is more water to gush through the narrow ravines and over the numerous waterfalls.

*One Of The Many Waterfalls In Glenariff Forest Park*

We then walked up a mountain, created from a pre-historic volcanic plug, called Slemish. This dominates the landscape between Ballymena and the coast and provides great views. We didn’t need to rush in the warm weather, there were occasional cooling breezes, and the panorama from the top was a great reward for the scramble up and down.

*Looking North From Slemish, County Antrim*

Our final day was quieter since YS and his partner had to return to work. After another great breakfast at General Merchants in East Belfast, LSW and I simply boarded a public bus and travelled from the far west side of Belfast via the Falls Road and back again. The bold murals lining some of the route are a clear reminder of Belfast’s past. The burnt patches of land resulting from the Battle of the Boyne bonfire celebrations in mid-July are a reminder than there are still strong tensions below the surface of Northern Irish life.

*Some Of The More Modern Murals In Belfast*

We took in an architectural tour of the city centre and had a final fill up at Established Coffee before a last walk with YS down the Comber Greenway (the first of a large network of such cycle/walk ways being implemented across Northern Ireland) built on the route of the now defunct Belfast and County Down railway. YS then whisked us off to the airport and home.

Both trips we have made to YS’s new home in Northern Ireland have been great and we know there is lots more to see. We will be back again soon but armed with waterproof clothing since surely we can’t be as luck with the weather again?

*YS Even Laid On Dolphin Watching At Portstewart!*

The Newt Revisited and Weekend Rituals

December 13, 2020 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

For the first time in months, Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and I got in the car and had an all-day outing together. We went to The Newt hotel and garden in East Somerset. We left quite early so that we could walk around the ever-evolving garden and then have a leisurely lunch at the hotel before drifting back home feeling full and very satisfied.

*One Of The Views Across The Newt Gardens – With More Landscaping Underway In The Distance*

We have visited The Newt garden a couple of times over the last year or so. It is a wonderful space even at this time of the year. The attention to detail everywhere is amazing. The garden construction and quality exudes wealth, but also love for craftsmanship and plants. What I like especially is that the garden is continuing to develop rapidly. That makes it worth visiting time and time again, not just from one season to the next, but year to year.

*A New Plant Frame In The Constantly Changing The Newt Gardens*

The entry pass is valid for a year. As a result, there is a risk that parts of the garden nearest the entrance and the surrounds of the café, cider works and firepit, are being overrun by local mothers with pushchairs with toddlers and babies finding socially distanced company in a lovely environment. However, it’s nice to see children enjoying the garden and, anyway, there are several paths off the beaten track which could explore while LSW perused the quality products in the shop.

Lunch, in a glass roofed annex to the carefully restored hotel and amid several equally trim outbuildings, was excellent. We drank cider produced on the premises rather than wine. I haven’t had cider for many years but it was lovely and, having become inured to the high cost of quality craft beer over recent years, I may buy some to take away next time we visit. The whole day was a lovely break from lockdown routine.

*The Newt Gardens: Beautiful Textures And Colours*

In that lockdown routine, the differences between Saturdays and Sundays and every other day have become decreasingly distinct. Those differences between workdays and weekends were huge pre-retirement. For most of the latter couple of decades of my working life, I worked in London but returned to the family home in Gloucestershire on Friday nights and left again on Sunday afternoons. So, not only was the weekend activity different from the other days, the location and immediate company was different too.

Sometimes work impinged on the weekend – sometimes very considerably – and that blurred the weekend but, now I’m retired, Saturdays and Sundays are almost identical to every other day. At times it feels like it is only the day and date on the newspaper voucher I hand over at the newsagent every day that keeps me grounded in the progression of the week.

However, there has remained some structure to my weeks in retirement and LSW and I do still have some rituals that distinguish between the weekends and the rest – albeit some have been disrupted by the current pandemic.

For example, the pandemic and the associated lockdown of hospitality has disrupted our regular Sunday visit to the local pub. Since retirement, and since the village pub reopened a few years ago, we have popped up to the pub, usually via a lengthy walk, to finish the weekend quick crossword over a couple of Sunday lunchtime drinks. Now limiting our visits to a quick drink without a complementing lunch is disallowed under the lockdown restrictions. The only good thing about this is that my weekly alcohol intake has reduced and so my New Year resolution with regard to alcohol is well within reach.

*Forest Green Rovers’ Current Stadium (Second Highest in England After West Bromwich Albion’s The Hawthorns)*

The Covid-19 pandemic has also disrupted my attendance at live local football on Saturday afternoons. Two local teams I sometimes watch have played no football for several weeks and the team I love, Forest Green Rovers, have only been watchable on live internet streams. Watching live football has long been part of my weekend schedule. So, it felt a little bit wonderful (despite the bone crunching cold) when, yesterday, I was able to return to a live game at my football team’s stadium to watch the mighty Rovers triumph. I’m still hoarse this morning from all the vocal support (through a face mask) during the game – just like the ‘old days’.

*Getting Ready For Forest Green Rovers 2 Cambridge 0*

Amid all this weekend routine disruption, one weekend ritual has been maintained: bread! Breakfasts during the week are, for me, fruit, yogurt and granola; for LSW they are more varied but are usually porridge and some combination of fruit, seeds and syrup. At weekends, we abandon all that healthy stuff and have slice upon slice of locally made bread (Salt Bakehouse sourdough is our favourite). On Saturday’s I have it untoasted and slathered with home-made jam. On Sundays I have it toasted with Marmite; always! That way, I know which day is Saturday and which day is Sunday 🙂

Four Exhibitions, Three Sons, Two Breakfasts And One Gig

December 6, 2019 / fgrtommo / 1 Comment

For much of my working life, I was in London while the family were in Gloucestershire. I usually only got to see Long-Suffering Wife (LSW) and our three sons during weekends when work often intruded and I wanted to rest. Then the sons grew up and each of them spent time with me sleeping on the floor of my London flat while they took their first steps into the world of work. The flat is very small so, although I got to know each so much better, the close proximity and sleeping arrangements were sometimes a stress.

Now, Eldest Son (ES), Middle Son (MS) and Youngest Son (YS) are all based in London and I have entered something of a golden period as a parent. Now I am able to see them in short spells and in a relaxed way – over dinner, at breakfast, at a gig or in an exhibition. All I have to do is schedule the rendezvous around their diaries and enjoy the moment. I plan to make the most of these arrangements while they last.

Last week, I was up in London again and was able to see all three sons. The main reason for visiting London was to see a gig by Nuria Graham. I first saw her in 2015 at Rough Trade and have now seen her twice since. She is Spanish with some Irish heritage and writes some great tunes with intriguing English lyrics. YS and I saw her at Jazz Servant Quarters which was just the type of venue I like: tiny (capacity for only 40 people) with a great sound system. I loved the whole evening and plan to visit Jazz Servant Quarters again and also see Nuria once more next April.

Nuria Graham At Jazz Servant Quarters

Next morning, having stayed with YS overnight on their ailing inflatable bed, we went with his girlfriend for breakfast at the new Ozone Cafe in Hackney. I love the treat of breakfast in London. It often includes unusual and quality ingredients, it sets me up for the day of city exploration and usually obviates the need for lunch.

Ozone, Hackney

The previous day I had breakfasted at one of my favourite cafes – Ask For Janice in Smithfield – and had felt full most of the day. At Ozone, I was a little more restrained since I was meeting an old friend for lunch at The Coach in Clerkenwell later. Nonetheless, breakfast was ample and excellent and, of course, given its Ozone pedigree already tried elsewhere in the City, achingly trendy.

While in London I also went for dinner at Smokestak with MS, ES and his girlfriend. Smokestak is only one or two steps up from fast food – we were in and out in an hour – but the food was great and the atmosphere was buzzy. As MS said, despite the restaurant being famous for its meat dishes (and I loved the fried ox cheek), the vegetarian plates were perhaps the best. I certainly ate well during my London visit.

Across the two days I was in London I went to four exhibitions. On LSW’s recommendation from the previous weekend, I went to the Royal Academy to see the large Antony Gormley exhibition (now finished). It was certainly impressive – not least the engineering that had gone into making several of the rooms dramatic, single-piece displays.

More Anthony Gormley At The Royal Academy

Iron Baby (1999), Matrix (2019) and Clearing VII (2019) By Antony Gormley At The Royal Academy

One room was filled with seemingly continuous loops of metal (8 kilometres worth) resembling a huge circular scribble. Another was a room filled with silt and water. Another had two huge cast iron baubles hanging from the roof. And then another had Gormley’s trademark human forms, also cast in iron, set at various angles and amongst which the crowds could meander.

Host (2019), Piles (2018), Lost Horizon (2008) and Fruit (1993) By Antony Gormley At The Royal Academy

These were all certainly memorable but, at the time, I confess I enjoyed looking at his numerous workbooks more. These showed how the ideas were generated rather than the final forms and it was more calming to look at these rather than negotiate the crowds in the rooms holding Gormley’s main works.

Some Of Antony Gormley’s Workbooks

Subject II By Anthony Gormley At The Royal Academy

Subject II By Antony Gormley At The Royal Academy

The Bridget Riley Exhibition at the Hayward Gallery was also impressive. Photos of much of her work don’t work because they play with our way of seeing so much. For example, Horizontal Vibration (1961) really does seem to vibrate before your eyes. ‘Current’ (1964) is like an optical illusion that feels destabilising if looked at for more than a few seconds. These are clever and, I’m sure, were ground-breaking in their time but I love her brightly coloured works with stripes and diagonals more.

Though organised by topic rather than chronologically, the exhibition did a good job of tracing her thinking from her early drawings and the influence of Seurat on her work. It covered her black and white visual exercises, her moves into curves and then colour and, finally, recent works that resembled Hirst’s dot paintings but which were clearly rooted in what she has done before. The exhibition was an enlightening and cheering way to pass an afternoon.

Currents (1961) And Stripes And Diagonals By Bridget Riley At The Hayward Gallery

I squeezed in a visit to the British Library to see the Buddhism exhibition there. Most of the exhibits were brilliantly, brightly coloured 19th century picture books showing the events in the life of the historical Buddah. There were also much older scrolls, wood panels and palm leaves inscribed with delicate texts and images. Once more, it was hard not to be impressed but, for me, the exhibition lacked a theme and was little more than the sum of its parts.

A Scroll Depicting Mahakala (A Protector Deity) And Tales From The Historical Buddha's Life In Folding Books

A 16th Century Tibetan Scroll Depicting Mahakala (A Protector Deity) And Tales From The Historical Buddha’s Life In 19th Century Folding Books

Nepalese Buddhist Palm Leaf Texts (17th and 12th Century)

The fourth (and, in my view, best) exhibition I saw was that of a recent body of work by Anselm Keifer at White Cube Gallery in Bermondsey. Anselm had been featured the day before I visited in the Guardian newspaper and the exhibition had been recommended by a friend. I had not heard of Anselm previously and I went with no great expectations.

As soon as I entered the gallery I was blown away by the rhythm and enormity of the work in the central hall and then, as I moved into the adjoining rooms, by the scale of the paintings, their depth and the overall sense of brooding dystopia. The paintings worked from a distance and right up close and I was fascinated even though I didn’t really understand what I was seeing.

Superstrings, Runes, The Norns, Gordian Knot By Anselm Keifer (Here Showing Just Part Of A 30 Vitrine Installation)

The White Cube is a tremendous, huge space; it needed to be to accommodate the work. The exhibition is on until 26 January next year and I would like to go again (unlike the other exhibitions I saw, its free!).

The White Cube Gallery With Anselm Keifer Paintings

The Gordian Knot By Anselm Keifer At White Cube (With A Real Axe And Real Blackened Branches)

Superstrings By Anselm Kiefer At White Cube Gallery

I’m planning one more visit to London before Christmas. I’m looking forward to another round of exhibitions, breakfasts and meeting up with one or more of our sons.

Recoveries And Retirement

September 16, 2019September 18, 2019 / fgrtommo / Leave a comment

I once again have a rather bizarre (and misplaced) sense of intrepid traveller and blogger as I wrote the bulk of this post during a train journey to and from Nottingham. I confess that the journey is more mundane than some I had imagined I would be taking prior to retirement. There is always a little twist of excitement in a train journey and in watching the fields flash by and in seeing the towns, back gardens, and industrial developments and wastelands, all from unusual angles. That is somehow enhanced by writing about it ‘real-time’ on my phone.

Near Oddingly, En-Route From Nottingham

I have been to Nottingham to observe the welcome and speedy recovery of my Mum from a fall in which she broke her leg about three weeks ago. Mercifully, she is out of hospital and back at home and my Dad is looking after her well and as independently as possible. That is a relief all round (although a further minor fall while I was with them shows that the path to recovery is rarely straight)!

It’s been a good week for monitoring recoveries. Middle Son (MS) visited us in Gloucestershire last weekend and we were able to see for ourselves how far he has come since his serious accident almost three months ago. There is a long way to go to retrieve full function but he is mastering crutches, very independent and progressing every day. That again is a relief all round (though, again, a further visit to hospital today for a residual ailment shows the skewed path to full recovery)!

As I ponder my train-side view, I am considering the past couple of weeks and the conversations I have had regarding my retirement and how I have found the experience. I went to a retirement celebration for a past work colleague and friend that brought back many memories of work in the 1980’s. I also participated in another occurrence of a regular restaurant event with a bunch of male friends of similar age to myself who I first met in London decades ago. At both, I answered about my retirement life, confirmed that I continue to enjoy it a lot, and wondered why so many of my contemporaries continue to work.

Views From The Gherkin, London During A Retirement Party There

Some of the responses to my question about why my friends and ex-work colleagues (especially) still work were along the lines of how they need to so as to maintain their life style. In some cases I think this may be cover for admitting that they actually enjoy work and would miss it too much. That would be a more honest response and one I can understand.

Each to his or her own! It so happened that I did not enjoy work as much, nor as consistently, as my friends apparently do. Work has provided income to enable a very comfortable life and, now (so far, at least) a comfortable retirement. But I was very happy to finish working and I continue to be very happy that I can devote the hours previously spent at work to things that I often felt I had to rush or failed to find time for. I want to do that while I still have reasonable health.

The flexibility retirement affords has been liberating. I no longer have to squeeze visits (to my parents for example) between work commitments. I can visit London when I want, and now I have more opportunities to see friends elsewhere in the country and can combine that with watching my football team play away from home.

I did exactly that two weekends ago when I visited my Best Man (BM) and saw Forest Green Rovers (FGR) in Cambridge. FGR won and that capped an excellent weekend of walking, wine, beer, food and chatting about our different lives. BM is certainly someone who to loves his work and my hopes that he will retire, and so be able to spend more time enlivening my own retirement, are firmly in abeyance.

View Of The River Cam, Cambridge

Views Of Gamlingay In Cambridgeshire (top) and the Royal Society For Protection Of Birds (RSPB) Near Sandy (Bedfordshire)

Views Of Gamlingay In Cambridgeshire (top) and the Royal Society For Protection Of Birds (RSPB) Site Near Sandy (Bedfordshire)

Other highpoints of the last two weeks – and I am deliberately picking these to highlight the variety – have included harvesting my onions and a brief visit to the Guildhall Art Gallery in London. The onion (and my beetroot) harvest have been magnificent this year. If I manage to store them properly, we should have onions to last until Christmas.

Just prior to meeting up with my old friends for dinner, I saw an exhibition called Architecture of London at the Guildhall Art Gallery. This was, as almost all these kinds of curated exhibitions are, interesting and contained some fine works and information. I was almost a lone visitor and could take my time in taking in the show.

Works By Thomas, Bach, Egonu, Lowe And Beavon

Works By Thomas, Bach, Egonu, Lowe And Bach In The Architecture Of London Exhibition At The Guildhall Art Gallery

The exhibition covered the transformations following the Great Fire of London and the Second World War blitz particularly well. I especially enjoyed the mix of vintages of the art on show and the inclusion of abstract art. The scope of the exhibition was perhaps too large and the art on show to demonstrate the points being made felt, in places, a little random. However, the Guildhall Art Gallery is a quiet and edifying place to spend an hour or two and I enjoyed it.

John Piper’s Christ Church, Newgate (1941)

Ben Johnson, Looking Back To Richmond House (2011)

Paintings By Piper and Johnson at The Guildhall Art Gallery

London From Crowwell Tower, Barbican By Richard Ian Bentham Walker (1977)

London From Cromwell Tower, Barbican By Richard Ian Bentham Walker (1977) at The Guildhall Art Gallery. Always Nice To See Views Of The Barbican (But Unfortunately Not My Flat)

Returning to the here and now, the only problem with blogging on the train is that the tables are so small and the space is so cramped. I’ll be glad to get off and stretch this stiffness out…. ‘Til next time.

My Retirement Journey

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Retirement