Alanović
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Post by Alanović on Jan 2, 2020 15:15:53 GMT
Finally. A steak bake made out of vegans.
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Post by Humph on Jan 2, 2020 15:17:37 GMT
That's it. I'm done with this world. I've steeled myself for Trump and Boris, but a vegan steak bake? It's all over. Finished, ended, beyond reprieve...
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Avant
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Post by Avant on Jan 2, 2020 15:18:59 GMT
"If you've ever heard a report of a Scotsman crying and dancing around outside Lincoln Castle car park swearing and waving his arms about, well, it might well have been me."
Reminds me of that famous sentence by P.G. Wodehouse:
"It is never difficult to distinguish between a Scotsman with a grievance and a ray of sunshine."
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Post by tyrednexited on Jan 2, 2020 15:29:58 GMT
Got some plans for nice things to do in 2020 as we both turn gently 50. Want to sort some things out in regards to work which I didn't have the time or energy for last year, with a view to early retirement, if possible, by the end of the decade. Brushes with mortality bring the need into focus quite sharply. ...indeed. I think I've posted on here that my ex-work walking companion was finally tipped into taking an early bath following a health scare. He was concerned he wouldn't find enough to occupy his time. The old cliché "I don't know where the time goes" couldn't now be more apt. As it happens, he hasn't had a recurrence of the original issue, but has had two further quite nasty and unrelated episodes, both of which, after some good months of poor health, he's survived with few, if any, long-term effects. When he finally decided to retire, his motivation was "if this were to be my last year on Earth, would I have liked it to be at work, even though I do enjoy it quite a bit". He freely admits the last 5+ years have been good, and he's turned his hand to various pursuits, including some I would have thought him totally incapable of (he is now quite an accomplished Luthier). As I was thinking about this, it struck me that it is exactly 11 years to the day since I departed the world of work. Not one minute of regret (and if I see another year out, my decision not to commute some of my pension to a lump sum - which I didn't need at the time - will have paid off )
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Post by Hofmeister on Jan 2, 2020 15:37:03 GMT
In April I will have been retired for 10 years (and still not in receipt of my state pension GRRRRRR) Its been the best 10 years* of my life, busy absorbing and varied but without pressure, best job I ever had.
*well, 6 years working in he West End and at 19 years of age being vastly overpaid at the same time was pretty good!
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Alanović
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Post by Alanović on Jan 2, 2020 15:44:22 GMT
A little story which rounded 2019 off nicely, and happened the weekend before Christmas.
I traded a car in about 6 years ago, the black VW Golf 1.9TDI auto if anyone remembers that. I have a photographic memory for number plates, and I then saw it driving around my town shortly after. Then I found the spare key at home at thought, damn, forgot to give it to the dealer. Oh well, if I see the car again and have the chance, I'll offer the owner the key, knowing they can cost hundreds to buy - you know, a proper remote central locking key. He can take my phone number and text me his address, would be happy to pop it round.
On the Saturday before Christmas, that chance came! Calloo callay, oh frabjous day! I spotted the car in a queue leaving a supermarket car park, so dashed over and tapped on the window. "Hello mate, I used to own this car and still have the spare remote key. Would you like it?". Bloke looks me up and down with an expression suggesting I'd injected his first born with the planet's last vial of smallpox, and barks, in what can only I'm afraid be described as a Lancastrian accent: "No". Winds the window up and fucks off.
LL02 VCY, if anyone sees it. I'm now going to carry the key around with me in case I see him again. Any suggestions what to do with it?
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Post by Hofmeister on Jan 2, 2020 15:48:34 GMT
Yeah, wait till you see it parked, pop open the bonnet and drop it in the oil filler, lets see what the valve train thinks of it.
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Post by Hofmeister on Jan 2, 2020 15:50:25 GMT
Or, now this is evil. follow him home, then twice a week, drive by and unlock the car. He will spend a fortune trying to fix it.
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Alanović
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Post by Alanović on Jan 2, 2020 15:53:13 GMT
I knew you'd have some good ideas.
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Post by Humph on Jan 2, 2020 15:56:57 GMT
Put the key on eBay. "Suitable for and fits LL02VCY" no reserve...😈
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Alanović
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Post by Alanović on Jan 2, 2020 15:57:57 GMT
Ha ha like it. Yes.
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Post by Humph on Jan 2, 2020 16:07:35 GMT
Actually, to be honest, I'd just bin the key now. He probably thought you were a nutter. Not that you are one, just that he might be forgiven for thinking...oh never mind...😬
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Post by EspadaIII on Jan 2, 2020 16:21:36 GMT
Highlights of 2019...
Selling the house and moving into my father's, so solving some of his IHT issues. It has been a very stressful time (with incompetent lawyers) coupled with the two items below..
Managing just about to stay solvent - business was good but expenses were way too high and we were making a loss. Reduced staff costs have made a big difference but took until November to see the benefits of the hard work. Espadrille now working in/on one part of the business which was not the plan, but needs must and the benefit is someone who cares about the business which improves our position with our clients.
The biggy though has been ending the year still with three children... Son #2 diagnosed with serious depression with suicidal thoughts and some self-harming this time last year. Various therapies including large doses of drugs are slowly starting to stabilise him. The weight of this has fallen on Espadrille and at times it has been two steps forward and one back, but progress has been and is being made. However daughter not overly happy at school and son #1 has always suffered from lack of self-esteem although he knows how to deal with it. Unlike some parents, I think we will be parenting for many years to come.
So challenges ahead and no car buying or retirement for me just yet. Thankfully the Merc still hasn't done 60,000 in over eight years so at the moment, no point in changing. Just wonder if I can see it up to 100,000 miles without the costs being excessive.
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WDB
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Post by WDB on Jan 2, 2020 17:46:38 GMT
Crikey, Esp, that sounds terrifying. It’s not a contest but it must be every bit as bad as what Vić and The Hof have gone through. I hope the news — for everybody — continues to get better.
My turn. Professionally, partly by fluke, 2019 looks set to be my most remunerative ever, but that won’t make me nostalgic for it. Several factors, public and personal, crowded in on me and left me with a case of what’s certainly ‘low mood’ and may well be depression Nothing like as bad as Esp describes, but it’s got in the way of a lot that I was hoping to enjoy this year. Work to do there, preferably without drugs but we’ll see.
But three things I certainly did enjoy were all musical. Simon Rattle, head thrown back and arms spread wide as the LSO brass blazed the climax of a magnificent Mahler 5 is a sight I will never forget. (The back of my neck is tingling just from describing it now.) Nor is Lucinda Williams giving her laconic but lacerating verdict on Trump’s America from pretty well the same spot. And, in November, Marin Alsop conducting a Belshazzar that managed to be both sublimely agile and The Biggest Thing You’ve Ever Heard. That I was there with the dearest and most musical of my friends, to celebrate 30 years since our first concert together made it a pretty much unbeatable evening, and certainly my pick of 2019.
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Post by Humph on Jan 2, 2020 18:04:41 GMT
I wouldn't know if I've "got" anything. Try to avoid doctors in truth, anytime I've ever gone the depressing buggers just tell you you're ill, and no one needs to hear that. But, I certainly do have my low days, comes with the job I suppose, along with the highs too in fairness.
But, a long time ago, I discovered the self help of regular excercise. Try to swim 1000m most nights and get up a hill or two on the bike at weekends. Stay off the booze unless it really is a special occasion, and try to eat sensibly ( most of the time ) No idea if any of this helps, but I do know that if I don't live like that for a few days, I get tired, grumpy and listless.
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