I have had two poems accepted for the next Blithe Spirit, which is good. I have broken my glasses (the second pair in two weeks), which is bad. It’s also what you expect when you buy cheap glasses from Amazon and then treat them badly. Today’s set should be repairable, if I had a screw of the correct size, but nobody ever does. I could, I suppose, take one out of another broken pair, but that relies on the screws being compatible and my eyes being good enough to get it all back together. It’s easier just to buy four new pairs for £9. And that, of course, is one of the things that defines our throwaway society.
I would say that is depressing, but it isn’t, not compared to facing up to retirement.
Julia, Sutton-on-Sea
On the way past Peterborough yesterday I went to have a look round at where we will be living after we move. I lived in the area from about 1967 to 1977 and there’s something depressing about going back. I’m not quite sure why, as it’s not a bad area and I had a happy time there. I think it’s because I feel a crushing sense of failure compared to the hopes and ambitions I had as a youth. I also remember the 20 mile walks I used to take in the countryside, and compare them to my current state. If I were to stay in Nottingham this feeling wouldn’t be the same, as I never had such high hopes.
Hake and Chips in Cromer
We will be living near a country park and preserved steam railway. I’m quite excited about the country park, even if it does mean using a mobility scooter, less excited by the steam railway. They always seem like a good idea but don’t really deliver. The Nene Valley Railway is quite a good one, and we used to go on the Thomas Specials with the kids at Christmas. This was enjoyable, but even now that they have extended the line a trip from one end to the other will take just over one and a half hours, including two breaks to let you look around the stations. We did look at the steam railways in Norfolk while we were there (there are three) but they didn’t quite fit with what we wanted to do. I may see about this trip later in the year. Actually, when looking for a link, I find there are possibly as many as six steam railways in Norfolk, though some of them may be a bit small.
Haddock Special at the Fishpan, Scarborough
The Fish & Chip Special on the North Norfolk Railway costs £28 per person. It’s expensive for Fish & Chips but not bad value for a dining experience. Look at this – celebrity chef Tom Kerridge defending the £35 fish and chips her serves up at Harrods. The problem for me isn’t the price or the quality – it’s at Harrods after all, and you expect to overpay. For me the problem is that the bread roll and butter is £6 and that when you read the reviews the service appears to leave something to be desired at times. Also, if I’m going ti be picky, I take issue with his comments on the fish served by others – the fish served with the meals in the picture are all excellent pieces of fish. In general though, I agree with him that top quality fish and chips sold in Harrods is worth paying extra for. Fish and Chips from our local shop is now up around £10 a portion so they are no longer a cheap meal. They are, however, usually a very good meal. Well, from the point of view of taste and enjoyment. From a health perspective they are less good.
Haddock Special at the Dolphin Fish Bar, Sutton on Sea
That looks like some fine fish & chips in those photos! 🙂
In art terms we could probably call it a retrospective. 🙂
Steam trains and fish and chips, a winning combination in my book. I have been on some very short steam train trips. The best thing about having fish and chips when we are out is that is a meal we never cook at home so we are never left thinking we could have done better ourselves and saved a lot of money. This is not an uncommon feeling when we eat out, which is not often.
Don’t worry about retirement. It is fun.
Good point about fish and chips. :-).
I went for a cheap meal recently and the service was awful. Irked me the same as if it had been an expensive meal. On another note my husband broke three pairs of reading glasses this week…
Yes, I agree, I’ll accept a few rough edges but there’s no excuse for poor service. Three pairs? Does he do a lot of reading? I have just had four pairs delivered so they should do me for a while, though I will undoubtedly misplace one soon. 🙂
No. He does a lot of dropping
🙂
Eating out is very expensive in Maine, too. Gone are the days of the $5 lunch. Because of this, we rarely eat out. When do you plan on moving?
12-18 months, but some things need doing now, like decluttering. 🙂
Bon chance!
There’s a certain symmetry between your “Bon Chance” and Julia’s “Fat chance!” She is not convinced I have what it takes to declutter.
Tee-hee! It’s hard work. We are in the process of doing the same thing and although we have gotten rid of many, many things, we’ve hardly made a dent. We’ve lived here for nearly 40 years, and my oh my what we’ve accumulated.
A friend of mine in the antiques trade, having been an army wife, used to rent rather than buy and move every 3 – 5 years. She had no clutter.
Delicious platefuls all. So you have settled on your new abode?
Yes. I’m moving into Mum and Dad’s old bungalow. We had been looking at going down to Suffolk but the convenience of a well-maintained and chain free bungalow a couple of miles from my sister won us over in the end.
Good decision
It’s no New Forest, but we will have the Fens, which is a landscape I have always loved.
I like the look of the fish – all the examples you show. But I can’t wrap my mind around the prices. That simple fish & chips at ten pound would set me back less than half here.
It’s always difficult comparing prices from country to country, but they have gone up a lot – we have overfished most of our stocks, which probably doesn’t help. I suppose if you have 170 species of snake cheap fish and chips is the least you can expect. We have three species and one legless lizard.