By the time I finish this post I will have just 120 more to do before I reach 3,000. I am surprised. When I( started I was happy just to0 get ten done. My previous two efforts had fizzled out after a handful of posts and I was worried that I would fail again. The aims about producing a popular and high quality blog may have faded. Fame and money have, yet again, eluded me but I am reasonably prolific, have made some new friends and have written enough to feel comfortable calling myself a blogger. The first few seemed quite an effort, but the 2,879 seem to have passed smoothly and I’m confident that I can follow through and spring will see me write my 3,000th post.

Last night I made a plan. I will not be attempting a Land’s End to John o’ Groats trip as I said a while back, as we need to get things organised for retirement and the big move. I really should have done it years ago, but failing that, will plan it for my first year of retirement. I should stop putting things off but I would rather do it right than rush it just to tick it off the list.

It is better to make a decision now rather than reach the end of the year and see it fade away by accident.

My new plan for next year is to publish a book of poetry. I’m not quite sure how I will go about it but will spend the next couple of weeks thinking and planning and try to com out with a plan. The main thing, I feel, is to have enough published poetry available to provide a framework. I do have quite a bit published, but it isn’t all good, so I ill have to make a selection. Apart from the quality question, there is the need for variety. It’s OK writing poetry and sending it off to magazines. When it is published you get a spread between magazines and across a span of time. But when you put it all in one place there is a danger that it will all seem too similar.

So, with one door temporarily closed, I will open another and see where it takes me. I’m hoping it won’t take me face to face with my own vanity.

Today, in case you are interested, saw a temperature of 15 degrees Centigrade on my car thermometer. Compared to last week’s low of minus 5 degrees this is the 20 degree lift in temperature they forecast. I didn’t believe them. It is nice to be warmer (we left the heating off tonight, though we are still using hot water bottles) though it is now raining so it’s a case of swings and roundabouts.

My Orange Parker Pen

I note with sadness that Parker still haven’t offered me money for product placement, or offered me sponsorship. I only hope that when the book comes out nobody’s career ends because they ignored a chance to be associated with it.