Slightly later than planned (I guess I can be a little more understanding of those analysts who promised to deliver reports on a certain day and then asked for a few more days), I thought I might share some insights into what the first 3 months of being retired look like for me. In fairness (terrible expression), I did a one-month update so I can skip repeating that (unlike analysts who just used to cut and paste from previous reports for padding out purposes).
First off, i spent some time before retiring saving some “do these three simple exercises when you wake up and you will lose 5kgs in a week/feel 10 years younger/look 15 years younger” videos on Instagram and I can assure you that that was a waste of time. I really thought I would wake up and spring out of bed with new-found vigour and do 20 star jumps, swing my arms left, right, centre, up, over and round and round, hop on each leg for a minute – all these things. I wake up, check the time, and then close my eyes and just marinate in all that lovely pre-get up dreaminess. Husbant brings up a cup of tea which sometimes (mostly?) is less than lukewarm when I attempt to drink it. The other day he even asked if I was still subconscious (it was about 9am I guess). But the planning you do in those first hours of waking is vital! I sort out all sorts of things that I am going to do….
We have been away to celebrate Husbant’s XXth birthday. Dungeness isn’t likely to be on anyone’s ‘must see before I die list‘ but I would advise going before it becomes overrun. A misty bleak early weekend in March is the best time to visit. We stayed in The Shingle House (long story but we were meant to be staying in The Dune House near Thorpeness but I actually messed up the booking) which was gorgeous and sat back from a very wide and quite protected shingle beach right opposite the abandoned nuclear power plant. I can hear some people’s minds questioning the beauty but it was eerie, atmospheric and beautiful. Derek Jarman’s Rose Cottage was just next door to where we stayed and the walk to the sea was across a shingle beach littered with extras from spooky films. The sea was a grey green – not a speck of blue to be seen. There is a fab coffee caravan that serves delicious coffee and a fish shack that should have a Michelin star – the lobster/scallop rolls were so tasty. Again – just a little shack by the sea with the freshest fish cooked and served beautifully.
Chatting to the Ness Cafe caravan lady, she explained it was heaving in the summertime – with cars parked everywhere and mayhem. I was so glad to see it in its quiet time and not sure I fancy the busyness of summer. We also took the small steam train from Dungeness to the next stop as we thought there might be a cafe at the next station. Sadly it was a deserted ‘no man’s land’ so we endured a slightly chilly half hour wait for the train to come back. I invented a game of “find a round stone, find a stone with a hole through it, and find an interesting stone” with the promise of prizes for the best entries…
In that weird way that seems to happen more and more, there was a programme on Radio 4 just as I was writing this about the RNLI at Dungeness. What are the odds?
I took my mum up to see the Constable and Turner exhibition at Tate Britain. She is 94 and is incredible. She loved going round the exhibition and there were the right amount of sofas for us to stop and contemplate the paintings. She was so proud that Bella’s name was on the wall and wanted her photo taken next to it.
Following in Turner’s footsteps (errr – sort of) at the start of April I went to stay on Anglesey with one of my best friends who I love dearly and is a de facto brother. We drove to Dolbadarn Castle which was one of Turner’s earliest oil paintings and the painting that was approved by the RA when he was elected as an Academician. Not so murky and mysterious as the sun peeped out every now and then. The beaches on Anglesey are some of the best I know – empty, enormous stretches of sand. Bit chilly to swim as yet but to walk by the sea is so much better than doing 50 star jumps and swinging my arms like a whirling dervish.
I spent four days in Cambridge staying in an Airbnb close to Fitzwilliam College where Bert spent a couple of years. I love Cambridge – you almost feel more intelligent just walking along the street passing all those places where really clever people studied and invented things. The only downside is really annoying tourists who forget that they are obstructing the narrow pavements while trying to work out where to go – and I guess being retired I just get to wander at my own pace and probably annoy some bright young things rushing to their next lecture. The airbnb was probably one of my worst experiences – and of course I didn’t write a review. But I did contact the owner and explain a full equipped kitchen should include a potato peeler, a sharp knife, a sieve, a handheld mini blender, a couple of chopping boards and a cafetière that works. He thanked me for my suggestions and said he would love to receive a five star review so that he could also write me a five star review. He is probably still waiting…
It was while sipping a flat white in Kettle’s Yard that I felt the first warm rays of spring on my face and luckily, with a little hiccup for a few days, the sun has come out for longer. All the bulbs I planted have sprung into flower – well a few got nibbled by the deer a few weeks ago but that’s just nature. So the only thing I have done that made me think “oh God I am now really one of those old ladies that do (Husbant edit says this should be “does”) person things” is that I went to a spring flower picking event. In true Snoo style, I hadn’t read the small print so it turned out to be more of a pick the flowers and arrange them in a vase event. Luckily my lovely friend Sue was fully supportive of the slight change in experience so we wandered around picking daffodils and other spring flowers and proceeded to plonk them in a vase. We were definitely two of the younger attendees and we both thought a few professionals (aka those ladies that do church flowers) might have slipped in. Whatever, we were both very happy eventually with our flower arrangements – let me know what you think. We also thought we got as good, if not even better, results when just undoing the bunches of flowers and sticking them as is in a jug. The flower farm is less than 5 minutes walk from home and they have pick your own flowers throughout the summer every other Friday for a tenner – good to know if you need to spend a nice hour or so picking flowers!
So the first quarter has ended in bright sunshine. I have spent every day filled to the brim with enjoyment – my lovely Aussie mates and their gorgeous boys came for a night and we did multiple easter egg hunts, Husbant and I went to Ronnie Scott’s (a first for me) to see the amazing Sheila E play, and we went for a 21k+ walk on Good Friday around Bethlehem and Galilee in Wintershall estate (Husbant took a few days to recover from that one). Roll on Q2 which is already fully booked with adventures.
Be seeing you!
Snoo's kitchen 