TEMPUS FUGIT..tick tock

Skegness August 2008 above.

Cyprus,Paphos below, and to the right.

Time flies,now how often do you hear that ?But my oh my it really does,I was dedicated to this blog on retirement...but shame on me the last entry was in March...Good news though I am still working out every Monday,yes it has come as a big surprise to me too!!!!...organised exercise was something I've spent a lifetime avoiding,and here I am every week.

Mid October,well almost coming to the end of it now,less than 10 weeks to Christmas...some kind soul passed that on to me this week,so I thought I'd share...and life has been very busy but in the most positive and nicest way...We were in Cyprus,Paphos to be exact end of June/July.....wonderful hotel called the Avanti,not to be confused with the holiday village..the staff,service,food and location excellent,and the pool is probably the best I've used....photos uploaded..in August we were in Lincolnshire,Sutton-on-Sea.Mablethorpe and Skegness..I love that part of the country......yes everyone flocks to Devon and Cornwall,and they are wonderul places,I even lived in Devon for a while....but Lincolnshire for me is very special ....Genealogy is keeping me busy,and I shall be doing some voluntary work with the local hospital...days are full and wonderful even though Gordon Brown is PM ,the economy is in meltdown and Britain is dare I say it bust...Well done Blair and Brown how proud you must be,there is no honour amongst politicians,you are examples of everything that is wrong with our system.

For the moment I must dash...but I shall return...The Restaurant is now on,do hope Michelle and Russell win ...yes I adore Strictly Come Dancing too.

Jenny

KEEP YOUNG AND BEAUTIFUL...IF ONLY..

I so remember the words to that song "Keep young and beautiful",it was also a signature tune for a keep fit regime,and if I recollect correctly, it was run by a lady called Eileen Fowler.I remember only too well as my mother did these exercises regularly,with quotes of and "Eileen says if you do this"...However I digress, but bear with me, there is a connection.
I have for many years worked in a Sports Centre,quite a prestigious one,at the University of Birmingham, but have never ,ever, joined in the madness of excercise classes and the keep fit trend....but what do I do?...Newly retired I decide(well in fact, I decided before the said retirement date)to go to an evening Monday exercise class,mainly because Claire the instructor is lovely, and over the years on reception, I have got to know the members of that class,but the real reason for selecting this class,it's the easiest ,well that's what I'd always been led to believe, and it reads as such in the brochure.With this information I was discussing the forthcoming activity with Julie ,my immediate neighbour,and yes you've guessed it, she wanted to come too,another newbie to the world of lunges and sit ups ,lambs to the slaughter or what???
We duly went to our class this evening ,and an even brighter idea of mine,to walk there and back,2 miles each way...It was nice to see everyone again,but Claire was away this evening,in Germany, and we had a different instructor,the lovely Esther,who had us lunging,marching,jogging,stepping,stretching,and a further punishment is the huge mirror all across the one side of the dance studio,you get to watch your excess wobble ..in time to the music of course...I have muscles I never knew existed,and Julie bless her,don't think she knew what hit her,but being British we kept going ,and kept up with everyone...we all but limped out of the centre after saying our goodbyes,but guess what we're back next week,and we enjoyed it.No we're not sadists just very grateful we survived.

Jenny

AND I SAID THIS SITE WASN'T RETRO??.....DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN??

Having just typed an intro,saying this site wasn't dedicated to retro,started me thinking about the 60's...Well it would things really do wander into my mind....but we were so lucky it was a golden age,jobs aplenty,I lost count of the number of jobs I actually had,after all you could go out in your lunch hour and if you were offered better paying employment,hand your notice in when you got back.
The mini skirt was born,we won the world cup,I think everyone came out on to the streets after the match,and 42 years later we're still waiting for the magic that the squad of 66 gave us,all in vain I fear ,players just don't seem to be hungry enough,and they're far too pampered.
Flower power came to our shores,and naturally I had the kaftan,long blonde hair,didn't we all(lads too),but then we also had the mods and rockers(mod here),and protest songs,yes as teens we protested...quite a lot!!
After all this was our time, the word teenager was officially in the dictionary,and we were the first youth generation to have disposable income.Young men rode lambrettas or motorbikes,and we all paid homage to Carnaby Street...well there was definitely a street sign on my bedroom wall,that said that along with all the album covers and my wonderful Dansette record player.
However we weren't a pampered generation, no benefits, or handouts if you didn't work ,and god help you if you became pregnant before you married...I can honestly say my dad was the most effective form of contraception,as most fathers were..simple terms "Bring trouble to this house and you're on the street",you knew there'd be no reasoning,and like everyone else it would be a shotgun wedding,or unmarried mothers home,so you didn't ,or if you risked it you prayed an awful lot for a whole month which seemed to last for an eternity...There was an awful downside to this the girls who sought out the back street abortionists,there was nowhere else to go, clinics didn't exist,and many a young girl lost her life or was seriously ill.
Every girl married,not the lavish OTT affairs they have now,which usually leaves the new Mr.&Mrs.with a huge loan to start their married life,no ours were simple the bride wore white ,very often the reception was in the brides house,or a local club,your dad ,danced as only dad's can at a wedding, along with an assortment of male relatives,and although most won't admit it ...because of course we've all "moved" on..but the inevitable fight broke out....My mum bless her had to be different I married in the early 70's ,we had an all singing ,all dancing, brand new Holiday Inn Hotel in Birmingham,and they were new to this country,so mum decided our reception was there,which cost mum and dad an arm and a leg...such a waste as we divorced at the end of the 70's,and I've remained cynical regards lavish "do's" ever since ,after all 2nd marriage very simple,register office ,reception in the house and still going strong.
The 60's was my era,a golden age,working hours were long,health and safety..unheard of...the world was a very small place,no such thing as flitting to another continent at the drop of a hat,we had smog ,coal fires,walked for miles,pc's unheard of,but or fashion was unique,thanks to Mary Quant,Twiggy and the like,and anything was possible,every other lad was in a band and some of them made it,and the music was something else...Yes it was golden... I met the Rolling Stones,saw the Beatles live,also the Beach Boys,Brenda Lee,the list goes on, what more could a girl ask for?

IS THERE A PLUMBER IN THE HOUSE???

Having the bathroom refitted,now we thought this would be a simple straightforward exercise,but to date it appears plumbers are now a breed apart,and maybe some are suffering serious delusions of grandeur ...Silly me I keep forgetting I'm the customer and will be paying,must learn to know my place!!!!
We want a no frills bathroom suite fitted,white suite, white tiles,and new shower,and I stress the bathroom in question is a small one,small but straightforward,modern house.
The first plumber arrived 2 days ago to give an estimate,as he gave an oh, and ah, and things should be okay??....obviously artistic licence is now required to screw the client for as much as you can get.Frank his name was, and he talked for England, obviously not busy then ..as he regaled of his holiday in Dubai,and eventually said the estimate would be £2,700....that didn't include the plasterer(he'd forgotten him) and the tiles,so let's call it £3,000 and rising!!!!Frank no way am I funding any more trips to Dubai for you and the family,best part he turned round and said he chooses who he'll do the work for ,the basis being whether he likes them or not????Does this poor deluded soul think anyone would actually employ him,let alone recommend him, he left me with a thumping headache,and a feeling of total disbelief.
The 2nd plumber arrived early this morning,he did look like the son of Frank though,not good....however it appeared he understood what our requirements were,told him from the off what we wanted,he said it was a straightforward job,however he didn't give an estimate and hasn't rung,even though he said he would later in the day...So what is it with British plumbers?Do they only want jobs where the client is spending quite a few thousand,we're going into recession in the U.K. so a few words of advice customers are your bread and butter,and don't complain about the Polish workforce......What I wouldn't give for a hard working Polish plumber he'd sort my bathroom out.......Are there any out there in Birmingham??

Jenny.

RETIREMENT........FAREWELL MUNROW

Can't recall exactly when I set this blog up ,but at long last it has it's first post.
Seems to have been quite a hectic 2 weeks,retirement came,at long last...Can't for the life of me understand anyone who quoted those immortal words... "What will you do with yourself?"
I did have a really good send off from work colleagues,buffet in the bar,yes a bar in the workplace..They know my weakness for shopping £100.00 in House of Fraser vouchers,beautiful bouquet....and the gem?a pensioners shopping trolley of course...these by the way are my pet hate....anyone who's shins have suffered at the hands of a wayward OAP, weilding one of these will know exactly where I'm coming from...mine of course had been lovingly decorated with bling and tinsel,by Debs and Nors artistic design....the contents something else ,big knickers,knitting needles,wool,plastic rainhat,woolly bedsocks,steradent,the list goes on,but you get the drift,all down to Nettie,now you know it was Nett.
The buffet was lovely, so a big thankyou to all at the University Sport Birmingham,and staff in Raising The Bar for making it special,I shall miss a

lot of people in the centre ..enjoy the photos.

Jenny.