Welcome to a very wet and miserable South Manchester. I’ve looked at the weather forecast for today and it is bad.
I don’t care. I don’t plan on going anywhere today at all – and this time next week I will be on a cruise liner navigating Greek islands in the Aegean Sea in what will officially be the end of summer for me. When I return it will be my birthday and I fully expect to see commercials for Christmas paraphernalia appearing everywhere.
I want it to be The National Lottery telling me that I have won millions of pounds on either Lotto or Euromillions.
2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart?
Of course I do. Dumping your shopping trolley randomly is one of my pet peeves, especially now that I do all of the grocery shopping.
Once, one lazy shopper dumped their trolley behind my car, which meant that I had to move it out of the way to unload my trolley.
And being a good citizen, I took both of them back.
3. In a social setting, are you more of a talker or a listener?
I can be both. I like to listen to what other people are saying but I also contribute to the conversation.
4. Do you take compliments well?
I am quite a humble person and this means that I don’t really know what to say when I receive a compliment. Usually I mumble a surprised “Thank You” and feel a little awkward (if I’m honest).
5. Do you play Sudoku or Wordle?
I have played Sudoku in the past but I have never played Wordle.
6. Did you ever go to camp as a kid?
We don’t have “camp” in the UK so the answer is no.
7. Could you date someone with different religious beliefs than you?
Absolutely. When it comes to religion, I like to chat about it rather than avoiding the subject. I was baptised a Roman Catholic but I am not religious at all. That said, it doesn’t stop me from chatting to people about their beliefs. I might not share their views but I guess you can say that about most subjects.
One of the most interesting chats I had was with a Jehovah’s Witness who tried their best to convert me into their cult.
I would love to have a chat to a Scientologist and have been tempted to pop into the Scientology shop in the centre of Manchester just to see what they have to say – especially after my “encounter” with them as a naïve 19 year old in Amsterdam.
Actually I will reconsider my answer to this question. I would date anybody – but not a Scientologist. The reason is that I wouldn’t want to be attacked for criticising them or have to suffer “disconnection”.
8. Would you rather pursue or be pursued?
I assume that you are talking about dating here. I gave up pursuing because I got fed up of being rejected. Some women were nice about it but I inwardly cringe even at lovely rejections like “Oh Dave – you’re such a lovely guy but I only want to be friends. I’m really sorry”.
Every relationship I have had, I’ve been pursued – even though I had no idea that I was actually being pursued. I quite enjoyed it, if I’m honest.
9. Have you ever fired a gun?
You may be surprised to hear this but the answer is yes. On a trip to Vietnam we visited the Củ Chi tunnels near to Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon) back in 2019. Basically you could pay to fire a gun at a target and I had a couple of goes. I missed.
Here is evidence:
10. Would you rather dine at Olive Garden or Panera?
I have never heard of either Olive Garden or Panera. However, I looked them up and I think that I would probably prefer Olive Garden.
41 years ago today, on Monday 17th September 1984, I started work as a Graduate Computer Programmer at a large company that was based in South Manchester. It was the beginning of almost 40 years in Software Engineering, which basically means that I spent my entire working life in combat with computer software running on a variety of machines that slowly evolved and now continue to evolve to this day.
I actually loved writing software but eventually all the politics and crap that surrounds such a career got to me in the end. I guess all office based careers end up mutating into something else and that was definitely true of my job.
In a sense I was lucky because for about thirty five of those forty years I worked in the airport industry, which meant that I got to travel to exotic places such as Russia, China, USA and South Africa as well as Europe.
What I discovered as part of these travels is that people the world over are largely the same. When I say “people” I mean ordinary people such as myself, not politicians, celebrities and others wielding power.
For example, in Russia, I worked with a guy who was wonderful company and very helpful to me. In China I was looked after so well by the people I was working with and my attempts to speak Mandarin were met with enthusiasm but laughter as I skilfully mispronounced all manner of words, turning simple sentences into utter gibberish.
On Thursday 12th September 2025 I waved goodbye to all that and retired.
Now, on the day that career started, I thought that I would reflect on what has happened since I handed over my work laptop and said goodbye to my work colleagues.
Do I think of work now?
The answer is not really. I am still in touch with quite a few people I used to work with and I definitely miss some of the trips abroad, even though they were hard work in terms of the job I had to do. Thankfully, now that I am free of the chains of my career I can revisit some of these places as a tourist and enjoy them without the pressure of the job.
The question I am now asked most is:
“What are you doing with your time, Dave?”
When I was younger, I thought that retired people just spent their time doing nothing but now that I have joined that elite group of people, I know how wrong that naïve view is. Some of the retired people I know are actually busier now than when they worked.
From a personal point of view, my plan for retirement was to make sure that I didn’t fall into the trap of doing absolutely nothing. I wanted a routine. I wanted to keep fit. I wanted to challenge my mind. I wanted to make time for fun.
I actually went about the task of bringing this plan to fruition in quite a methodical manner. I guess this is no surprise for somebody who designed algorithms for computer systems to follow. Here’s what I did:
First, I made a list of things that I wanted to do (hobbies if you like), and a list of things that were necessary (such as chores etc) as well as finding something to do to simply relax. That list is huge by the way and I have only really looked at a fraction of it.
In a sense, I was lucky to retire when I did, though fellow retirees will almost certainly disagree with me. Retirees I know said that the best time to retire is at the start of summer yet, paradoxically I ignored that advice and quit my job at the start of autumn. The weather in autumn in the UK is okay but steadily gets worse as time passes inexorably towards winter. Consequently, I found myself staying at home as the weather devolved into unpleasantness.
You may think this is a bad idea, but it wasn’t bad for me. It allowed my routine to take hold and now, a year later, I have a daily routine that absolutely works for me.
That is a key thing (and I can’t emphasise it enough) – get yourself a routine that suits you. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it is something that you can look forward to every day and something that is fulfilling. However, there is a caveat, which I have learned this summer. By all means stick to the routine but don’t be too hard on yourself if something more interesting comes along like a trip out, a holiday or just hanging around with friends. My life was rigid enough when I worked and, as paradoxical as it seems, I don’t want to take that into retirement even though I have a routine for less active days.
I have a massive list of things that I would like to try and I have spent time listing those in a document for future use, but for now, I have selected a couple to fit into my routine.
These include, teaching myself (badly) to play the piano, playing with a synthesiser, writing (including a novel, a memoir and blog posts) and learning languages (Spanish, French and German).
The timetable includes time for daily chores, a bit of relaxation and time to be a total child with my PS5.
As well as this, I try to walk roughly five miles a day. I do this first thing in the morning because this serves a couple of purposes. First, it wakes me up and second I find it quite mindful and relaxing. Walking also gets me out of the house and is great exercise for an old git like myself. I do this even in terrible weather (Like this morning when I was asking myself whether there was a new Noah constructing a brand new Ark).
So, have I stuck to myroutine?
In short, the answer is yes.
It was easier during the winter months and even into spring.
When summer arrived it was more tricky because there was more to do. I started seriously watching cricket, for example and I have been to a lot of games. Also, the weather improved which meant that I was able to get out and about more or simply sit in the garden and read, enjoying the nice weather. For once we have had a great summer in 2025, involving four heatwaves (yes four – can you believe that in the UK?) with temperatures reaching the high twenties to the mid-thirties Celsius. I don’t think I have spent as much time in the garden as I have this summer.
To be honest, summer has ruined my routine quite a lot but that is a good thing if you consider that going out and doing stuff is as good as settling into your routine. Summer has taught me that no matter how rigid you wanted the routine to be, it is okay to put it aside for a while and enjoy the benefits of good weather, like a cricket match or simply reading in the garden, as well as other activities and socialising with mates.
Holidays have also required me to shelve my routine a lot. I have been on holiday nine times, three of them in the UK and the rest abroad. There are a few other things going on too, notably bi-monthly get-togethers with a bunch of old retired workmates to travel around the local area via train to seek out new pubs and new breweries – to boldly drink beer where no Mancunian has drunk beer before.
As well as that, I have become a domestic goddess. Mrs PM is still working and so while she slaves away over a hot laptop, I look after domestic chores such as washing, shopping and being a slave to our two furry overlords.
That works well and I am (relatively) happy to take over.
What about the future?
I am going on another holiday at the end of next week, a cruise around the Aegean Sea with two friends, and after that I will take stock of where I am and consider changing things around a little bit as winter approaches.
I don’t think that I will change much, if I’m honest, because I am content at the moment. I have a list of new things to try and perhaps I will find time but at the moment I am happy to continue for a while. I will of course review again as the New Year approaches, as this is the time that people traditionally review their day to day lives.
Life is peachy at the moment and I will try to make the most of it while I am still in the go-go period of retirement. As I said above, I have learned that no matter how disciplined I am with a routine, it is absolutely fine to break that for more interesting pursuits – and in fact it should be actively encouraged.
I expect more of the same next year and I am delighted with that.
Welcome to a changeable South Manchester. When I say changeable, I mean the weather because, really, South Manchester always tends to stay the same. We are in a weird pattern weatherwise as autumn starts to dig its heels in. This means we are getting sunshine but occasional heavy showers and the odd rumble of thunder. The weather really can’t make up its mind what to do.
If you ever wonder why British people seem obsessed with the weather, you can tell from days like today.
Should I wear a coat?
Should I take a brolly?
I don’t know.
Thankfully I am staying at home today.
Let’s dive in with some silly questions from Sunday Stealing.
1. Name five songs that you have completely memorised.
I’ve memorised these songs (more or less) by simply listening to them so often over the years.
Deep Purple – Highway Star
Rush – Subdivisions
Tears For Fears – Head Over Heels
Depeche Mode – Personal Jesus
Nazareth – May the Sunshine
2. What takes up too much of your time?
At the moment, it is household chores. There is a blog post coming soon about this but basically, since Mrs PM is still working and I am now retired, I have taken on the role of doing most of the stuff around the house. It is a pain in the backside but we need to do it so it has become a necessary evil.
3. What TV show or movie do you refuse to watch?
Anything with James Corden in it. He has a sitcom called Gavin and Stacey that apparently people actually like (even though he has pissed off most of the other cast). I was going to watch the Friends reunion but when I discovered that he was involved I simply refused.
Other things that piss me off are reality TV shows like Made in Chelsea. I would never watch such bilge.
Oh – and any TV programme with Sinon Cowell in it.
Oh oh – and any TV programme with Piers Morgan in it.
4. What's worth spending more on to get the best?
Technology. For example, if you are going to buy a laptop or tablet, then the cheaper ones lack the resources and processor of the more expensive ones, so while they will work, they will soon struggle to cope with the latest operating systems and software so you will end up replacing it sooner than you think. It may seem pricey but you can almost guarantee that it will last longer.
5. Share something you did last week.
Last week was a bit of a quiet one, which is good for the introvert inside me.
The week before was different. I went to see Lancashire play Middlesex at cricket in a 50 over one day match.
I also took my car in for its annual check up (called an MOT over here).
Finally I went to Heaton Park in the North of Manchester for a gig called Festwich, which consists of several tribute bands playing on three stages for the whole day. Good clean fun with a touch of heavy metal.
Welcome to a dry and cloudy South Manchester in the United Kingdom. We are now sadly descending into autumn after a very good summer. The good news is that for me summer will return briefly when we go on a cruise in the Aegean Sea at the end of September, visiting several Greek islands and also a day in Turkey (my third visit there).
I’m looking forward to that.
Let’s five in with some Sunday Stealing shenanigans. This week it’s a little different in that I am expected to grade myself on various things. The grades are A, A-, B, B-, C, C-, D, D-, F but I am going to add E and E- because that’s what we have in the UK.
Also, I always hated being graded - I even hate grading myself because I will invariably get it wrong. I will probably reread this post in a year's time and panic that I was so easy or so hard on myself. What a neurotic mess I am.
• Happiness
B
I am generally a happy chap but I could be happier, hence the B. There is room for improvement but most of it is out of my hands. These days when I turn on the news and watch what is happening in my own country and the rest of the world, I feel like a little bit of my soul is being chipped away.
In the UK we have the rise of the extreme right, led by the arrogant, bigoted, Trump wannabee, Nigel Farage. In the US, Donald Trump is slowly destroying the country from within. In the east, Vladimir Putin shows no sign of ending the war in Ukraine. In Israel there is a humanitarian crisis that shows no sign of ending.
That said, I was elated by Farage’s visit to Congress this week. He went over there with the intention of putting the UK down, comparing my country to North Korea.
What a total prick he is!
Instead, he got more than he bargained for, as you can see from the video below:
Jamie Raskin – I applaud you for showing us all exactly what frog-faced Farage is; an arrogant, bigoted, disruptive grifter. Let’s just hope that people in the UK see him for what he is.
• Being a decent human being
B
I am a decent human being but there is always room for improvement. Nobody is perfect, least of all myself, and I know exactly how I could improve.Will it happen? Maybe, but not if Captain Procrastination has his way.
• Being serene (calm, peaceful)
B
I am a calm and laid back person ninety percent of the time but there are times when I loose my cool. This usually happens when I am watching the news or listening to people talking bullshit on social media and in the newspapers. I am improving though because had you asked me a few years ago when I had to endure the likes of Boris Johnson as my Prime Minister and the fallout from the disaster that is Brexit, I would have given myself an E. I am trying to find inner peace and I think I am getting there.
• Kindness
A-
Again, there is room for improvement but I think I am a kind person deep down. I like to be kind and helpful – I get a buzz out of it.
For example, on my walk a few months ago, a woman ran past me and as she did, she dropped her purse. I called her but she had earbuds in and she couldn’t hear me. I called louder and she just ran on having not heard me at all. Now she was clearly a keen and dedicated runner because I watched her disappear while I decided what to do.
I thought, “Sod it,” and I ran after her.
Now I haven’t run for many years but I am quite fit, given that I walk five miles a day. I had to almost sprint to catch her and, after several minutes, I did. I didn’t want to tap her on the shoulder so I just ran right past her and stopped, holding out her purse. “You (gasp)(gasp)(gasp) dropped (gasp)(gasp)(gasp) this” I said trying not to sound like one of those perverts who used to breath down the phone.
She was so grateful and thanked me for being such a kind person.
I realised then that while I can still run a little, I’m not as fit as I used to be. There will be no fun runs, couch to 10K or marathons in my lifetime, that I can tell you.
• Anger management
B-
I hate getting angry. Paradoxically getting angry makes me angry because I hate to lose control. When I see a truly angry person I avoid them completely and I would rather walk away. However, as I have said repeatedly, while there’re people like Nigel Farage in politics and people like Donald Trump in the White House, I will still get angry. I can’t help it.
• Creative thinking
C
I would love to be more creative and I know that I can be. I recently read a decent book on how to spark your inner creativity and I found it really interesting. When I read stuff about creativity, it highlights the fact that I am not there yet. However, I think it will be interesting to explore this further.
• Modesty
A-
By giving myself an A- for modesty, am I being arrogant and not modest at all?
Is this a massive oxymoron?
Actually, I do consider myself to be modest. I don’t boast about my achievements because I prefer to portray myself as an ordinary guy, which is what I feel that I am. I am Mr Average in many ways (blog post on this coming soon) and I always feel uncomfortable blowing my own trumpet. When I was working, people used to tell me to boast about what I had achieved. I’ve always felt uncomfortable doing that. Does that make me modest?
• Being an original
C
Like I said above, I am Mr Average – just like any other 62 year old retired British man you would see walking down the street. There is nothing special about me at all. I am not a pioneer in any field, I don’t stand out as “the original this” or “the original that” and I’m happy with that.
• Knowing yourself
A
I know myself really well. I know my limitations, I know what I like and dislike and I know what makes me happy.
• Being true to yourself
B
In the past, when I was more insecure and shy, I used to try to strive for friendship by going out of my way to please other people. Sometimes that was fun and productive but on many occasions it wasn’t at all. Nowadays, I just do things for me. Don’t get me wrong, I will sometimes go out of my way to make others happy but I do so on my own terms. I’m too old to live by other people’s rules and standards. What’s more, I don’t expect other people to do that for me either.
• Getting along with others
A-
I like to think that I am a nice guy and generally I get along with a lot of people. I always make an effort even if I dislike the person. I always greet people with a smile, no matter who they are and try to make them feel at ease. I am absolutely certain that there are people out there who don’t like me but that’s okay too because I probably dislike them too.
I just tend to avoid those people anyway.
• Liking yourself
B
Yeah – I do like myself but when I do something stupid I curse myself relentlessly. This is fun for other people to watch because it is genuinely funny. I used to do this at work when I had messed up , much to the amusement of my former work colleagues. I hate it when I break things accidentally or lose my keys. There is room for improvement though and I should learn to forgive myself for petty things like that. Such behaviour is usually very short lived though and I can see the funny side of most of it.
• Admitting your flaws
B
Regular readers know that I list my flaws all the time. I have done so in this very post. Usually I try to make a joke about it because I love self-deprecation. It doesn’t mean that I hate myself at all; on the contrary I think admitting your flaws, preferably in a funny way, actually endear people to me. I’ve made many a person laugh when I have described how inadequate I am at doing certain things, or times when I have totally cocked something up. It does happen, so why not enjoy it?
• Self improvement
B
I am on a quest for self-improvement but there are lots of things that I need to do to achieve what I want, hence the B. For example, I am trying to teach myself to play the piano and yet I know that if I dedicated more time to this and practiced more, I know that I would improve. That said, I do try to spend some time tickling the ivories every day and limping through difficult songs (well difficult to me anyway). This is the latest thing I am wrestling with and I am about 80% of the way there. However, it has taken me ages to crawl to this point.
Over those nine years, you may have thought that I had finally overcome my squeamishness or at least tried to cope with it. The truth is that I haven’t.
If anything I am worse now.
What has made it so bad for me is that these days more people seem to relish talking about their ailments, their operations and various bits that are going wrong with their bodies and, worse, they seem to want to go into great detail, even for the trivial things.
Picture the scene. I am sitting in an Indian restaurant with Mrs PM, her father and her step mum. We have ordered our food and are currently snacking on some poppadoms with various tasty dips. Mrs PM’s dad and step mum are a lot older than I am (and I consider myself to be an old git) and they know a lot of people their age. The topic of conversation has invariably led to the ailments of some of their friends.
Now, before I go on, I don’t mind hearing that somebody has been to hospital to have a minor operation; I just don’t want the full gory details. The conversation started getting into the nitty gritty of medical issues and procedures. And I mean getting really down and dirty with all of the gory details. Being polite, I allowed this to go on uninterrupted while my inner Mr Squeamish told me that they would change the subject soon. As I crunched through my poppadum, Mrs PM’s dad told us about something that had happened to him.
He used to be very active but due to one thing and another, he can’t walk very far now (he is approaching his mid 80’s). This means that occasionally he has to use a mobility scooter. One day, he had a little accident. There was a mechanical issue and it collapsed under him when he sat on it resulting in a part of it scraping his skin. We all sympathised until he went into more detail about the aftermath. The wound took a while to heal and he insisted on going into all of the gory details, which I won’t repeat here lest I throw up all over my keyboard.
I even tolerated this, dear reader, because it had happened to him. But then, as the main course arrived, I internally shook my head in horror as Mrs PM (who should know better) started talking about an eye operation that she had heard about or watched on one of those horrific medical programmes she insists on watching.
That was too much. Mr Squeamish screamed at me and I went into full blown rant mode. Of all the body parts I have a problem with, eyes are the worst.
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” I yelled, possibly too loudly. “I’ve heard about Mrs Smith’s operation and I’ve heard about Mrs PM’s dad’s minor mobility accident. You’ve been talking about cysts, people being sliced open, blood and other monstrous body incidents for twenty minutes now. And now you want to talk about EYES! Unless you want to see me be violently ill on this table, please, please, PLEASE change the subject.”
What was the reaction?
They all burst out laughing. Mrs PM’s step mum said:
“OOOH! I’d forgotten how squeamish you are.”
Thankfully they took pity on me and changed the subject, but not before a couple of witty barbs were hurled my way.
This highlights an issue that I am noticing more and more, possibly because people around me, friends and relatives etc. are all getting older and with that age increase there are more ailments to talk about because more people are getting them.
And I hate that.
I wouldn’t mind if people just mentioned it so that I knew; people insist on the entire gory details. I hate that. People are even talking about their pets in this way.
“Oh little Tiddles had to have a massive boil lanced from her paw. When the vet cut it with the scalpel, all this yellow pus came out but that wasn’t the worst bit. After that …”
STOP IT!
All I want to know is that Tiddles went to the vet for a minor procedure.
Why do I need to know what that procedure is?
Is Tiddles okay now?
Yes?
Fine!
That’s enough!
I know that this is going to get worse but you can rest assured, dear reader, that if I have to have an operation, be it major or minor, I will not mention it on this blog. There will be no photographs of wounds or scars and no elaborate descriptions of the procedure or the aftermath.
AND THERE WILL DEFINITELY BE NO TALK ABOUT EYES!
I wouldn’t put you through that trauma.
Why? Because Mr Squeamish doesn’t just live inside me; he lives inside many people.
