The Themeless Thesis

Welcome to South Manchester where we are well into the autumn regime. The weather today is rainy and cloudy but there are occasional sunny intervals. The temperature has definitely dropped. 

Yesterday was my birthday, as I mentioned last week, and Mrs PM and I had a lovely meal to celebrate, although “celebrate” isn’t the word I would use now as the years drag on. Yes, I am now 64 years old, which is bizarre because I don’t look that age and I certainly don’t feel it. I can see wrinkles and grey hair but you could mistake me for somebody at least ten years younger – so I’ve been told. 

You may think that is lucky but the truth is that I am still 64 – which makes me a moaning old git. 

Judge for yourself. Here's a picture of me and my two sons at my eldest lad's wedding celebration last month - I am the one in the middle by the way. 

Enough of this; let’s have some silly fun with some daft questions from Sunday Stealing. 

1. What was the last gift you received?

This is really nicely timed because of the birthday thing. The very last gift I received was a cheque from Mrs PM’s mother which will allow me to blow some cash – probably adding to Jeff Bezos’s coffers on Amazon (though I hate to do that deep down). Jeff Bezos is two years younger than I am but has vast swathes of cash squirrelled away at our expense. I must not rant about Jeff Bezos even though I want to. 

2. Who did you last hang out with?

That would be Mrs PM. If you wish to discount Mrs PM (because I hang out with her all the time), then I hung out with about ten of my old work colleagues who have all, like, me retired. Earlier this week we all caught a train to Leeds where we visited a few local hostelries during the day. This is a bi-monthly thing and a lot of fun. Usually, we travel to a local place in the Northwest of England and catch a train back stopping off at a pub or two on the return journey. The bad news is that it is my turn to organise the next one in January.

Here is an AI enhanced image featuring us all next to a statue of former British Prime Minister Harold Wilson on a previous trip to Huddersfield. The enhancement is to turn us all into statues of medieval knights quaffing our ale, including Harold Wilson himself who is joining in at the back. I am the one on the far left. 

You can guess that we all used to work in IT can’t you?

3. Do you often lose the remote?

Being a man, legend has it that I have to be in control of the remote. And I think I am even though Mrs PM often grabs it off me. The only time I lose the TV remote is when I have been out of the room and Mrs PM has been in charge of it. To be fair, she is a little scatter-brained (and she will be the first to admit that). Usually, it hasn’t travelled far and is almost certainly wedged in between or behind cushions. 

4. When did you last check Facebook?

Today. An old school friend posted an image of me from 1978. This is what he posted:

Yes – that 15-year-old with a mane of blonde hair is me. It is his copy of a school photo and I have the same one (albeit in much better condition) upstairs buried in the loft in a box somewhere. I was tempted to go up there and find my copy to show a better version, after AI failed to improve it. In the end I decided against it. One day I might try to dig it out. In the meantime, you get the gist – I was a 15 year old lad with a huge shock of blond hair that was as uncontrollable then as it is now (even though it is much shorter). 

A lot of people commented to make fun of me – but I don’t care. I agree with them all. 

5. Are there scented candles in the room you're in?

Yes – but it is not lit. Mrs PM occasionally lights one up and I believe she has a few stashed away. They do make the house smell nice. 

6. Next time you leave the house, where will you be going?

I will be going for a walk tomorrow morning and then going to my next-door neighbour’s 50th birthday celebration. He is also called Dave and his birthday is just two days after mine. We are going to Halifax on an ale trail with a bunch of his mates and of course our good ladies will be coming too. We will be stopping off at a couple of pubs on the way back. I believe there will be quite a few of us and I don’t know most of them – but it should still be fun as I have never been to Halifax before and I will make copious notes about the places we visit in preparation for the next ale trail that I have to organise for my old work colleagues. 

7. Do you know anyone named Steven or Stephen or Steve or Stevie?

Oh yes. I know loads of people called Steve, Steven and Stephen. My eldest lad is called Stephen and he likes to be called Ste and I have met and worked with so many that I have lost count of them. It doesn’t seem to be such a common name in younger people these days – a bit like Dave sadly. 

8. Which do you prefer: macaroni salad or potato salad?

I love both but I think I prefer potato salad. 

9. Do you have an ice maker in your refrigerator door?

No, we don’t. However we are planning to get a new kitchen next year and Mrs PM plans to have a huge fridge with an ice maker. It would be very useful. 

10. When you woke up this morning, did you get up straightaway or lounge a bit?

I was a little lazy this morning. I lay in bed and used Duolingo to enhance my Spanish a little bit.