You What?

Welcome to a sunny autumn day in South Manchester. 

I’ve recently returned from my trip Austria, Hungary and Slovakia, where we tried to cruise along the Danube and see some lovely cities. It was great because I had never been to Austria and Slovakia. Sadly, the heatwave that occurred in Europe caused record low levels in the Danube and so the sailing was badly affected, meaning that we only sailed between Krems and Vienna. However, we were still able to visit Budapest, Bratislava, Melk and Linz via coach, as well as seeing both Vienna and Krems. I was slightly disappointed, but we made the most of it. You can’t really do too much about things that Mother Nature has planned for you. 

Let’s dive into some silly questions from Sunday Stealing. 

1. What are you currently excited about?

There are several things to look forward to. First, we are going to go away again for a cheeky holiday before the end of the year to Lanzarote. 

I am also going to see Rush next year. I thought I would never see the band live again after the death of their drummer Neil Peart, but they are back with a new drummer called Anika Nilles from Germany. 

It’s my birthday in a couple of days but I’m not excited about that at all as I will be 64. 

Will you still need me? Will you still feed me?

2. What do you wish you had more time for?

Being retired, I have a lot of time for most of what I want to do. Sadly, Mrs PM isn’t retired yet and it would be nice to have more time to do things together as a retired couple. That will come I guess but I am still happy find time for most things I want to do. 

3. What would like to do less?

I still procrastinate despite my efforts to the contrary. Nevertheless, I am getting better. 

4. What do you spend too much money on?

I would say holidays, but this time something has happened at home. The day before we left for our holiday, our boiler decided to call it a day, which means that we are now without hot water until it gets replaced. And that is going to cost a little money. 

5. What childhood wish never came true?

When I was a child, I pictured myself as a famous singer or instrumentalist in a band, performing in front of thousands of adoring fans. It was never going to happen because (a) I can’t sing (b) I can’t play a musical instrument well enough (c) I was  (and still can be) a shy person. 

That said, I have played a trombone in a brass band and an orchestra in front of a crowd of parents and teachers. Not exactly like the Beatles though, is it?

6. What did you do to celebrate your last birthday?

We have a very nice restaurant close to us that we tend to visit on special occasions. I did that last year and I will almost certainly do the same in five days’ time. 

7. What drives you nuts?

Okay this is a recent thing. 

On the river cruise there were a few people disappointed by the fact the levels of the Danube river limited the scope of the river cruise. 

I can understand that. 

However, one guy decided to interrupt the “welcome meeting” that was providing very important information and demanded to talk about “the elephant in the room” taking the microphone off the cruise director, ruining the meeting and making a scene. There was nobody there who could have done anything about things so he just decided to be an arse anyway. In the end, we had to find a representative later to tell us about the information we needed. This bloke spent the entire week complaining loudly to anybody who would listen to him. If he wanted to complain, he should have waited until he got home, like the rest of us. 

People like this drive me nuts and this was compounded by his use of the phrase “elephant in the room”. 

8. What keeps you sane?

It’s difficult in a world that is getting more insane each second. Mrs PM is pretty good at hauling me back from turning into a gibbering, rant-filled, grumpy old man. 

9. What historic date is etched in your memory?

I would say recently March 2020 is etched in my mind because that was when we were all sent home from work because of the Covid pandemic and forced to stay there by the government as a lockdown was enforced. Don’t get me started on how Boris Johnson dealt with the pandemic in the UK because, as I said in the previous question, I don’t want to turn into a bitter, gibbering, rant-filled, grumpy old man. 

10. What one thing would make your life immeasurably better?

A lottery win would help. I still have dreams of travelling around the world, via Europe, Asia, Australia, and North and South America. One day – maybe.