Serenity in Somerset

We had a wonderful, relaxing break in lovely Somerset last week. We stayed in a luxury caravan overlooking the lakes with a short walk to the sea front. Amazingly, the weather was dry but a little windy. Everyday we went swimming in a warm indoor pool, my husband fished to his heart's content and we walked along the seafront. As it was September, it was reasonably quiet and an ideal place to find relaxation by the bucket and spade full.

Whilst my husband fished, I sat at his side either painting the scenes or reading. The swans and Canada geese were our main companions in our peaceful setting. What a difference to the holidays we used to take when time was ordered by the needs of the children. It is only in the last few years that John and I have had time to ourselves and it took me a while to get used to being able to put our needs first but I must admit it is wonderful.

We had a day out at Cheddar Gorge and Caves and it is such an interesting and quaint place. We walked up through the Gorge on the steep road formed by the path of an old river bed that had wound it way down through the cliffs. The caves were formed thousands of year ago and the inner rock formations and stalagmites and stalactites were formed by the actions of water.



We had never been to Somerset before and I recommend this lovely part of the country. We enquired about buying one of the mobile homes but decided that it was far to expensive to maintain on a yearly basis as the site fees and added extras were too costly. Compared to the same costs in France, it is more worthwhile to buy in another country. Good old Britain, you can always count on the economy to put a damper on things!!

Speaking of 'damper on things', we returned home to storms, floods and cold. Ah well, we can now sit and plan for our next holiday to the Caribbean to celebrate my sixtieth birthday. Yeh man!

Sorry is a Sorry Word!

I need to get onto my soap box this week as I am dismayed that society does not appear to learn from past mistakes.It is said that you learn by your mistakes but it is evident from recent events that our society does not learn but merely repeats wrongdoings over and over again. Working in health care education, I know of many instances where care has improved owing to an alteration of behaviour, due to learning and implementing that learning.

 The Hillsborough report is a harrowing read but it has finally unearthed the truth and exposed deceipt, poor leadership and inept professional services. This was a disaster waiting to happen and although initial reactions were understandable in that football did not have a good reputation and it was presumed that it was a pitch invasion and needed to be controlled, the eventual reaction to a major disaster was inexcusable. It appears that all services, not just one,reacted poorly and caused a chain of events that resulted in a greater number of deaths. The disgraceful wrong accusations and deflection of the truth in order to escape accountability, has damaged not only the grieving families, but our society. We should hang our heads in shame that it has taken 23 years for this truth to emerge and 96 families have had open wounds, compounded by the lies and cover ups.

We have not learnt as the recent Leveson inquiry demonstrated. This inquiry investigated the culture, practices and ethics of the media, examining the relationship of the press with the public, police and politicians. Similar practices of deceit and corruption emerge and as Leveson asks, who indeed 'guards the guardians?' You may expect this type of wrongdoings from an undeveloped country with despot leaders but surely not in civilised Britain. 

Apologies are now being uttered from a host of people or organisations as practices are exposed, but these apologies should have been offered before the spotlight exposed the deed. We are all accountable for our own actions and now this spotlight shines on the people or organisations who should take responsibility for their actions and put to right an injustice that has hovered over society for far too long.

More important now is the need to learn and assimilate that learning but instead we continue to have a tendency to repeat wrongs so how can we teach our children to respect and behave accordingly when they have poor role models from our leaders and 'gaurdians'? 

I have made many mistakes in my life as a mother, as a wife and as a person  but I hope I have learnt from them and improved. Where I have not, I apologise and can only strive to do better. I hope and pray that as a society we can do the same.

Remember the List

I need a list! My brain functions more clearly when I can see my priorities and I have a plan. I have always been a keeper of lists as there were so many things to remember and not enough space in my head. Now I have a lot of space in my head but I can’t remember anyway. I am a person who needs to visualise the big picture then develop a plan to get there, or have a ‘to do’ list in order to set aims and objectives. 

I found the list that I made before I retired and it contained many of the activities that I couldn’t do whilst I was working.  It is true that the older you are, the faster time goes by. It is 12 months at the end of this month since I left my employment and took an early pension. My house is now cleaner, odd jobs caught up with and hobbies explored, so I now look towards the longer term.  My husband only retires in another 17 months and we then intend to downsize the house and move to a different area. When children are small and dependant, stability for schools and friends is important and for parents, it is the access to work that determines where to live. Now, as children have flown the nest and work is a thing of the past, there is no longer any need to stay where we are and the prospect of more exiting areas is appealing. I hope it is not a case of ‘the grass is greener etc’.

At the moment, my big picture is to live part of the year in England and part in France. My husband and I will need to decide on an area in England so that we can downsize. We prefer to have a house that is near to either a river or a lake so that John can fish, that will be a necessity whether in England or France. In the meantime I should revisit my ancient ‘O’ level French and learn more conversational French. 

So, my pre retirement list is over 12 months old and I have been too busy to look at it! So a list is not the answer then – maybe sticker notes. I could stick them on the fridge, on the computer, or on the wine rack maybe. Bright idea – I could use the ‘to do’ notes on my mobile phone, then I will have a list that I will remember to look at. 

 If only I could remember where I put my phone. 

In the fridge maybe??