The end of 2011

No. 24    Thursday 29 December 2011

The last blog of the year, but I'm not going back over the year to review everything that has happened (which isn't much). The only comment I will make is that I seem to have been in a very very gradual decline physically. I realised this when I was thinking back about what I was able to do at the beginning of the year. As far as mental capacity is concerned, that seems to be pretty much the same - but then I am the wrong person to judge!!

Of course, surveying the past is something which I try to avoid as far as possible except where there is something outstanding from a previous occasion. I have always said that the two words ‘anger’ and ‘regret’ don't occur in my thoughts. The former is sometimes replaced by ‘retribution’ or ‘revenge’ but mostly by ‘why bother’. The latter is basically ignored because it is something put down to experience or something which is past and cannot be changed anyway. Edith Piaf had the right idea with her song ‘No Regrets’ of which I have both the English and French versions.

There is one thing which is still outstanding from just before Christmas. I mentioned in my last blog the company who had got their deliveries a little bit wrong. The last item eventually turned up on the 22nd so on the 23rd I sent them an e-mail pointing out the error of their ways. Apart from having an acknowledgement, there hasn't been any response but then I won't expect anything for a little while because I believe they are likely to have been swamped by complaints and been sorting things out after the Christmas and New Year break.

I don't watch a lot of television, because I want to try and avoid becoming a TV addict, but I do wish the BBC would restore their regular programming as soon as Christmas is over. I get used to arranging my day, or my watching, by when particular programmes appear and it confuses me when I am not able to do this. Fortunately there is a very good website which shows all the programmes and which can be set to show the stations in which one is interested. It also shows which channel each station is on and, by positioning the computer pointer over a particular programme it gives a potted synopsis of the programme - very useful!!

The improvement in smart phones has raised the thought in my mind that it might be an idea to get one which is smarter than my present one. There are two problems with this, the first being that I don't need a lot of the facilities which have been added to them, and secondly all this touch sensitivity is not much good when you have limited hand use, like me. My present phone is reasonably satisfactory in that I can make alterations by using a pen with the point retracted. I really only need a phone for its telephonic abilities and to display my shopping list (to support my not-too-reliable memory). I suppose my interest in the new ones is just my interest in new gadgets anyway.

I will conclude these meanderings by wishing you all the very best for the New Year.

Mike