The end of the decade

Someone asked me recently what my ambitions were for 2020. “To survive,”  I said. They thought it was  a joke. It wasn’t.

Someone in my business network (!) recently wrote a blog post on their achievements in 2019. It was all about developing their business and networking and lots of “travel” (ie foreign holidays). This is not my world.

Someone on Twitter started asking people about their achievements during the decade. I hadn’t even realised it was the end of a decade. Or that “achievements” were what mattered in life.

Book review: Face it by Debbie Harry

“That’s very heavy” said the librarian as she scanned in my book. She was right. It looks like a normal hardback but it’s twice the weight. I still haven’t worked out why.

Appearances can be deceptive, as Debbie Harry knows. She was never “Blondie”, as the book makes clear: that was always a character. Debbie’s own character is harder to make out, even after reading this book. She has a lot of stories to tell but she tells them deadpan.

Books I want to share: stories of ageing, music and memorable lines

I love libraries. They let me keep up with new books without overloading my bookshelves any more than they already are.

But there are always some bits I want to keep. So when I see a line I love in a book, I take a photo of it so I can remember. Some of them are too good not to share so here goes: some of the books I’ve read in October and the best bits. Coincidentally most, but not all, are about age. I hope you like them.

Too old to rock’n’roll?

Last night I went to my first proper gig since I can’t remember when. The first one in a rock venue and not an arts centre or upstairs in a pub. I didn’t know if I’d still like it.

Days

My next door neighbour’s just had another birthday. She’s 102. I worked out she was actually alive before the end of the first World War. That’s a bit mind-boggling.

Dying Matters – funeral costs, and things I wish I'd done differently

Coffins are like wine in restaurants. Everyone buys the second-cheapest.

It’s Dying Matters Awareness Week – the idea is to get people talking about the things we don’t usually talk about – and today’s theme is “funeral costs”.

This is something I know about, as I was involved in arranging two funerals last year.

Books and booze and rock’n’roll

Photo by Andy Pidge

Last week I went to see Viv Albertine at the Walthamstow Rock’n’Roll Book Club. Everyone should have a rock’n’roll book club. It’s a brilliant idea and I wish there was one where I live. But luckily I have a friend in Walthamstow and she invited me along.

The club is (usually) in an old cinema, which feels like a suitably rock’n’roll venue. A bit vintage, a bit shabby, hanging on to some glamour. (Aren't we all?) The central ticket booth is now a cocktail bar, which I thought was pretty cool.

2018: the year I became a grownup

2018 was the year I finally started to feel like a grownup.

Early in the year, I turned 60. I grumbled a bit at the lack of state pension and I bought myself a “senior railcard”, which I loved and was strangely proud of: it felt like a rite of passage. That wasn’t what made me feel like a grown-up, though.

I didn’t realise how momentous the year was going to be. How much my life was going to change. How much I was going to change.