Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Thursday 16th March 2023: I can take the despair: it’s the hope I can’t stand! I went to Waterside Writers this morning and it looks very promising with a discussion about poetry Mike Sears came up with the phrase ‘why do we dream of liberty’ at one point (I’m not exactly sure why he said it because of my hearing difficulty .) As the meeting went on I started writing a little piece using it as the first line. Barbra read out the draft of one of her poems and handed it round and I wrote a few suggestions on what I thought might improve it. Peter read out some of his pieces. Caught the 8 back to Hythe with Peter and Kim, had lunch at Be Be’s and then got the 9 back to Holbury. Andy beat me at Scrabble twice (as is almost inevitable) winning the first game in by one point. And continued revisiting Why do we dream of liberty? I can take the despair: it’s the hope I can’t stand!

17 Mar

Writing group scrabble the process of writing enjoying retirement

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Monday 20th March 2023 A rainy Monday morning the sky an uninviting grey. I partly rewrote the piece of Anecdotal Evidence which I’d started on Sunday but accidentally deleted about meeting Olivia. Ran along to the bigger Co-op and bought some Braeburn Apples and a Peppered Steak Slice. Waited at the bus stop when I saw the bus reach the junction I thought it turned the wrong direction (my eyesight must be getting worse) I arrived at October Books and found a seat at an empty table. A couple Su and A young chap (Mathew) who was carrying a musical instrument case asked me if I minded him sitting with me I replied please help yourself. ‘I see you’re a musician’ I said: Apparently it was a mandolin which had just been fitted with a pickup and the neck adjusted. A young lady Helen joined us. We got into conversation and I showed them my sketch book and told her about my blog and gave them one of my promotional cards. Mathew asked me if I played any instruments I replied: ‘ I tried playing the guitar but decided there’s enough suffering in the world without me doing that and gave up’ Su and Martin when they’d finished their set came came and joined us. They’re friends of Mathew and Helen. I said my ‘Goodbyes’ and went into the bookshop and bought Orwell’s ‘Politics and the English Language’ which I’d seen the previous week. When I got home I rewrote the part of my Memoir ‘Anecdotal Evidence ‘ which I’d accidentally deleted. The accident seems to have been a ‘happy accident’ what I wrote today was better than what I wrote and lost yesterday. I’m finding getting into the habit of writing daily is paying dividends.

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Monday April 24, 2023 Woke up early but remained in bed until about ten, where it was warm and cosy. One of the advantages of retirement and living alone is you can get up whenever you want. Eventually I got up and ran to the bus stop. As it’s Monday there was a lunch appointment at October Books. The weather was atrocious today. It started raining as the bus made its way into town. I got off at Sea City Museum and ran to the next bus stop. When I got to October Books lunch was nice, but I didn’t get into conversation with anyone. The WiFi connection was available, and I realised I couldn’t use, The Coop Bank application. So, I went into town and sorted it out. When, I got home I had today’s chocolate ration with a ham sandwich and waited for Bootleg Art Club to begin. During the club I did more to my latest painting adding colour to the trees in the background. I wondered if rather than just taking one picture to October Books as I had initially planned if I could get Andy or Will to take them there. In preparation for my 2023 Diary Adventures, I joined the YHA. .

Ivor’s Daily Gallivant Wednesday July 26, 2023: saving money on insurance. Another sleepless night (like Tuesday) got up at five took my medication and had breakfast. I heard that George Bernard Shaw slept a solid eight hours every other night. So perhaps my sleep patterns although abnormal shouldn’t be of concern. After breakfast I started work on my to do list. First, I paid for my Home Insurance Policy (with Policy Expert) which was £107.48 cheaper than Direct Line. (The time I spent on the noisy buses yesterday and the day before that was worth the effort. It would have been a handsome hourly rate) Policy Expert offer a £50 bonus to anyone who is referred to them by an existing customer. And the existing customer gets the bonus too. So, if you’re tempted to change your policy provider let me know and you’ll get what you save on your insurance plus £50. (Please double check with Money Supermarket price comparison site that things are as good as they seem before making a decision). I set my timer for 8.00am so I could call Direct Lines Customer Hotline to cancel my policy with them. The timer went off and I cancelled the policy. I’ve read my Will and it now needs a witnessed signing and storing in a safe place. A letter arrived from an old friend who doesn’t use the internet. I wrote a quick reply and had my midday meal a slow cooked beef stew. Followed by a cup of tea. I did some hoovering and cleaned part of the skirting boards in the living room. Andy came and we had some tea before playing Scrabble. Much to my surprise I won the first game, and we had a cup of tea, the second game was more predictable and he won. We had fish fingers with tomato, a slice of bread and butter with tar tar sauce midway through the first game.

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