Thursday 16 August 2007

Driving for the Elderly!

I like driving. I know lots of folk don't, but I like to do as well as I can when I am behind the wheel and as I sometimes need drive 600-odd miles (there and back) to visit family and friends, I need to keep my wits about me

Recently I went for a drive check with www.iam.org.uk/drivecheck . As I am coming up to 70 I thought it was about time I checked that I was still safe to be on the road. I am the first to pass comment if I feel that an 'elderly person' is not doing so well and 'needs to get their eyes checked!'. Thankfully my observer said that my driving was ok and that my driving manners were very good. We went out for about 40 minutes - driving on motorway, dual carriageway, town roads and country roads, encountering heavy traffic, tankers, lorries, caravans, a pod of motor cyclists overtaking everything in sight, vehicles parked on the pavement, narrow roads with obscured road signs, etc, etc, all the things that we meet at some time or another while out driving.

I have to admit that I did take my advance driving test in 1992 and even managed to be an observer myself for a while helping others take their advanced driving and passing the test too, so all that has obviously helped me. When you think that there are still some people driving on our roads who have never taken a test at any time, it is worrying that they may not always know what some of the signs mean as presumably they don't read the Highway Code. Mind you I often wonder if anyone reads the Highway Code after they have passed their test. Don't get me wrong most folk are perfectly ok with their driving, its just those driving out of junctions, turning right on to a main road, with their right hand on the steering wheel and their left hand holding a mobile to their ear that frighten me - which hand are they changing gear with .......! Oh, of course, they just bend their head to clutch the mobile between their left chin and shoulder and THEN change gear with their left hand ..... silly me!!

Recently I heard on Radio 4 an article about a 93 year old woman who had decided that she was now too old to drive! This was in America I believe. She therefore joined an agency that would send someone to drive her wherever and whenever she needed to make a journey that she would previously have driven to herself. Obviously this service costs money and the users pay a fee whenever they use it. These fees can be off-set by giving their vehicle to the service, the value of which is then set against their use and they only start to pay when their 'vehicle-worth' has been used up. This seemed to me to be an excellent service. If I was very much younger I would look into setting up something similar over here. I'm sorry I can't give more info on this, and although I have hunted on the net before writing this I cannot find the details. Please let me know if anyone out there can. Thanks.

Safe driving.

Saturday 11 August 2007

Short Trip


Just a short trip in our motorhome ('the van').
We went off to The Marches, in north Wales near the English border and visited Shrewsbury. Wonderful countryside. Had a fantastic walk of around 5 miles supposedly, but it felt like 7+ to our joints, but we thoroughly enjoyed it. Shrewsbury is a lovely city and we enjoyed our trip on the River Severn. Shrewsbury is a lovely city and we loved all the medieval buildings and narrow cobbled alleyways. Lots of shops for me to visit as well. More and better blogs later.

Monday 6 August 2007

A Good Night's Sleep!

Do us oldies ever have one? A good night's sleep I mean! Usually the answer is no, but last night I actually had a straight 8 hours! Sex is the answer.



The young are usually horrified to even think that anyone over the age of 35 actually knows what sex is, let alone perform it! During a past married life of 36 years and having 3 children, only goes to prove that I actually had sex at least 3 times, but at that time it was more a duty than anything else. Now I am in a very loving and happy relationship things are very different. The care and willingness to please and thoughtfulness are so much to the fore. More time is taken too, (it has its advantages being retired, with no job to rush off to!). We don't have any inhibitions either. I am not too concerned that everything is so much lower and fatter than it was before and if we don't quite get things right at any particular time, it doesn't matter, we will try something different next time. The fact that 'next time' may be a day, a week, a month or so away, has no relevance either. We care for each other and have love and time for each other and can show that love in so many other ways, that in fact mean far more than actually making love, that a hug, a laugh, a joke, quiet time together take on a different meaning and show that we are completely in tune with one another.

We are very happy together which is the main thing and today we are off in our motorhome for a few days. I will try to keep up with this. We have now gone WiFi - to try to keep up with everything and if I can manage it will put a few photos on here as well.

Saturday 4 August 2007

First Blog

Wanting to be up-to-date and not be left behind in my approaching old age (70!) I thought I had better start a blog. Everyone else seems to be doing it.

What should I put? You tell me! Any help would be welcome.

I can tell you about my family, my life, my health, my working life, my children, my grandchildren, my sisters, my Mum, my Dad, etc.

What makes a blog interesting?

I will start off with probably a diary and see how it goes.

Today - Sunday 4 August 2007 - has been memorable for being rather boring. This morning was taken up with checking out our new internet phone and seeing if it was working probably. We (my partner and I) spent yesterday afternoon setting it up. It took us a while as although we feel we are pretty IT literate, we frequently get bogged down with all the technology. Anyway the phone has now been charging up for 24 hrs, so I can phone you all via the net.

As it was raining we then watched afternoon TV (not too many groans please)! Thankfully this was interrupted by a friend calling in for a cup of tea. We were pleased to see her up and out and about as she has recently had a mastectomy, but she is 'fighting'fit and raring to go and although she is not allowed to drive herself just yet, feels well and ready for anything that may be thrown at her when her further lymph node biopsy results come through. She has been deluged with family and friends showing their concern for her which has been a great help and I am sure that anyone else who has been through the same thing will agree that help from any quarter is a wonderful thing. I recently had my own small breast cancer scare recently, but was fortunate to be given the all clear after two biopsies had been checked out.

What next in the day - oh yes - we went out to clean our motorhome and the car! Blissful! A bit of hard graft and getting soaking wet! Lovely!

At last the skies are now clearing and the sun is coming out. My next job is to clean up my bike. Peter and I have been for two proper cycle rides lately. Neither of us has been on a bike for at least the 5 years that we have been together. Our bits had not been so sore for ages. I will let you know how we get on with our cycling as we plan to do some more.

Peter is getting supper tonight and the smell is delicious. I know there will be a glass of wine coming my way shortly so I will close my first blog.