Welcome to a very sunny Saturday morning in South Manchester. Spring has definitely arrived and the sun is shining brightly. I’ve just been chatting to our next door neighbour in the back garden and it was very pleasant in the sun. We’re going to head off to Manchester this afternoon to mooch about and then we’re spending Easter Sunday in Lytham St. Anne’s for a family Sunday lunch.

That should be fun.

Shall we answer some silly questions from Sunday Stealing? 

I shall, of course, correct the spelling of “realize” from the American to the English below. Apologies for that but I am English. 

1. I've come to realise that my chest-size ...

… is something that I don’t actually know. Usually when I buy a shirt, jumper or coat I opt for “Medium” or “Large” depending on which shop I go to. I’m quite amazed that they seem to vary from shop to shop.  I have been known to ask the shop assistant for a tape measure if I am in a shop that works by chest size but the truth is that I have forgotten what it is. 

2. I've come to realise that my job ... 

… is something that I am no longer interested in. I have worked at the same thing for almost forty years and I am fed up of it now – bored if you will. It’s not the company I work for - it’s the career choice. I will be retiring soon and I think I am totally ready for that. Where my life leads after that, I don’t know. I have to add though that my job has been good to me in the past; I have travelled a lot through work and made a lot of friends and met some really interesting people. But it’s time to wind down now.

3. I've come to realise that when I'm driving ...

… I wish that somebody else was driving instead. I have friends who are “boy racers” or “petrolheads” and just love driving to the point where they do it for fun. I don’t. To me, driving is a means to an end – something that I sometimes have to do to get from A to B. I don’t like driving.

4. I've come to realise that I need .... 

… to find something new to do when I retire. I have some plans and I am looking into it as the time comes. I do not want to be a couch potato (that’s not me anyway) but I want to find something to occupy my time. As I have said, I have my list of “daily duties” but I think I need to expand my horizons a bit. I have some ideas.

5. I've come to realise that I have lost ...

… my knowledge of contemporary culture. Many years ago I laughed at people who hadn’t heard of the celebrities and musicians of the day and I genuinely recall saying to an older relative:

“You’ve never heard of Frankie Goes to Hollywood? Where do you live? Under a rock?”

And now that person is me. There are so many things on TV that I don’t watch. I don’t read newspapers any more and am more likely to recognise a politician than a TV presenter. And some younger people have said the same to me. 

I guess that I now live under a rock. And to be honest, I am delighted.

6. I've come to realise that I hate it when ... 

… shiny happy presenters pontificate on TV. When TV presenters somehow managed to get over-excited about talking to a celebrity I have never heard of and spend fifteen minutes gushing about them and laughing at things they say that just aren’t funny, only to start talking five minutes later about something serious that I don’t care about, implying that if I don’t care about it then I am a complete arsehole. It’s like somebody has clicked a switch from “happy” to “serious” then “sad” with adding preaching. This is why I don’t watch such shows on TV.

7. I've come to realise that if I'm drunk ... 

… then I have had too much beer. I still like a beer but I know when I have had enough usually and I am sensible enough to stop. The great plan is usually to go home, get a drink of water and go to bed. Sadly, sometimes I just fall asleep in front of the TV. This is why I tend only to drink at weekends.

8. I've come to realise that money ... 

… is something I need to get used to having less off. When I retire, I will have less money and therefore I will have to be more careful. That said, I am quite good with money anyway and working part time for the last year has got me used to having less in my pocket. 

9. I've come to realise that certain people ... 

… are conspiracy theorists. I am a huge fan of conspiracy theories because I find them hilarious, but I have encountered some who are so entrenched in their bizarre views that they don’t Realise how crazy they sound. Flat earthers particularly amuse me – like this clown:

10. I've come to realise that I'll always ... 

… try to learn something new if I can. I am quite an inquisitive person and love to gain knowledge. My job has demanded that because technology has moved and continues to move quite quickly. Even though I will retire from IT I will keep an eye on it after that. I am still learning Spanish and will probably try to enhance my knowledge of French and German too. I am learning the piano and I aim to push that further with a synthesiser when I feel I am good enough. There is so much I don’t know and as long as it interests me, I will always seek more knowledge.

11. I've come to realise that my sibling ...

… is my only sibling left. I have two sisters and the older of the two passed away suddenly a year or two ago. She was a couple of years younger than me too, which is really sad. Since then my other sister and I have become much closer. You never know what is around the corner – so embrace everything.

12. I've come to realise that my mum ... 

… was a complicated person. I don’t think I ever understood where she was coming from. From my perspective, she was slightly over-protective and simply didn’t understand why I wanted to do the things I wanted to do. She tried her best to envelope us in a protective bubble that, thankfully, my dad released us from occasionally. I thought I would be the same when my kids were born – but I wasn’t. She was a wonderful person but we rarely saw eye to eye, though I do know that she had my best interests at heart.

13. I've come to realise that my cell phone ...

… is something that I cannot do without. I never wanted to depend on a gadget but I do now. I use it for everything from listening to music, to learning Spanish, from guiding me around foreign cities to recording the steps that I walk. I rarely use it as a phone.

14. I've come to realise that when I woke up this morning ...

… I had no plans for the day other than my typical daily duties. This is the last one to complete today and we are, as I said above, going into Manchester to explore, have lunch and generally mooch around the city. It’s the perfect day – sunny, reasonably warm and the city will be busy and interesting.

15. I've come to realise that last night before I went to sleep ...

… that I shouldn’t try to watch the late movie on TV if I am tired. Avengers: Age of Ultron started at 10:30 pm and I had every intention of watching it. Instead, I fell asleep almost immediately and woke up briefly to see a giant Iron Man fighting the Hulk, before dozing again to wake up just in time to see the end credits. I will never learn – when your body needs to sleep it will sleep no matter what you want to do.

By the way, in case you’ve never heard of Frankie Goes to Hollywood, here they are: