Tuesday 25th July 2023

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 I could begin this by asking myself ... what should I write today ?  or, I have been meaning to write something for a while now - as has been the precursor to many of the posts on this blog, over the years. 

But not today. Today it's my birthday and I have reached the official State Pension age (currently 66) and have given myself carte blanche to write whatever I feel like and whatever thoughts come into my head. Maybe someone other than me will read this, but if not, so be it. Having said that, this is not so different to any other things I have ever written , or are likely to write in the future. 😊 I have also given myself the full go ahead to use a smiley face/emoji which is not generally the done thing in a blog - but, you see, its my birthday and I'm a pensioner now. Here's another, just because I can 😀

I could write about the state of the country/world and the selfishness of society and governments or many other things. I could write that today I have written my final ever  'complaint' to the BBC about a number of issues, and then go on to discuss them, but not today. 

Today, it is a beautiful sunny day (I have been telling people that it is always sunny on my birthday for the past few days now, so at least that is correct, so far ). I am writing this sitting in my garden which is very wet and wild at the moment, but I love it. My lemon, orange, olive and fig trees are doing their very best to keep thriving despite the weather and the tomatoes are flourishing, despite them being inside, outside, inside and now outside again. Butterflies and bees are flying around, birds are singing and at the risk of going all poetical - all is well. 

I am grateful - for so many things that the list is so long it would become a cliche to name them all. Suffice to say, my family, friends and the people I meet each day, which seems to become more as each day goes by. And my dog. 

So that's it really. This sense of peace and calm and thankfulness perhaps is due to this birthday, or perhaps not. For whatever reason, I hope it continues and I will do my utmost to ensure that it does, especially on the days when it seems that there is some outside force determined to usurp the peace. 

Happy Tuesday to You 

xxx


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