Has your life changed?

[thirdcrank]

It's fifty four years today since I took the oath of allegiance to serve our sovereign lady Queen Elizabeth in the office of constable and twenty four years as of yesterday since I retired. (None of that was remotely related to covid.)

Edited to remove a silly error.

[merseymouth]

Hi Mate, You must be one of very few officers who have such a long service career? Well done. MM

[Cowsham]

It's fifty four years today since I took the oath of allegiance to serve our sovereign lady Queen Elizabeth in the office of constable and twenty four years as of yesterday since I retired. (None of that was remotely related to covid.)

Edited to remove a silly error.

Well done Constable Crank -- not so easy a job and I think getting increasingly more difficult -- the young ones taking on these roles are doing a Stirling job.

[ossie]

It's fifty four years today since I took the oath of allegiance to serve our sovereign lady Queen Elizabeth in the office of constable and twenty four years as of yesterday since I retired. (None of that was remotely related to covid.)

Edited to remove a silly error.

Fellow NARPO here. I dodged the wrath of the FMO for a few years after a crippling IOD but it caught up with me coincidentally when a certain Mrs May decided to decimate staffing. So desperate were they to suddenly fix me they paid for me to see a top surgeon. I never went back to work. The operation went wrong, further ops followed ,12 months of rehab and was eventually offered the golden handshake (having surpassed the magical 26.5 years it was a no brainer). This was a massive life changing experience, yet to this day I never felt there was proper closure.

Supporting two kids through Uni I thank the lord I the IOD was properly logged, I left in 2013 five years after the Injury. The additional pension was a lifesaver.

Covid wise, the better half is now working from home and will do until early retirement hopefully next year. That has been a massive positive to come out of this whole Covid mess, at least for me.

[Aikon]

Significant change here, I’ve gone from being on the road 5 days a week, working 65-75 hours and driving 35000 miles, to working from home 4 days out of 5, 45ish hours a week and barely scraping 10000 miles a year. The improvement in quality of life has been immense, I walk my wife to work most days, actually have a lunchbreak some days, and spend a lot more time with close family.
I’ve also reevaluated future plans, slimmed down outgoings by half with more yet to trim, and will be retiring a decade earlier than planned pre Covid.

[pwa]

My work became even busier with Covid, which left me exhausted but still employed. I suppose the most obvious lasting impact of Covid on my lifestyle is that I have decided that I have given up doing high street shopping for pleasure. The shopping streets of Cardiff will not be seeing me again. Well, with the exception of very specific quests where I will go directly to a particular shop for a particular item, such as when I buy a new pair of hiking boots. But I am done with browsing. Yesterday I was online ordering a batch of undies and socks from M&S, something that pre Covid I would have walked into a shop for. I just don't want to go back to real shops where I don't have to. It feels like a permanent change.

[al_yrpal]

We left this nearly 18 months ago. Several Covid boosters and flu jabs since and we have avoided further infections. We are still careful, occasionally masks come out in crowded places. Got married, 2nd time around
Hole in roof fixed, garage slates removed and reinstated with modern felt, one tiled roof slope removed and felted before reinstatement, ridge eves and chimney lead renewed. Two ceilings, reinstated, additional stair rail added, Annexe rising damp fixed with dry rods, 7 rooms redecorated reinstating covings, dado rails and ceiling roses. Fireplace surround replaced from Dump Shop. Couple of carpets replaced. Rugs added from boot sales and auctions. Veg patch created temporary plastic greenhouse erected. Massive apple and pear crops. Pond cleared out and banks reinforced. Much furniture disposed of via Facebook Marketplace and replacement items added. Lots of surplus items still to be disposed of. Often painfully via Facebook and Gumtree.
8 stents meant cycling suspended for 8 weeks but back in the saddle weather permitting. We did manage a week off in West Somerset and Brittany in September.
Taking a break from house restoration now....phew.....! Family Christmas was fun. Looking forward to a better world in 2023 (Cant get much worse!) Hoping all those health issues have been solved...

Al

[Cowsham]

I'll probably be more careful when riding my bike due to my recent crash and injuries. Might get a 10 mile scoot out today if the missus let's me.

Just realised I still had a broken collarbone when I typed that -- I can be daft sometimes cos I remember doing that ride. Had to stay off the bike for another 8 weeks after I was shown the xrays and told by the doctor it might never heal! That scared the riding out of me.

[francovendee]

We left this nearly 18 months ago. Several Covid boosters and flu jabs since and we have avoided further infections. We are still careful, occasionally masks come out in crowded places. Got married, 2nd time around
Hole in roof fixed, garage slates removed and reinstated with modern felt, one tiled roof slope removed and felted before reinstatement, ridge eves and chimney lead renewed. Two ceilings, reinstated, additional stair rail added, Annexe rising damp fixed with dry rods, 7 rooms redecorated reinstating covings, dado rails and ceiling roses. Fireplace surround replaced from Dump Shop. Couple of carpets replaced. Rugs added from boot sales and auctions. Veg patch created temporary plastic greenhouse erected. Massive apple and pear crops. Pond cleared out and banks reinforced. Much furniture disposed of via Facebook Marketplace and replacement items added. Lots of surplus items still to be disposed of. Often painfully via Facebook and Gumtree.
8 stents meant cycling suspended for 8 weeks but back in the saddle weather permitting. We did manage a week off in West Somerset and Brittany in September.
Taking a break from house restoration now....phew.....! Family Christmas was fun. Looking forward to a better world in 2023 (Cant get much worse!) Hoping all those health issues have been solved...

Al

Glad that all is going well and as you say 2023 can't be worse, or could it?
Until December we'd avoided catching Covid. We finally caught it on a flight to Malta and we're either very weak people, or others have been lucky, as it wasn't just like a heavy cold as some have told us. My wife was worse than myself and is still feeling way below par.
I think it has put us off any form of public transport and if we book a holiday this year it will mean travelling by car.
I hope we both get our optimism and Vrrrmm back soon, I'm feeling pretty downbeat about the new year.

[Jdsk]

Very sorry to hear that.

I hope that you're both better soon.

Jonathan

[al_yrpal]

Franco, my Mrs wont fly, she never has and hates the idea of being trapped in a metal cylinder with potentially infectious people. I do hope you recover quickly and recover the sense of taste and smell.
Like you any holidays will either be by car or perhaps train. Cant be too careful at our age!

Al

[PedallingSquares]

Two years older and two years wiser.Apart from that nothing has changed really.

[Mick F]

Well, our life changed on Friday morning.

Our African Grey parrot died.

She was 40 years old (or thereabouts) and was an import from West Africa. Illegal to import them these days.
We paid £250 for her including a cage from a ped shop in Plymouth - April(?) 1985 ....... so that's just under 38 years ago. We'd had her 10 years before we knew she was female because she started laying eggs.

She's buried in the back garden now.

Life will never be the same now as she was an ever-present chatty friendly personality, and pet of all those years.

[simonineaston]

Forty years is a very long time! Commiserations.

[thirdcrank]

Well, our life changed on Friday morning.

Our African Grey parrot died. :cry:

She was 40 years old (or thereabouts) and was an import from West Africa. Illegal to import them these days.
We paid £250 for her including a cage from a ped shop in Plymouth - April(?) 1985 ....... so that's just under 38 years ago. We'd had her 10 years before we knew she was female because she started laying eggs.

She's buried in the back garden now.

Life will never be the same now as she was an ever-present chatty friendly personality, and pet of all those years.

IMG_0033.jpgParrot Eggs.jpg

MickF

I'm sorry to hear this. I know your parrot has been the subject of some of my quips over the years but you have taken it in good heart. Best wishes for the new year 8)