Sixty……..

Writing the word down doesn’t make it seem real. Today, i’ve been on the planet for sixty bloody years. SIXTY YEARS! Apart from a few wrinkles around the eyes, I look the same as I did when I was 15. Yeah Right.

Hitting 40, and then 50 didn’t seem such a big deal, as I could be considered “middle-aged” in the current set of social norms, but this one definitely carries the tag of “elderly”and brings my own mortality into focus way more than before. Realistically this could be my last decade of life (being diabetic), and with no possibility of retirement on the horizon, it’s time to do whatever the flip I want to.

As mentioned in a post last month, I’d promised myself some sort of birthday treat, but as always, any funds that are available to me will be chanelled into the profits of a car lease firm, garage, supermarkets, power suppliers, and a selection of other soulless organisations that suck the life out of the likes of you and I on a daily basis. There will be no treats for this birthday boy unfortunately. Guess I just didn’t work hard enough eh? I’d get my bus pass if I lived anywhere else but England. I can look forward to 20% off groceries at Iceland on a tuesday now though!

Today I have a couple of local jobs to sort out before heading to my annual diabetic health check and picking the kids up from school. Like all teenagers, they don’t fully participate in the celebratory side of parental birthdays, so it’ll just be a row about homework and some crisis involving an electronic games console probably. The usual stuff. we’re having a pub tea which is nice.

My only work-pension - from the now-defunct Thomas Cook - kicks in today, so I can look forward to a lump sum which will partially cover my gigantic, 2yr tax bill due in 3 weeks time. What the lord giveth, the HMRC taketh the next week. Most people use it to live mortgage-free, but the landlord needs her luxuries so it’s back to work I’m afraid. (post script - we also received a rent increase on my birthday which took my monthly pension payments - you couldn’t make it up)

So…..that’s that from this miserable old codger for now. Take care, and I’ll see thee on the other side.