Tango

This was taken by Mandy a couple of months before my 60th birthday.

Yes, and a lot of twisting and turning. TBF, me and my squash partners are all the same age, so the latter years of playing were a bit more leisurely than before, but still pretty hard!

Playing squash until I was nearly 60 didn't do my knees a huge favour!

Mandy is back to work today, after her week's holiday. It's fair to say that there was no spring in her step as she went out of the house this morning! We've got one of my old work colleagues coming over for the weekend with his wife next weekend. Then we're off to a wedding in Brixton the following weekend. Then a couple of weeks after that Mandy is on holidays again, this time for two weeks, and we're going to Sicily for a week, if there's anything left of it! It's a busy old time!

You need an e-bike! A hybrid or mountain bike, because they're more upright. You need to do some exercise that gets the heart pumping, otherwise it won't do much for your cholesterol levels. Biking is much easier on the knees than walking. I have the beginnings of arthritis in both my knees, especially the right knee, and I can cycle for miles no problems, but 5-10km walk and I really feel it in my knees!

I've been busy busy. We had friends round for a BBQ for Mandy's birthday, then Mandy was off work on hols last week, so we were out and about a fair bit. Things may settle down by Mid-september!

Whippersnapper!

My eldest lad had his air-conditioning refilled when he got his latest car, a couple of years back and it needs doing again now. I said that he ought to get it checked for any leaks.

Yep. It doesn't matter how old they are, either! It's when you're having to stand guarantor for a 30 years old "kid" so that they can rent a place, that it hits home!

I reckon that he's got Dutch elm disease! Picked it up at the wedding last week!

Nah, it's all the EU's fault!

That's the one that we've got. It seems pretty reliable and accurate. Mandy is on medication for high blood pressure, which it looks like she'll have to take forever more! I check my blood pressure every now and then, but thankfully it seems to be in the normal range.

You're right, Bob, we don't pay road tax, but fuel is more expensive, as a proportion of that is used for roads I think. There's also a registration tax that you have to pay when you buy a vehicle, which is based on its emissions. So, it all adds up mate.

So far we've found the insurance to be a fair bit more expensive than the UK, although, we've not really shopped around too much. This car's insurance is due in October, so I think that we'll have a look around and see if there's any better deals going.

Ours in our bedroom is set for 24C and the ceiling fan directs it down onto the bed, so it gets a bit chilly after a while. I switch it off then and the ceiling fan keeps recirculating the cool air, so it stays at a comfortable temperature overnight.