Misfits Mid-Life Crisis Adventures in …………..Surrey, Croydon, Essex and Buckinghamshire.

Week 42 (or Week 5 of the new adventure), Saturday 4th April until Friday 10th April 2015.

I have been watching: “As Above and below”, “Helix” (Season 2, eps 1), “Travel Man: 48 Hours in Barcelona”, “Thunderbirds are Go” (Season 1, eps 1), “The Island with Bear Grylls” eps 1 & 2, “Raised with Wolves” (Season 1, eps 4), “Dara and Ed’s Great Big Adventure” eps 3,

This week I have mainly been listening to: “Morrissey”, “David Bowie”, “Everything is Everything”, “Arcade Fire”. On Xfm “Link 182”, “Pulp”, “Florence and the Machine”. Lots of classic 90s tunes on Absolute 90s.

Reading on Kindle……“A Game of Thrones, A Song of Ice and Fire” book 2 “ A Clash of Kings” by George R.R. Martin.

 Far too many Starbucks, see i’m not fit.

I’m getting older, I know this because every year people contact me to wish me “happy another revolution round the sun day”.  I don’t really celebrate my birthday I just don’t see the point of celebrating another year gone, another nearer death.  My birthday on Facebook is very wrong I’ve changed it so many times over the years that Facebook won’t allow me to change it again (spoil sports).

   During painting (left), and  the finished mural (right), still prefer Mr Depp.

But I know I’m getting old, I have a horrible creaky knee when I go up or down stairs, there no pain or discomfort it just makes a horrible sound that makes me wince.  I have only really noticed the noise more since I returned to the UK a month ago on 6 April.  In Mozziebeak I didn’t climb many stairs and I was out in the open all the time maybe that’s why I didn’t notice it as much.  I’m now climbing more than 100 steps four times a day to the 5^th floor in a building that is almost all glass.  They have got “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” style glass lifts that whizz up and down very fast, but I feel the need to punish myself walking up and down a staircase that echo’s badly and makes my knee sound like something from a horror film.

 Croydon actually looked pretty (you couldn’t see it).

I used to run a lot and I have a fear that this may have contributed to buggering my knee.  My bicycle tyres have been pumped up (thanks Tim) and have enjoyed getting back in the saddle, cycling is supposed to be non-impact so that should be ok.  I used to belong to a gym but I don’t see the point of paying out for a membership at this time. However I am using a local pool, you know the type that has odd floating mysterious objects that you keep well away from. In Mozziebeak you tried to keep away from the stinging Bluebottles, I’d rather be stung by one of them then come across something horrible in the local pool. I love being in the water when I was away I did 180 dives, too many ocean safaris to count, a number of kayak and snorkelling. These days travelling on trains and sitting in front of a computer I really do feel like a fish out of water.

Knee problems do appear to run in the family my mum has a bionic knee so I suspect that this will be my future, but I can’t let that stop me from exercising and sort of enjoying it.  Yes I say sort of, as I never totally enjoyed running and doing other exercise but deep in my heart it’s something that I know is good for me (or is it, you do hear stories of very fit people who just drop dead…. Who’s right).

 See i’m not really enjoying it, deep down.

I’m working all week and have to find time to sign up with a Dr.  I can hear them now “it’s your age, dear”, but I hope that there might be something that they can do.  I really can’t bear the sound of my knee climbing the stairs daily; I make sure I’m listening to music as I do it to mask the sound.  I’m so tempted to use the “Charlie and the Chocolate factory lifts”, but I don’t have a golden ticket so I probably should just stay away and use the stairs.

 Rock and Roll evening in Buckingham.

Another busy week.  Travelled first class.  Went with SAZ to visit Suzanne and Neil. Bought my weekly train ticket using a passport picture taken in South Africa.  My little car Gimli 3 has gone to the great scrap heap in the sky; I did shed a tear as he was taken un-ceremonially away on a low loader.  I have been actively working on my children’s story. Went to the National Gallery (with MOZ) and saw lots of real art, so many po-faced people looking at painting of po-faced people.  Spring has sprung lots of Daffodils and plenty of birdsong about.  Keep nodding while trying to read on the train in the morning, haven’t missed my stop…..Yet.

 I can get all my South African/Mozziebeak supplies in London.

The Mid-Crisis Cont.…