The Retirement Newsletter: How's your summer/winter going

Issue Number: -74 — Mine? Not as I planned

Photo by Author - ice cream on a hot summer day

Welcome

Welcome to issue -74.

This week is the "summer holiday" issue of the Retirement Newsletter if you are in the Northern Hemisphere. If you're in the Southern Hemisphere, then it is the “winter edition”.

The newsletter this week is a little photo-heavy and light on text.

My summer

It is mid-August in the UK, the middle of the summer. It is downhill from here to the autumn and winter— a depressing thought.

My summer started well. The weather was kind, and I could get out into the local countryside for some good walks. It is always fun to explore, and it is also great to visit some old haunts.

One such old haunt is a field where a local farmer sows wildflower seeds, and the display is always spectacular. This year it was daisies, and they were stunning — a great start to my summer walking season.

Photo by Author — wildflowers in a field

I am lucky that I currently live in the Chilterns in the UK, and there are some beautiful walks in the area with great views.

People often think where I live, as it is close to London, is busy and overcrowded. But if you know where to go, you can get treated to views like the one below.

Photo by Author — a view across the Chilterns

At the start of June, we had the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in the UK.

I visited a local village and watched them light the celebration beacon.

The celebration beacons are scattered across the UK, and the original beacons (unlike the modern ‘celebration’ beacons) were used as a warning system.

The original beacons were in a line of sight of each other. The lighting of one beacon was observed by the next in the chain, and so on.

One of the most famous uses of the original beacon system was in 1588 when they were used to warn of the approach of the Spanish Armada. The signal was sent from Cornwall (the far southwest of England) all the way to London. Many hundreds of miles.

Photo by Author — a Platinum Jubilee celebration beacon

And in late June, early July, I attended a major sporting event on the river.

Photo by Author — Henley Royal Regatta (HRR)

Two things happened at the regatta, I caught COVID-19 (see It got me! Catching COVID-19), and I got rained on. At the time, I didn’t realise the significance of either event.

Catching COVID-19 seems to have done a number on my immune system as I now experience what I can only describe as ‘year-round hay fever’.

The rain — well, at the time, I didn’t realise it would be the last rain I would see for more than a month. Some six weeks after the regatta, thanks to a very dry previous winter and spring in England, and a lack of summer rain, a drought was declared in England (Where has a drought been declared in England, and what does it mean?).

One treat I did get over the summer was I saw a Slow Worm (Anguis fragilis). I hadn’t seen a Slow Worm since I was a kid.

Slow Worms are not worms, even though they look like a worm. They are not snakes. Slow Worms are legless lizards. They are also called deaf adders (no idea why) and blindworms because of their tiny eyes.

Photo by Author — a Slow Worm (Anguis fragilis)

This summer, I also got my first taste of glamping in a Shepherd’s Hut. And I must say, I rather enjoyed it.

Photo by Author — glamping in a shepherd’s hut

As the summer progressed, it was great to see the crops ripening. This year, I have seen much more wheat and barley planted in the area. This meant that later in the summer, the drought looked much worse than it was, as many fields had turned a golden brown because of the ripening wheat and the barley.

Photo by Author — a ripening wheat field

On one walk, the view of the ripening wheat and a blue sky made me think about why I saw more wheat planted this year — the war in Ukraine.

Photo by Author — summer wheat and blue sky — looks like a flag?

Besides walking in the Chilterns, I also did some walks along local rivers.

Photo by Author — walking the Thames

And visited some lovely little villages with some great churches.

Photo by Author — a local village church

As the summer pushed on, it was clear that we weren’t getting the rain we needed. Fields I had walked in the spring that were lush and green were now dried out and brown.

Photo by Author — a dried-out sheep field

Even village ponds have dried up. In March, I passed the pond photographed below, and it was full of water with a few ducks bobbing around (you can see the duck house at the back of the shot). Now there is no water, and it is dry and cracked.

Photo by Author — a dried-out village pond

So, my summer (and hopefully, we have a few weeks left) has been mixed.

I have had fun, done some great walks and attended some fantastic events, but I had COVID-19.

It has also been the type of summer that I haven’t experienced since 1976. A summer of very hot weather (a new high temperature of 40.3 ºC was recorded in the UK — Heatwave: The UK and Europe's record temperatures in maps and charts), drought and hose-pipe bans.

So, how has your summer been? Good, I hope.

Next week

Next week, in issue -73, I will look at relaxing in your retirement. Is relaxing in your retirement a hobby, or could you turn it into a side-hustle?

Thanks

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Until next time,

Nick

PS, If you have something you would like to contribute to the newsletter — a story, advice, anything — please get in touch.