My main excitement this week has come from being able to get into a favourite pair of yachtie trousers. They have seen me through many summers of being frightened to death in heavy seas and unexpected squalls. Funny then that wearing them gives such a buzz. I can only think it is because they remind me of the person I used to be. Now I know that the secret in retirement is to live in the present and enjoy the challenges of the future…….so why is this little bit of nostalgia so important? Let’s be clear – I am not hankering after more yachting or boating adventures (other than perhaps a meander on the Canal du Midi in a hire boat.) But I do want to feel fitter and more able to enjoy the outdoor life.
The blue check ensemble I currently wear did not accompany me up Mount Brandon on a memorable study leave adventure, (the trousers I wore then require another stone at least to be lost!) These blue trousers did not go with me to the Mediterranean (too warm and too windproof.) But these trousers did represent a lifestyle of dressing down when off duty – the kind of switching off that is so difficult to achieve when any day can theoretically be a day off.
Perhaps these blue checked trousers represent the kind of me that likes to meander with words across the page. So I shall dig out the next Creative Writing Assignment and get on with it.