FTSE 100 and Sepura Shares

Share prices, certainly in London, are falling on the continuing uncertainties over China, Greece and the World. The FTSE 100 index has fallen from a peak of over 7100 last year to about 5630 as I write. Things do recover but this can take years.

At such times people look for a safe haven. Many have chosen my old company, Sepura. Sepura make radios for (mainly) public safety. They recently bought a Spanish rival and now do DMR as well as TETRA.

See http://www.lse.co.uk/ShareChart.asp?chart=intraday&sharechart=SEPU&share=sepura .

The EC and the UK

When it comes to our UK national referendum on whether we should stay in or leave the EC, I am undecided. In many ways the EC is a good thing. On the other hand it is a creaking bureaucracy in great need of reform. I like that Europe has been (largely) at peace in my lifetime. I like free trade in Europe. However, we are a small island running out of room, with creaking services and the UK should have the final say over who lives and works here.  I am in favour of a common market. Why do we need more?

I really feel for the genuine migrants fleeing conflict. Having had a nasty tummy bug in the comfort of my own home, I cannot help thinking how much worse this would have been if I was also cold,wet and hungry and thousands of miles from home. Even worse if you are a child who does not understand. Personally I think we should take more real refugees but not economic migrants.

No, there is still a great deal that needs fixing. Mr Cameron has NOT basically changed anything his recent negotiations. We are being asked to stay, when really very very little has changed.

So, in summary, I am undecided which way to vote. At the moment I am voting to leave, but I may well change my mind.

Stroke or old age?

When driving the car I seem to drive less fast than I did. To me, 50mph seems more like 60mph or faster. It is as if the world seems faster to me, at least on the roads. Also, I seem much slower doing things these days. I put these down to my stroke 2.5 years ago, but I guess I am getting older and slower.  At 67 I don't think of myself as very old though.

When our children were little we had a family joke about drivers with hats. There seemed a high correlation between drivers with hats and slow, doddery drivers. We put this down to age (most hat wearers were old) and maybe they started driving before the driving test became compulsory?

Anyway, I guess I am looked at as "a hat" these days,  even though I don't wear a hat to drive! Ho hum!

Kaifeng Scroll

There has been a fascinating TV programme narrated by Michael Wood about the history of China. I was particularly interested in the Kaifeng scroll  of the Sung dynasty.  Nearly 1000 years ago a Chinese artist created a massive scroll showing the capital city (of 1 million people even then) in immense detail. The scroll has been recreated with moving people and animals in a museum in Shanghai.

See https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9kRA9it9bKk .

Whatever your views on China today, it certainly has a rich history, much if it unknown in the West.

Cambridge

Today we visited the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge and had a very nice meal at a cafe at the URC church just down the road. Cafe prices were very good, as was the food. All the cafe staff are volunteers and many have mental disabilities.

The Fitzwilliam has some famous exhibits.  It is funny how one takes this wonderful city for granted. People travel half way around the world to see sites we can see every day if we want, for nothing. I am sure a visitor would love Cambridge.

East Anglian weather

Our village green in winter

Some have been forecasting a very cold winter here. So far, we have had very little frost and lots of dull,wet days. The ground here in East Anglia is wetter than I can ever recall. If we do get a cold snap, this will be the first real snow here for several years. I'd say our weather is changing. East Anglia used to be cold and dry, but not any more.

Stroke and poor voice

Today and in December I had appointments with probably the 2 best speech consultants in the UK. Sadly, both said the same - there is little wrong with my voicebox (both put cameras down my throat through my nose) and, as I have a neurological problem, there is nothing they can do for me. I hope my voice does improve, albeit slowly, but I guess I have to come to terms with the possibility that my voice might be poor for ever. There are things I can do to improve the situation - I cannot tell when my diction is poor or I am speaking too quietly (to me it sounds loud enough!) - so I need to work on these! Not long ago I was told I might never eat again and I proved them wrong. Let us hope I prove them wrong about my voice too.

Amaryllis

Our son and daughter-in-law gave us an amaryllis for Christmas, which we potted in early January. After a slow start, it has shot up and will probably be in flower in the next week. There are 2 flower heads, one looks ahead of the other. The smaller flower head is around the other side. We turn the plant every day so it grows as straight as possible. It is on our kitchen table.

See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaryllis .

"Like"

On Mondays I travel into and out of Cambridge on the bus for my U3AC course. As a boring old f**t (BOF) I have a new hobby - "like" spotting. A teenage girl got on the bus and she said "like" 52 times in 2 miles. As a BOF I said nothing, you know what I mean like.

Stroke - a bad week

Some days are like this. This week has been a bad week and I have felt particularly giddy and very tired. Hopefully next week will be better.

Unlike "pre-stroke" days, things exhaust me far more and I seem to stress more easily.  Despite this, we have still managed to get out and about. Maybe I am pushing myself too hard and my body is screaming "slow down"?

Oh, how I wish I was well again. For most of the last 2 years I have been living a hell interspersed with better days. I have felt giddy now for more than 2 years. Will it never get better?

Walk at Wicken Fen this afternoon

We did a walk along the boardwalk at Wicken Fen this afternoon. As I am still wobbly from my stroke, this was much harder than usual. It took all my energy (in the wind) to stay upright and walking in the right direction, so little time to enjoy the views. Still, the walk did us good and the light was amazing. At one time this windmill helped to pump water.

Stroke and driving

Although I have been allowed to drive again for well over a year and I drive quite a long way if need be, I reckon driving now requires about 3-4 times the energy and concentration it did in pre-stroke days. I drive more slowly than I did and after a period of driving I feel very exhausted. My furthermost drive at a stretch is about 135 miles, with one short break on the way.

East Anglian Churches Blog

Today we visited Flatford Mill (made famous by John Constable's paintings) and called in at East Bergholt on our way back. We visited the church and I have updated the blog accordingly.

Will Lott's Cottage at Flatford Mill

See http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/ .

Cambridge

Bikes outside Sydney-Sussex College

Most Mondays this term,  I go into Cambridge for my U3AC course, "Living with less". The course is very good.  I travel into Cambridge and home on the bus and enjoy the bus ride. It involves a walk through the centre of Cambridge, which is quiet at this time of year.  In the summer it can get busy with language students and visitors. I am fortunate to have a wide choice of U3AC courses and Cambridge on my doorstep. Many people travel the world to see sights I just take for granted.

CCS concert in Cambridge

A reminder that my wife is taking part in a Cambridge concert in April. Tickets are available by post or on the door. If you are local, you may want to come. Tickets for children are very inexpensive.

Like

If you see a group of young people, it seems every other word is "like".  Is this the new "um" or "ah"?  I am definitely becoming a grumpy old man as I find this very annoying. It grates on me so much.  I want to go up and say,"do you realise you said "like" 12 times in the last 2 minutes?". Then I think, what is the point? No some things are best not said.

What happens when we die?

As one gets older - I am now 67 - I suppose thoughts naturally turn to the end of life. It comes to us all, but we prefer not to think about it.

I honestly have no idea and the most likely is we'll not be aware, as we were before we were born, so it may not matter.  MAN has a real problem with finality, and nearly every religion has talk of life after death. It bothers me that some are so certain about this. At the moment I have an open mind. Like so much in this universe, or even multiverses, we really have no idea.

Wisbech

As the weather was good today (I never believe the weather forecasts these days) we drove up to Wisbech and visited the gardens at Peckover House (NT). We also ate there.

Afterwards we went to the market and bought some sprouts. At one time this must have been a fine town with merchant's houses lining the river.  These days it looks a bit drab and run-down. It is a hub for immigrants from Eastern Europe who work in the agricultural  business. Good luck to them.

By the way, these sprouts cost us £1.  Pheasants were £2.99 each.

Old friends

Today, we had a couple of old friends around for lunch. We have known this couple since the 1970s although we went over a year since we last saw them. It's funny how we soon "connect" again. This is often a good indication of real friends - one just picks up where one last left off.

FTSE 100

At the moment the FTSE 100 share index has recovered about 2%, although some think a fall to 5200-5300 could happen. It certainly feels "wobbly".  If I was a betting man, I would expect heavy falls, but I am not a betting man. The markets don't like the slowdown in China, the general gloom around prospects in the world economy, and the rapidly falling oil price.

At some point, not too far away, the whole economy of the world has to change with a realisation that fairness is important and that resources are limited. Growth as a mantra for years will no longer be the watchword. You wait.

Weather better

After an overnight frost and a cold, dull morning, we are now bathed in winter sunshine. It is still very cold - much colder than it has been - but there is a blue sky and sunshine this afternoon.

Some good advice

I found this on Facebook earlier.  Personally, I think it is good advice for a happy and stress-free life. If all of us tried to follow this, then the world would be a better place.  I think it originated in the USA judging by the writing style.

RSPB Garden Bird Count

The annual UK RSPB garden bird count is any hour in the last weekend of January. I have been doing this for years. You just choose a spot and count the maximum number of each species seen in the hour. It can be surprising. When done, I submit results to the RSPB online. It is always a great pleasure and you do not need to be an expert birder to do this. Each year, the RSPB get a great deal of data.  Some years I see very little. Some years I have seen up to 11 different species.

Most times you will see quite common birds, but occasionally you may see something unusual. It is the number of the ordinary birds seen that tells the real story.  If you can, grab a coffee and sit down, look out the window, and count the birds in your garden or park.  I am sure, like me, you will enjoy it.

See https://ww2.rspb.org.uk/discoverandenjoynature/discoverandlearn/birdwatch .

Stroke

A nurse who worked in neurology at Addenbrookes hospital today described me as, "a walking miracle", but I'd settle for my old self please!  Although I still feel I'm living "on the edge" each day,  I am thankful to be here, but I wish I had no problems with my voice, swallow, felt less giddy, and got less tired.  My fine motor skills are still far from right. In many ways I am lucky and I could have been left much worse. Today I have to adapt to the new "me" and hope things still improve, albeit slowly. Everyone says that I look so well. This, in many ways, makes it worse as they all assume I am well, when I really am not at all well inside. I have mentioned this before, but in some ways a visible form of disability might be easier. At least people would know one is not well.

Hawkedon added to East Anglian Churches blog

The East Anglian Churches blog has been updated to include Hawkedon, Suffolk. This is a fine old church now in a very rural setting. It once was in the centre of the village, but nowadays all that remains are scattered farms and cottages.  See http://eachurches.blogspot.co.uk/ .

Milky Way time bombed by Aurora

See https://www.facebook.com/greenpeace.canada/videos/10153577012364961/ .

If you have a Facebook account you may be very impressed by this time-lapse photo. It certainly impressed me!

Sun shining - visit to Ickworth NT

After what seems like ages, the sun shone, we had a real winter day (cold and frosty) and we visited the National Trust grounds at Ickworth near Bury St Edmunds and did a walk down to the bridge. Unlike at Anglesey Abbey, there were no signs yet of spring flowers. It was muddy off the main paths. There were even signs of snow.

After-effects of my stroke

The after-effects of my stroke 2.5 years ago are still being  felt with a very poor voice and still feeling giddy when walking. I also still tire easily and my fine-motor skills are not good. Although others tell me I am still improving, improvements are now very slow coming, so it is a case of coming to terms with "me" as I am now. Things upset me more easily and I seem more emotional.  I also wonder about some aspects of my memory.  It seems harder than it was to spot errors in spelling and writing: words that shouted out at me as being wrongly spelt no longer do so. Of course, I am putting all this down to my stroke, but it may be old age creeping up on me!

Snow here?

Although the possibility of snow was in the weather forecasts earlier in the week, it looks now as if we'll get rain.  It is much colder though by the weekend. Already we have bushes in blossom - far too early. I pruned the front roses today - they always look good when they flower.

East Anglia Churches blog updated

Today we visited a couple of Suffolk churches and I have updated the East Anglian Churches Blog with one of them.

Some grandchildren here

Our son Tim came up from London for a few hours this afternoon with our two "London" grandchildren. They all went home again at teatime. It was good to see them, albeit briefly.

Anglesey Abbey in winter

We visit the extensive grounds at nearby Anglesey Abbey, owned by the National Trust, most months.  There is always something to see whatever the season.  Everything is early this year because it has been so mild down here. Many snowdrops are out, some daffodils are already dying and lots of other flowers are in bloom.  The photo shows one of the lawns in winter with bare trees. The weather is expected to be much colder next week. I wonder what happens if we get a really cold snap?

Cambridge

As it was dry this afternoon, we went into Cambridge for a walk around the Backs. There were aconites and snowdrops out, but we only saw one daffodil out.

Cambridge is famous for its bikes!

Tax return completed today

I finished my tax return today, but suspect there may be an error in the calculation of tax due because of an error at the IRC with the calculation algorithm. I need to check first, but will write if I am correct. I only found this by accident.

There was also (yet again) a problem writing in the section for you to add any other comments. One is very restricted in the characters one can use. Why, oh why, is this form so stupid in this day and age?  Surely it should be possible to create a form which would allow you to simply write or at the very least tell you what the error is if you make one?

After nearly 2 days I was not impressed.

Tax return

I am doing my tax return online. It has to be done by the end of January.  Apparently I owe the Inland Revenue much more than I thought although I am sure I must have made a mistake. My wife says look at the form again tomorrow when my head is clearer. She is right.

Relatives

This weekend we drove up to Barnsley, Yorkshire, staying one night away to help one of the relatives of Lis celebrate her 30th wedding anniversary.  It was my furtherest drive since my stroke. It was a good chance for Lis to see relatives she has not seen for many years and to revisit old haunts in Barnsley.

2016 is here

So, the new year is with us. A time for new beginnings and new hopes. May I wish  every reader of this blog, where ever you live on this small, shared, planet of ours, a very happy and peaceful 2016. I hope we can all enjoy 2016 in peace and goodwill.

My main ambition is to make the most of life: it is a precious gift.

So I really hope you have a great 2016 whatever your situation. We must grab life with both hands.

2015

As I write this we have just under one hour to go of this year. In some parts of the world it is already the new year. For me, it has been a "challenging" year with only slow, slow improvements in my stroke. My voice is still poor, I still have problems with many drinks and I have not made the full recovery by now that I was hoping for so much. I just hope next year is better, or at the very least that I can better adapt to the "me" I am these days.

Horses at Newmarket

Newmarket, the worldwide home of horse racing, is just 4 miles away. We do most of our food shopping there - mostly in Waitrose and sometimes at Tesco. Today we drove through Newmarket and did a walk at nearby Dalham, which is a real "chocolate box" village filled with thatched cottages. A hundred and fifty years ago these would have been tithed cottages for agricultural workers living in abject and grinding poverty. These days they are worth a small fortune and they are probably homes for the well grounded. Many may be second homes for people coming to Newmarket for the races.

All grandchildren now gone home after Christmas

Today, the last of our grandchildren went home to Kent with their mum and dad. The house now seems very quiet. At least it is tidy, although we prefer it with a slight mess and them around.

Mowing the lawns

At least 3 people were cutting their grass today, even though it was Dec 29th!  We've had the mildest December I can ever recall. 

OK, things could change to heavy snow very quickly, but if things do continue as they are, I shall be cutting our lawns all winter, which would be so different from normal.

No, so far, the extremely mild weather continues. Yesterday I did some work in the garden in my shirt sleeves.  It was not even cold!

More on those lighter evenings

At the moment the evenings are lighter for 5 mins more at dusk than a week ago. The light follows a sine wave curve and the rate of change speeds up as we go through the winter into spring. As I said recently, the evenings are lighter by an hour at the end of January.

See http://www.timeanddate.com/sun/uk/cambridge

Lighter evenings

At long last, it is getting just a little lighter here in the evenings. For a week or so the mornings still get darker, but already the evenings are several minutes better. By the end of January the difference in the evening is almost an hour. Of course this means the year has turned again.

Christmas

I think it is partly a result of my stroke, but I find Christmas very stressful these days. Every Christmas things are expected to be calm and happy, yet I am sure that I am not alone in experiencing the opposite. Even eating the Christmas meal is a stress these days. Years ago at work I knew a couple who went camping in Scotland at Christmas. Just maybe they had the right idea?

For the little ones it is still a magical time and I'd hate to spoil it for them.

Bah humbug!

Anglesey Abbey

We visit this local National Trust property most months. It is just 4 miles down the road. At the moment the seasons are crazy.

There are daffodils out (some were out in late November!), snowdrops, hellebores and others. Some trees are in blossom. I'd guess things are some 4-6 weeks early. Mad weather! It feels more like late February or early March than December before Christmas.

Grass mowing

So it is Dec 18th 2015 and as I write this I can hear someone cutting their lawn! Yesterday somewhere in Scotland hit over 17 deg C. The grass is still growing here - quite incredibly mild for mid-December.

I suspect the grass here will be cut later this month.  Unless we get a really cold snap, I suspect I shall be cutting the grass all year around.

Bletchley Park code breaker

Bill Tutte memorial (behind red car)

Bill Tutte was a local man (he lived near Newmarket) who worked at Bletchley Park as a code breaker during WW2.  He was probably more important than Turing, although his code breaking remained a national secret until not many years ago. The work Tutte did was used to intercept Russian traffic in the Cold War! There is now a memorial to him in Newmarket, as shown in the photo.

Fed raises interest rate

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-35117405

It has started.  Gradually rates will rise across the world . People had better get ready for life when borrowing costs more. I can remember when interest rates hit 15% and mortgages were very expensive.

Pruning

At the moment it is unseasonably mild for December in the UK. Often at this time of the year it is very misty and cold but at the moment it is about 14 deg C and every chance of it getting even warmer. The grass is still growing.  

Today, in between bursts of total exhaustion (stroke after-effect), I pruned two bushes in the garden. Working outside it felt more like April than December. I also noticed quite a few bulbs pushing through. Unless we get a really cold January we will soon have daffodils in bloom in the garden. Another 2 weeks?

FTSE 100

At the start of the year, some commentators were predicting the FTSE 100 UK share index would end the year above 7000.  It briefly exceeded this, although currently it is below 6000. A late rally might see it end the year in the low 6000s. I think expecting it to end the year above 7000 is wishful thinking.