Reflections – SteveWhittythoughts1965

August 31, 2025

Health Scare Reflections: Moving Forward in Life

The past week has been eventful to say the least. Starting with the bank holiday, I thought everything was going swimmingly. In fact, it might have gone too well, and life has a habit of kicking you in the nuts when you least expect it.

I had helped Pete drop a big batch of records off at Oxfam. These were albums that had belonged to the BBC, and there were over 500 of them, which were housed in big boxes. Pete’s health has not been too good, and I carried those boxes into the shop. Nothing untoward there. The rest of the weekend went well, though I suffered from indigestion.

As I mentioned in my previous post, I spent most of Tuesday at A&E Good Hope Hospital in Sutton Coldfield. Though everything went well after a couple of days, what had happened previously hit me. I felt sad and down. I should have known better than to try to overpush my body by lifting heavy weights, be it boxes or at the gym. Also, I started to question a few things in my life.

One of my great passions is music. I have built up a big collection of LPs and singles during my lifetime. However, now I am questioning the whole point of it. A lot of the records have not been played in a long time.

The other big passion of mine is travel. In my younger years, I travelled a lot, especially in Eastern Europe. I met a lot of good, friendly, helpful people while on my travels. This is the opposite of what is currently going on in the U.K. Currently, my niece and her partner are travelling around South America. I have to be honest to say I feel jealous at this moment. My feet are becoming itchy, and I wish to explore the world. At 60 years of age, my time has become limited.

To end this post on a positive note, I have my holiday to Turkey coming up in three weeks, and I have been looking forward to this. I am going to take a complete break for two weeks and sort out my next steps.

Until the next post, take care of yourselves.

July 7, 2024

Embracing Life’s Twists: Retirement Plans, Record Shop Days, and Football Emotions

It has been a strange week. The one word that springs to mind when you describe it is change. Be it a change of habits or government.

Monday 1st July

I woke up to find myself in the second half of the year. The first six months have flown by. This is something that happens when you get older. Time is something you take for granted until you realise when it starts to run out.

Glastonbury has been and gone. Not that I watch any of it on the telly. I find it difficult to enjoy events held on a dairy farm. Having said that, I have attended Bearded Theory over the last three years which is held on a farm. You cannot have it both ways.

It is good to be able to reward people who do a good job. I include my team in that.

Tuesday 2nd July

There has been talk of retirement at work. Chris who I have worked with for almost ten years is due to leave in a couple of weeks. I will miss her as she was a calming influence when I joined the civil service. It has got me thinking about my retirement. This is due to happen in 2032. My aim is to make my life simpler. The first step is to combine all my old work pensions into one. This is not just for me but also for my family just in case I were to pass away before I retire. The whole process was straight forward.

I wish the trains were the same. It seems whenever summer arrives the trains become delayed. It is frustrating given the lack of information given. New trains, the same old shitty service.

Wednesday 3rd July

The best gifts are the unexpected ones. I received a £20 voucher as a thank you for my work with data quality. I will spend that on cups of coffee over the coming days.

Seeing Mark Cavendish break the Tour de France record for stage wins brought a lump to my throat. I have been following his career over the years. He is a true British sporting legend.

I was given a reminder about becoming old. I had to help my neighbour to his feet. He had fallen while trying to clean himself after an accident. He looked all bewildered by what had gone on. I felt sad for him as I suspect these problems have been going on for a long time.

Thursday 4th July

It was General Election Day. I went to vote early in the morning. I wanted to get it out of the way as I was going to be busy. It was encouraging to stand in a big queue at 7:15 in the morning. Hopefully, this is a sign of a big turnout.

Today was the start of spending three days in the record shop helping out my friend while he was attending a festival. Outside of my home, this is my favourite place to spend time. Being able to talk music is pure joy as I am always learning something new.

Friday 5th July

As expected Labour won the election by a landslide.

Saturday 6th July

I have always held a love-hate relationship with the England football team. They promise so much yet they always let you down. The match against Switzerland was going that way as well. Somehow they clawed their way back into the game. The penalty shootout was a masterclass in taking the spot kick. So we move on to Wednesday where we face the Netherlands for a place in the final of Euro 2024. Could it finally be our year?

Sunday 7th July

I woke feeling run down. I have developed a cough and a blocked nose. Normally, I would have gone and done the laundry but could not face it. I will stop off by the chemist and purchase some covid tests. You cannot be too careful.

Until the next post, keep on smiling.

March 12, 2016

Midlifewanderlust1965 is dead, long live Midlifewanderlust1965!

Midlifewanderlust1965 is dead, long live Midlifewanderlust1965 seems a dramatic title. However, there is some truth with it. The end of January say the end of midlifewanderlust1965.com. I chose not carry with the hosting agreement and allowed the blog to die a natural. All those posts no longer exist.

Why did this happen? In truth, 2015 was a memorable year. I started my new job. Three months into the job my contract was transferred. I am now a civil servant. I also turned 50 and I seemed comfortable with this. All in all life was feeling good. However, 2015 was the year I did not travel. This is not good when you have a travel blog. Also my creative juices and inspiration were missing. I had stopped reading other blogs and using social media. Without realising I had taken a digital break.

With the loss of the blog I thought this would bring the end of my midlifewanderlust. I was happy in my job. I had also been volunteering four hours a week at my local Oxfam store. Their values pretty much match mine and I feel that I am giving back. After much deliberation I decided to grow a beard. At my age I have gone past caring on how people think I look.

There have been two reasons why I have decided to restart the blog. First is medical. Towards the end of last year I had been suffering pain in my left knee. It felt worse after exercise and after Christmas was starting to affect my movement. I have arthritis in the knee. The way I have walked over the years has worn out the joint. Thoughts came flooding back on how my mother allowed arthritis to take over her life. I was determined not to allow this to happen. So I have joined a gym on the advice of my physio in order to build up the muscle in my knee.

Secondly, I had been watching ‘David Baddiel On the Silk Road‘ on the Discovery channel. The interesting stories and stunning camerawork brought back my wanderlust. I knew I needed to get the backpack out of retirement. I have booked my next trip for the end of September, location I will share in a future post. As I am going to travelling I felt it would be good to resurrect the blog and the name.

What next for the blog? It is going back to being a hobby. I am lucky that I work five days a week having the weekends off. This will give me plenty of future travel time. I will start again Travel Blog Success. But, it will be completed at my pace allowing a lesson to be completed once a week. I will also start adding post from previous travels.

So, I am back blogging. Midlifewanderlust1965 is dead, long live Midlifewanderlust1965.

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

March 3, 2014March 3, 2014

February – A Review

February had been a momentous month for the blog. As you may be aware I had purchased the domain name and I am now blogging as midifewanderlust1965.com. With this I also introduced a brand new look. So far I have received positive feedback.

With the new look there will be some changes. Gone is the monthly stats post. To be honest who is really interested in reading about the number of visitors I receive. Moving foward I will use the first post of the month to review the previous month.

My main travel in February was to visit London to attend “The Times Destination and Holiday Show.” I also had to amend my travel plans for 2014. Given that I had to replace my washing machine, my planned trip to Lisbon in March has been cancelled. Instead, I will be visiting Portugal in June. Also, I have revised my Baltics trip. Sadly, logistics mean that I will have to drop Helsinki from the itinerary. This problems of having to mix work and travel.

My plans for March are to travel some more in the UK. So I will be travelling to Leeds, Bristol, Manchester, Sheffield and London. Also I will be further planning my Baltics trip in September.

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

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February 6, 2014

The Last Post

Today is a sad day. This is the last post on stevewhittythoughts1965.wordpress.com.

However, do not be sad, as I have registered the domain and now will be posting as midlifewanderlust1965.com. So hop on over and follow me on there.

Before I go I would like to thank everybody who has followed me over the past 20 months. Your comments , encouragement and support have been greatly appreciated. I look forward to your continued support on midlifewanderlust1965.com

As ever, stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

December 31, 2013December 31, 2013

Ten Things To Do In 2014

It is that time of year where we start looking forward towards the new year. With this I am going to list ten things I want to do in 2014. Some look similar to those who read my 2013 post.

Purchase the domain name for the blog – this is one of those carried over from 2013. I have received plenty of encouragement from my fellow bloggers. They have advised that this is the next logical step to take. I have found out it is not as expensive as I thought.
Take blogging more seriously – I am determined that 2014 will see me spend more time on the blog. With that I will become more professional. I will be concentrating not only on content but also the look of the blog. Of course any advice will be gratefully received.
Sort out my social media – to be honest my social media is in a mess. It has become too cluttered and needs to be tidied up. Facebook is my biggest priority.
Use independent coffee shops – Nothing wrong in using the chains but in my experience the better tasting coffee is found in the independent shops.
Become fitter – What was clear on my last trip was how unfit I had become. Changes to my diet have been important. Also I have been on a exercise regime which I have lost some weight. Sadly, Christmas has seen me put some of it back on but I know that I am capable of becoming fitter.
Reach out to more bloggers – I have been lucky that I have established some good relationships with some travel bloggers. In 2014 I want to extend that to more. I read a lot of travel blogs and I am looking to reply more to the posts.
Be less fearful – Last year I wanted to introduce myself to the travel industry but held back. I explained in a previous post that this was down to fear of failure. In order to build the blog I need to get over this fear. After all, the worst thing that can happen is that they say no to me.
Be more spontaneous – There is nothing wrong with planning but it can stop you doing things on the spur of the moments. What my travels in 2013 taught me was that I could be more spontaneous and not miss out on potential experiences.
Learn a new skill – You are never too old to learn something new. I've always wanted to learn another language. Also I am exploring the possibility of taking TEFL course. We will see where this takes me.
Upgrade Travel Tech – This may not happen but I am always on the lookout for a bargain.

These are not new year resolutions but targets that I've set for myself. I hope that you obtain your goals for 2014. I wish you all a Happy New Year.

Steve

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November 14, 2013November 14, 2013

Photo of the Week – Dubrovnik 2am

This weeks photo is of the old town in Dubrovnik.

The photo was taken at around 2am on a Friday morning. I was making my way back to the hostel from a nightclub. (No, I was not drunk)

Everything was so quiet yet the old town looked so beautiful with the lights. Funny enough it may be the best time to experience Dubrovnik.

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

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November 2, 2013November 2, 2013

Statistics – October 2013

The latest stats for the blog in October:

Posts 7

Views 510

Comments 3

October was another quiet month for the blog. I suppose I was getting over the trip and I just needed the rest. It was good to take a break and work on myself. Been looking on a diet and started exercising. So far managed to lose 9lbs.

I am in the process of putting together more posts. November will also see me decide where my travels will take me in 2014.

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

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September 2, 2013September 2, 2013

Statistics – August 2013

Here are the August stats for the blog:

Posts 6

Comments 6

Followers 138 (+5)

I did not get to total the twitter figures for August.

As you can see August was a quiet month. However, September is going to be a busier month. After all the planning I will be flying to Split next Monday. For the next three weeks I will be making my way through the Croatia, Bosnia, Serbia, Slovenia and finishing up in Zagreb. The excitement I am feeling cannot be described. I will keep you updated of my travels with stories and photos.

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

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August 20, 2013August 20, 2013

20

As I sit down in the coffee shop enjoying my mocha latte and muffin it dawned on me that today was the 20th August. It also meant that I have 20 days until I leave for my next trip to the Balkans.

I had always penciled in today for starting my preparations for the trip. I am on a rest day from work. The last three days have been stressful and I feel battered by the whole experience. At least I will not be working any more weekends until after my trip.

There are a few things that need to be done today. The first of these is to get the rucksack out of storage and check for any damage it may have. The last thing I need is for anything to break while I am away.

Next on my to-do list today is to arrange the taxi from Split Airport to the hostel. The hostel said they could arrange something a taxi for a discounted rate. This will be useful. By the time I arrive into Split I will have been travelling for over twelve hours.

Finally today I will be checking for the small items I will need to take. Things like medicine, ear plugs and charger. While not the end of the world if not taken it could cause inconvenience and potential expense.

I have been planning this trip since the new year and it is becoming so close now that I feel excited. For me I am feel enthused about everything after a period of feeling down. I have not enjoyed a break from work since I returned from Vienna in March. The batteries need re-charging. Of course, I look forward to sharing everything with you.

Until the next post stay safe, stay healthy and keep smiling.

Steve

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