For newcomers

At the bottom of each post there is the word "comments". If you click on it you will see comments made by followers, and if you follow the instructions you may also comment and I always welcome that. I have found many people overlook this part of the blog which is often more interesting than the original post!

My blog nick-name is SIR HUGH. I'm not from the aristocracy - my middle name is Hugh which relates to the list of 282 hills in Scotland compiled by Sir Hugh Munro in 1891. I climbed my last one (Sgurr Mor) on 28th June 2009

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Saturday 25 May 2013

Backwards or forwards?


I receive a depressing monthly periodical produced on a home computer in black and white from the pensioners amateur organisation of my previous employers. It contains articles from erstwhile colleagues from which I deduce they spend their precious retirement time reminiscing about daily trivia thirty years or so ago within the insular family atmosphere of an old fashioned bank branch. These writings seem to indicate the authors long to be back there in what I suppose was a safe environment There is even a regular feature titled “Looking Back”.

The most exciting anecdote I can remember from this wallowing nostalgia was about the Branch Inspection Team arriving from Head Office and going, by mistake, to a rival bank branch nearby, being admitted, and actually starting with their unpopular task, which by tradition starts with the manager handing over all his keys to the chief inspector. But that belies the more mundane nature of these recollections of temps perdu. Normally they only aspire to the drama of somebody with a name like Roger Murgatroyd arriving for duty on a Saturday morning wearing a sports jacket! What have these people been doing since they retired twenty years ago?

My career was with a more dynamic and competitive sales orientated subsidiary of the bank, most of the time being spent out and about canvassing and negotiating with business people in the big wide world.

I do often find myself “looking back”, but only on the things I have done since retirement over eighteen years ago which have been satisfyingly challenging, and given me enormous pleasure. 

Most of the time I am looking forward to the next adventure, and as I sit here my rucksack is packed and ready to depart a week on Monday for my next backpacking trip.


6 comments:

  1. I fully understand what you mean about your fellow retirees, I think it's rather sad that so many people have so few things to occupy their time. There's a big world out there - I wonder why they don't explore some of it. Perhaps, as you say, it's a security thing.

    Good luck with the trip Conrad, I'm looking forward to reading of your adventures. Forwards and on with your trip!

    John

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  2. Perhaps you could write a column titled, "Looking Forward."

    I know I'd read it.

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  3. Good to hear you are off again, hope your trip lasts longer than my last! Looks an interesting walk.
    Keep the weight in the sac down is my only advice.The Golite Pinnacle gives you a head start.
    Best of luck and you should hit a better spell of weather.

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  4. John J - As far as I can tell you are a new commenter and if so welcome to my blog. Your avatar relates to Google Circles I think, and I don't know much about that, and I suspect you may blog with a different title?

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    The Crow - One of my mother's favourite quotations was "brevity is the soul of wit". Your comment well qualifies. I've enough on keeping up with the blog so I don't think I will be taking up your suggestion, but it made me chuckle.

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    BC - I'm dreading something cropping up between now and the 3rd June which may prevent me going.

    I'm conscious of the weight thing. My pack, including food weighs in at 21 lbs (9.3kg) and feels comparatively comfortable. The Pinnacle served me well on the Broads to the Lakes trip and then on my Welsh boundary walk - it is a good old friend, and slightly customised for me.

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  5. JJ - I've sorted it now and realise you are John of JJ's Stuff fame - sorry about that.

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  6. Fame eh?
    No problem Conrad! I recently changed the avatar because I've been having problems with someone hacking into my blog. A couple of days ago my avatar just vanished, the new avatar is just a picture that I had saved on this PC.
    JJ.

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