Hello, and welcome to Nige's Christmas message for 2016! I hope you are keeping well and are content with life.
I have enjoyed my first year of being 20% retired. It has been great not having to go to work on a Monday morning, although I haven't got that many extra "little jobs" done, as I am naturally unenthused by housework and so I have found alternative ways to spend the day, for instance playing tennis with a mate who managed to retire early.
I didn't quite fully retire from playing cricket after all this year, and I ended up playing three games for my old club this summer when they were desperate. I like to think that my late order runs in one match contributed to a win, but it was a little awkward when my former team mates asked me if I missed cricket, as the truth is that I didn't: it was nice to play the occasional game but I found it liberating not to be committed every Saturday during the summer.
As I vowed this time last year, during the summer I bought a sit-on kayak (the "Epic" model on this site) to join my volleyball club friends and paddle in and around Poole harbour. I already feel that I've had my money's worth out of this during the first summer, with more to come.
And also as promised, I took a trip back to the Sixties (in every sense; you'll know what I mean if you've been there) with a week on the Isle of Wight with a mate. We took a couple of days touring the island by car and bike on either side of the four-day festival, which featured Status Quo, Sterophonics, The Who and Queen as the headline acts. Click to enlarge the photos below:
I've had some nice holidays this year, including a long weekend in Guernsey last month for a friend's 40th birthday, just as Storm Angus struck. I'm planning a trip to the USA with a mate next August to watch the Great American Eclipse of the sun, which should be spectacular.
I hope you have a lovely Christmas, and I wish you all health and happiness for 2017.
Nige.