Tails From Provence

I wrote this last week, I wasn’t sure if I’d post it or not, but what the heck, here it is!

Yup, I’ve reached the big 5 – O.  Does this mean I am finally middle-aged?  I don’t feel any different to how I felt at twenty, apart from being a lot achier and creakier than I used to be.

Anyway, it seems like a good time for some reflection.  In no particular order, here are some of the things I’m particularly proud of from my first half century.

1. My daughters.  How did I manage to produce two such beautiful beings?  Where did they get their self-confidence from?  Not to mention their casual attitude to nudity… yes, both of them…

2. Rua Great Heart.  My first, and (so far) only novel (unpublished).  I was eleven.  They said I wouldn’t finish it – They were wrong!

4. PC-Interconnect.  What can I say, it was a great piece of software.

5. Defeating the Wizard and retrieving the Amulet of Yendor (but I didn’t make it out of the dungeon)

6. Silver Spurs. Revamped and revitalised by me and my partner-in-crime, Naomi, I hope it will carry on for years to come.

7. Le Big Trek.  It seems almost dream-like now, but I did it – I can honestly say I rode 501.2 kilometres across France (apart from the bits I walked to ease my aching bum/hips/knees/ankles)

8. Copper.  The first and only horse I bred and produced to competition level myself.  I’d love to say she went on to great things, but she was never going to be more than an amateur horse – I think she ended up in England, she’d be about seventeen now.

9. The Livery Yard. It wasn’t huge, but it helped see us through some very tough times.

10. Friendships I’ve made and maintained over the years – especially the one that’s gone on for 47 years now (you know who you are).

There’s plenty of stuff I’m not so proud of, too, but I’m not going to bring myself down thinking about that right now.  Here’s to being positive and planning a whole pile of stuff I’ll be proud of when I finish the second half-century!