A letter from Nov 12th, 2021

Dear FutureMe, What a total bag of ******** 2021 has been for me (us?), the Covid pandemic has been bloody awful, still suffering from the complete ******** that has been Brexit, and then I go and get full blown depression. Feb 23rd 2021 it started, turned my life to complete ******* all through March, April, May and June, then slowly started to release during July. I got back to work on a phased return July 1st, and by August 1st I was back full time, so now today I'm at work at home handling the PrevNet desk. Remember PrevNet? Hopefully it's a distant memory by now. I'm going to set the date of this letter to our 67th birthday, hopefully you're still chugging along, you must be retired by now, and I truly hope you're making the most of it before they start shovelling dirt on your face in the hole. Right now I'm dithering over whether to retire on my 66th birthday, only 6 months away, or chug on for a few months, maybe till October when Dorothy can retire as well. I still haven't made up my mind for sure, but I suspect I'll probably jack it in on May 25th 2022, my 66th birthday. Who would have thought I'd get this far? I certainly didn't, and when Chris kicked the bucket at only 55 I thought that was a sign of Old Blind Pugh fingering his Black Spot. Then there's Joe over there in Oz manfully battling lung cancer, is he going to make it? Well, did he make it, is he still with us? God, I hope so, or I'm going to be short yet another brother. And then there's WOM, Wrinkled Old Mother, is she still alive? She'll be 93 by then, a fine old age.... Things to be happy for: Married to the same woman for 44 years, still chugging along. You're so lucky you found her, all those years ago in the Hoffbrauhaus Newcastle. Got five grandchildren now, Arthur, Freddie, Maddie, Rose and Marni...remember when Dorothy got so upset thinking she'd never have any? Rose is my favourite, she reminds me so much of Tracey when she was a little girl, she's an absolute delight to my grumpy old heart. Still in reasonable nick for an old fart.....as someone once said 'if you haven't got your health, then you've got nowt'....... though I'm still undergoing investigations to my chuff, coupled with distressingly high blood pressure and fast pulse. Got no real money worries, if I had my mortgage paid off I'd be in clover, but because of the last move to this place I'm still in the hole for about thirty grand. I'm not depressed...... if anyone reads this who's suffered with the Black Dog then they'll know what I mean, everyone else will just read right through it. Anyway, when you read this you'll be a couple of years older, hopefully above ground, hopefully still in this house, and maybe you've got a more active social life. Advice from your Old Self: Get out more....don't doss about at home listening to your arteries hardening, get out there and Do Stuff!! Don't stress the little things....It don't mean nothing, not a thing. Strive to be happy. Me. 18:51, 12th November 2021, while sitting at my dining room table at home. (Football is on at 7:45, England playing Moldova in a World Cup qualifier)