Author: Mark Simmons
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July 2025
Begorrah! I thought July was going to be a bit dull after last month. All we had planned was an open air theatre event. Lyn however had an idea that we should have a ‘family’ day out before Victoria started her new job in September. She’d seen somewhere that you could fly to Paris for…
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June 2025
The big story of June was the marriage of my daughter Victoria to Nathan. No Church because obviously there is no god. No up and down like a whores drawers mouthing hymns nobody knows the words too. No endless guest list of people the bride and groom don’t know. No big country house/hotel for a…
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May 2025
Just to prove me wrong with regard to the weather May was gloriously sunny just like April. In fact the 1st of May was one of those ‘hottest since records began’ days which are becoming more and more frequent. I would suggest they change it to something like “Another warning from the planet that you’re…
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April 2025
What a busy month! The weather at the beginning and end was glorious for April and probably means the rest of the year will be horrid but we definitely made the most of it while the sun shone. Our first National Trust day trip was a double header of Buckland Abbey and then in the…
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Catch-up… The first 3 months, 2025.
I’ve had a good idea. I’m going to try and do a monthly update. Naturally I’m unfashionably late to the party so this is just a quick catch-up. Lyn and I decide at the beginning of the year to try and do at least one thing each month. In January we had dinner in Exeter…
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Exploring Lisbon: A Rainy Boys’ Trip Adventure
Lisbon! It’s a bit of a forgotten European capital. I couldn’t think of a single song about it. There are some, but they are all, and I’m being generous here, forgettable. This is an unusual trip because I’m not here with Lyn! She was home alone for the first time in 35 years! Instead this…
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Embracing Average: Finding Joy in Retirement Adventures
If you’ve stumbled across this somehow, you probably need to stop scrolling, open the window, and take a deep breath. I’m Mark, I’m rapidly approaching my 60s, and I’m retired. I have never been the best at anything I have ever done. They say everyone is good at something, but in the words of U2,…
My Average Holidays 