I've bought a Unicycle!

My wife says, I'm too old to ride one!

Posted on 15th August 2025


I’ve bought a Unicycle! Much to my wife’s disgust; she was very against it, has been for years, says that I am too old to ride one, all I’ll do is injure myself, so I’ll have to learn to ride it when she’s not about! I got it at a charity centre, they sell bikes; have a home department, a café and a shop.
She bought some jigsaws, I bought a unicycle and some records!
I’m now busy watching videos on how to ride it, or at least learning how to ride it. Two basic things are required, first, a wall or fence to be able to hold onto whilst learning to mount and peddle, giving you something to aid your balance and keep you on the cycle.
Secondly, you need patience. It’s not ten minute thing, all the videos will tell you that it can take hours of trying and falling off, before you master riding unaided. One of them, after showing you how to get on and get comfortable, suggests that you spend an hour or so, just getting used to sitting and rocking backwards and forwards before you try actually riding along holding onto the wall!
Needless to say, I have neither! I’m going to have to find a longish wall or fence, maybe nip down the park and pop into the tennis courts if they are open; and of course I have no patience and I want to be able to ride it now!
Well if not now, then in about an hour or so from starting to learn.


Parking all day on yellow lines and zig-zag markings at Zebra crossings, are just symptoms of a much wider problem, than just a blatant disregard for the rules.
The amount of times my wife says whilst we’re driving round, I’d love to know how they passed their driving test or I wonder if half these people have even taken a driving test, it’s too many to count; and at times it’s hard not to disagree, but when you look at how difficult it is to get a driving test, it’s little wonder that many people who have moved to this country have never taken a UK driving test, despite the fact that many are required to do so, within 12 months of arriving.
It is estimated, through Freedom of Information, that more than a million migrant drivers do not have a valid UK driving licence.
The other thing is, who checks? Do insurance companies check that people have a full licence before issuing insurance and if they do, does that mean that those that don’t have a UK licence also don’t have insurance? Though you would think that ANPR cameras would pick that up; so then, the only way that people will get checked, is if they are stopped by the Police and have to produce their documents.
Obviously they are liable to just say that they have been resident for less than a year, are in the process of acquiring one, and then just carry on!


An Aunt of my wife’s passed away recently and I was one of her executors. Well at least that’s what we were led to believe. She asked me twenty odd years ago if I would be an executor along with her two nephews that live in Canada.
She would update me with new phone numbers and email addresses whenever they changed and any other relevant information, such as where she wished her ashes to be scattered. My wife and I we even given Lasting Power of Attorney for her finances and property.
She was found on the floor in the hallway, by a lady that lives around the corner from her and gets her a newspaper every Saturday, an Ambulance was called and she was taken to Hospital but unfortunately she died shortly after arrival.
The lady that found her, rang us, as she knows that we are just about her only family living locally. We went to tell my mother in law, her cousin, and then we all went down to her house to look for her ‘when I’m gone’ book, which she had prepared, with all the people and places to contact, what to do with her belongings and house contents etc.
There it was, my name had been crossed out, under the list of executors and had been replaced with another. We still sat and contacted some of the other family and friends on the list, as well as the nephews in Canada.
They had already been contacted by the hospital, so were aware but also grateful.
I stayed in touch with them to help sort things whilst they arranged their travel to England to get the funeral etc sorted out. The new executor had since being asked, moved to Norfolk but still travelled down to play his part.
The funeral passed off very well and I finally got to meet the two nephews. At the wake afterwards I also got chatting with a few members of the family, and have added a couple of branches and a few more lines to the family tree.

That is now twice this year that I have worn long trousers; unfortunately both times it was to attend a funeral. One of our nephews is getting married in November, so let’s hope that’s the third and final time this year.


I’ve now had 4 cucumbers from my cucumber plant, there were about another half a dozen small starters, but they seem to have come to nothing. I was beginning to think that may be all I get, but in the last couple of days a few more small offerings seem to be developing.
I’ve just picked my first sweet red pepper, very small and slightly eaten, but hey! There are about another 4 coming through, all looking quite small, but not as small as the hot peppers which are at present quite miniscule and at the risk of being the smallest peppers ever, although I have now picked a couple of not too shabby ones!
I have picked a good crop of potatoes, that have kept us in new potatoes for half a dozen meals, and then planted some more, which seem to be coming on well already and my onions are mostly looking good and I’ve harvested most of them and we’ve had a few of them already.


I’ve mentioned on a few occasions about redundant or out of date signs and about writing to the local council to get them removed. Well no-one writes to the council anymore, you go to their website, navigate your way to the relevant page and fill in a form.
Generally there is a map that you can ‘stick a pin in’ to show where you are writing about and then fill in the form with all the information they need to address your grievance.
I’ve had a couple of signs removed recently and also had a couple of completely useless answers regarding other signs and overgrowing trees, but I’m on a roll now and it’s a much simpler was to notify them or just complain about something that is wrong and needs dealing with!