tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post4350619760260011..comments2024-03-11T19:40:23.089+00:00Comments on Views from the bike shed: Coming of age.The bike shedhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05195882998271591934noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post-30608286056869663412011-09-03T06:37:21.563+01:002011-09-03T06:37:21.563+01:00Hey Mark, I have been away from my blogging world ...Hey Mark, I have been away from my blogging world and missed your birthday post. Being only a few years away from fifty myself, I can relate to your feeling relaxed being you and confident with what that means. I love old photographs and this line exquisitely captures the curious nature of time: "that picture seems at once a day and an age away". Lovely to read you again.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post-3026715750550886172011-08-29T23:19:54.795+01:002011-08-29T23:19:54.795+01:00Okay Okay, this is a ridiculously late comment, bu...Okay Okay, this is a ridiculously late comment, but I did want to wish you a very happy 50th too. Yet another superb post as well.Doofushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15368086816490113661noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post-71638132989200772142011-08-21T13:47:25.736+01:002011-08-21T13:47:25.736+01:00Happy Birthday to you
Happy Birthday to you
Happy ...Happy Birthday to you<br />Happy Birthday to you<br />Happy Birthday dear Mark<br />Happy 50th Birthday to you!<br /><br />I have three children past fifty and one just under and the last surprise is 38.<br /><br />When I was 18...<br />I was thinking of joining the Army to fight in Korea. I really thought it would be the thing to do.<br /><br />I suspect a chest full of medals was tinkering with my mind and girls.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post-78555890105794609592011-08-21T12:18:04.971+01:002011-08-21T12:18:04.971+01:00Cripes and Crikey Mark…and a great big bloggy ”HAP...Cripes and Crikey Mark…and a great big bloggy ”HAPPY BLUDDY BIRTHDAY TO YOU BLOKE!!!”<br /><br />Sorry Mark, I’ve completely missed your post here somehow, and so now I’ve managed to successfully extract my head all the way out of my derriere, I feel like a right shmuck right now! I thought you passed this marker back in the early 70’s!?? Huh Huh Huh. It never occurred to me that you might still be a mere whipper snapper like moi. Mein got! We could have had a great big joint she-blogger-bang too, chewing the fat and conjugating our verbs all the way to dawns early choruses.<br /><br />Well I hope you had a memorable one, that’s all I can say Mark. Tis a special milestone to have accomplished, especially as the saying nowadays is that 50 is the new 40! Which means that your new and wonderful life has only just started – excellent!!<br /><br />I had mine a couple of years back in a wonderful small ‘off piste’ basement restaurant in Barcelona, surrounded by the most warm and friendly crowd of Catalan co-diners you’re ever likely to meet. There was so much joy in that place, let alone the stunning food, that I didn’t want to leave – and not a single tourist within 100 metres. It took about twenty minutes just to hug my way through everybody on the pavement outside at half past stupid o’clock in the morning. Hugely special, and will never be forgotten!<br /><br />Very many happy returns to you Mark, and may the next fifty ans remain even healthier and happier than the last fifty ans! XxBish Bosh Bashhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01311092711040714994noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post-80443615945567558682011-08-20T16:44:37.318+01:002011-08-20T16:44:37.318+01:00I somehow missed this post, Happy (belated) Birthd...I somehow missed this post, Happy (belated) Birthday!<br />I can relate to that 'waiting for life to start' feeling completely. This post echoes a lot of the thoughts I blogged about on my birthday in July. I'm keen to let go of the fear of myself, but I always want to be a bit indecisive and that person who sees both sides of the argument (which goes down like a lead balloon with family and friends).<br />Anyway, this post isn't about me! Congratulations on your attitude, being grateful for what you HAVE will ensure you have continued<br />joy in your life. Cheers to you.lucy joyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04863146546863419637noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post-1472685411716980892011-08-19T16:27:51.427+01:002011-08-19T16:27:51.427+01:00Happy birthday. Here's to the other half...
I...Happy birthday. Here's to the other half...<br /><br />I'm quite at ease in my skin....and now I can accept that I can fail, which I couldn't do when young, when I couldn't grasp that the world wasn't just.the fly in the webhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04563871975125538755noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post-46955975583144908262011-08-19T14:51:35.894+01:002011-08-19T14:51:35.894+01:00My Dad said youth was wasted on the young LOL
I wo...My Dad said youth was wasted on the young LOL<br />I wouldnt mind the energy I had then, but that's about all. Like John said, the older I get the more contented I am, probably because I have, at last,worked out what's important.Kathhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04003521059890699861noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post-17286443750203566872011-08-19T12:03:54.723+01:002011-08-19T12:03:54.723+01:00Oops I meant The Road Not Taken
WV says trial, wh...Oops I meant <i>The Road Not Taken</i><br /><br />WV says trial, which seems appropriate in view of the above Senior Moment!VPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02732971362066784175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post-43315447849346305692011-08-19T12:00:07.896+01:002011-08-19T12:00:07.896+01:00A very Happy Birthday Mark!
Here's to the nex...A very Happy Birthday Mark!<br /><br />Here's to the next 50. Like you, I'm much happier now than I was at 18 and I can vouch for it continuing to get better after 50 ;)<br /><br />Your post reminds me of the thoughts that are stirred in me when reading Robert Frost's <i> The Road Less Travelled</i>. We can never go back to 18 armed with today's knowledge, because to do so would mean some of the paths we'd choose would be different and we'd end up being completely different people to what we are today.<br /><br />And I wonder if you'd be here with your blog if you'd had that opportunity? We'd all be the poorer if you weren't.<br /><br />I think you've made some damn fine choices along the way and learnt well from those which weren't so good :)<br /><br />Hope to catch up with you soon?VPhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02732971362066784175noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post-5968220939879312882011-08-19T09:38:52.087+01:002011-08-19T09:38:52.087+01:00Happy Birthday Mark, and may your day be just as y...Happy Birthday Mark, and may your day be just as you wish.<br />I wouldn't go back to being 18 again, even with the added bonus of having all I have now, presumably wisdom as well hindsight and a few material objects. I never looked ahead to what it would be like to be 18 when I was, say 16. Nor to when I would be 21 (more significant back then than now when 18 seems to be the new 21!) at aged 18. I never looked ahead in that way, it seemed like wishing my life away and life was then, and now, for living.<br />And yes it does get better, even with all the physical restraints I have due to health issues, I feel more comfortable in the skin I am in, even though there is more room!<br />Maggie - mrsrunofthemills.blogspot.comAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post-42341431404923435642011-08-19T09:03:02.220+01:002011-08-19T09:03:02.220+01:00Happy birthday. I've heard it said that the ol...Happy birthday. I've heard it said that the older we get the more like ourselves we become. But I think it is more a case of the more we like ourselves. And that is a wonderful gift to grow into.Stevehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02133900289384226725noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post-16061210132720051822011-08-19T00:35:31.941+01:002011-08-19T00:35:31.941+01:00I hope you and Jane and the boys all enjoy your 50...I hope you and Jane and the boys all enjoy your 50th year, Mark. You are right, it does feel better at 50 than it did at younger ages. Here's to a smashing second half!ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11376645220662546020noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post-77914063716616440372011-08-18T23:47:33.055+01:002011-08-18T23:47:33.055+01:00Happy Birthday Mark, and many many more!
When yo...Happy Birthday Mark, and many many more! <br /><br />When you wrote "Youth has it’s delights but it also has its uncertainties and pressures - in my case it was dominated by anxiety and a sense of being deeply alone" <br /><br />Wish we understood back then, in our youth, life could, would and if blessed, does mature..ripen and grow more delicious. <br /><br />Great post..as always.Gardeningbrenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10709940044197929905noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post-74257885651020082192011-08-18T23:35:27.809+01:002011-08-18T23:35:27.809+01:00I agree totally. I miss my smooth skin and narrow ...I agree totally. I miss my smooth skin and narrow waist sometimes but if the only way I could have them back was by being 18 or even 25 again I would have to decline. Here is where I want to be and learning how to be me was and is fascinating stuff but not something I want to repeat. Right here right now will do. I look at eighteen year olds now with tenderness and hope but without envy. Love john's comment!Elizabeth Musgravehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09473705107636868753noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-876862148358784705.post-37569656193971417802011-08-18T23:08:00.732+01:002011-08-18T23:08:00.732+01:00The older I get
the happier I get
thank f*ck its n...The older I get<br />the happier I get<br />thank f*ck its not the other way around!John Going Gentlyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14958171262765033946noreply@blogger.com