March '11

A recent radio horoscope for my February forecast a very favourable happy spell for me so that may explain why there could be an unusual twinkle in my eyes this month - but I’m not keeping my fingers crossed! Most of us like to scan the relative predictions of astrologers without granting them too much credulity but rather being amused by apparent coincidences. I remember my father’s speech at my wedding reception when he mentioned reading that a large weight would shortly be removed from him!
Throughout the period of my working life (and probably because I was meeting a wider variety of people in those days) I was able to be thankful that I wasn’t as restricted as the lack of a particular ability caused others. As I spent less time publicly worrying about my varied health problems (but rather sought ways in private of living with them), I eventually earned a reputation for having a happy and cheerful attitude to life despite my difficulties - the more that my possession of these became known. Although age and amputations have not inconvenienced too much my exchanges via telephone and email, unfortunately I do not have as many face-to-face chats as in former days. As a result, I contemplate despairingly my present condition more whilst being especially appreciative of the former colleagues who DO visit regularly and exchange reminiscences which stimulate thoughts rather than allowing them to stagnate on unpleasant things.

Thanks for reading this
                                               Be happy - it’s worth working for!






"Happiness doesn't depend on any external conditions, it is governed by our
mental attitude..." - Dale Carnegie

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something
we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have." .- Frederick Koenig

 "If you want to be happy, be."                        - Leo Tolstoi

 "The best way to cheer yourself up is to try to cheer somebody else up."  - Mark Twain

"Happiness consists in activity. It is a running stream, not a stagnant pool."  - Oliver Wendell Holmes

February '11

At the time of writing, we are still celebrating the New Year festivities and discussing those selected for the Honours List (I missed out, again!). I expect we can all suggest the names of those we feel should be recognised for their achievements (whether praises are sung or unsung) combined with their everyday demeanour. Hopefully, you will have all paid over your annual subscription for Parish Life by now - the earlier you can do this each year, the better the church’s cash flow. During my time as supervisor of magazine distribution, I was quite surprised to discover the age of the majority of the distributors (including several then older than my present advanced age!) and whilst admiring their (chiefly) long periods of voluntary service, I feared the onset of the time when they would be unable to continue and a waiting list of potential deliverers would have eased things considerably! Please consider whether you can help . and do not hesitate to offer.While on the subject of help, I most urgently echo the recent appeals for everyone to increase their giving .To those who placidly say ” The Lord will provide”, I always reply “Yes but He wouldn’t refuse some help!”The company which hosts my website supplies quarterly reports of weekly totals of visitors thereto and I have just received the one for the last period of last year - sadly, after a peak of just under 200 visits one week in mid-November, there was a steady decrease to the end of the year. However, I must express my thanks to those readers of these articles both here and among my efforts on the internet! Of cause, I am particularly grateful to those who have added their comments online (which do NOT have to be favourable but they make me a VERY happy bunny when they are!) Do not forget that I am always pleased for you to contact me (if not via the web, there is always post, phone and in person) - especially with a suggestion for or a criticism of these articles.In case you missed the last magazine, may I repeat my New Year wishes to you

                                                                                                                        .Cheers
                                                                                                                                             Mike Ireland

“The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore
they attempt the impossible - and achieve it, generation after
generation.”                                           - Pearl S. Buck

 “The rung of a ladder was never meant to rest upon, but only
 to hold a man's foot long enough to enable him to put the other
 somewhat higher.”                - Thomas Henry Huxley

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be
 lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations
 under them.”             - Henry David Thoreau

 “There are no shortcuts to any place worth going."             - Beverly Sills

"Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss you;ll land among
the stars."                                                                              - Les Brown

November '10

I admit that being referred to as a "stick in the mud" doesn't over-worry me. A failure to be infatuated by pursuing the ever-promoted methods of gaining personal success has meant that I never became the Prime Minister nor ever ascended to any high office in the world of work. Instead, I kept my head down ("beneath the parapets" is an expression I've often heard) and paid more respect to the worlds of common sense and experience.

The best remembered and most useful lesson from my schooldays (around some sixty years ago!) came from someone whom many would consider to be one of the last type of person to offer valuable "pearls of wisdom". It was our maths master, George T. Beckwith, who told us to "always check your answer for reasonableness". I've lost count of the number of times that following this advice and rejecting an erroneous line of thought has saved one's bacon as well as provoking admiration! In the days when I did weekly supermarket shopping, I used to keep a running total in my head of the cost of the items and surprise the cashier by tendering the exact sum! Of course, beside the successful use of this tenet in solving problems of mental arithmetic, many everyday queries are also covered.

When pocket calculators first became publicly available, I little foresaw their widespread use in addition, particularly by shop assistants and felt quite embarrassed at their use, particularly for only a few items. I became self-taught on computing before I found them most helpful when I was church treasurer Speaking of computing reminds me of the plethora of jokes (mostly amusing!) circulating via the internet today. Although current surveys show that many more folk in this country can now access computers than those who can't, I'll repeat one of the jokes which made me smile:

The world of computers has taken many of our familiar everyday words and given them completely different meanings! A DISC used to be something that slipped when you hurt your back. A WEB was what a spider made, and a RAM was a male sheep A NET was for fishing or to hold your hair in place and a MOUSE was a furry little creature with whiskers. BUGS and VIRUSES were something you caught that made you ill, and CHIP went with fish. A HACKER was someone with a bad cough and a CURSOR was someone with bad language. A LOAD went on a lorry and a BOOT went on your foot. You found builders or caravans on a SITE and you parked your car on a DRIVE. A ZIP held your clothes together and a FLOPPY meant limp You hung your washing ONLINE, You sent a CARD at CHRISTMAS, and a DESKTOP was a place for your blotter. You called a butler or a waitress a SERVER and a religious artefact was an ICON. WALLPAPER brightened! up a room and

MOTHER BOARD was mum when she was fed up!

Times change, don't they?  Not always for the better!           All the best,                     Mike Ireland


“Affirmation statements are going beyond the reality of the present into the
creation of the future through the words you use in the now."             - Louise L. Hay


"Don't judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that
you plant."                                                      -  Robert Louis Stevenson


“You've got to win in your mind before you win in your life.”                - John Addison
“Any idea, plan, or purpose may be placed in the mind through
 repetition of thought.”                                             - Napoleon Hill


“End your day by privately looking directly into your eyes in the mirror and saying, 'I love you!' Do this for thirty days and watch how you transfe   - Mark Victor Hansen


"...repetitive words and phrases are merely methods of convincing the subconscious mind. It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen."                                              - C.M .Bristol

January '11

First of all, may I wish you, whether a regular or new reader, a Happy New Year. To celebrate this time, I’ll try to refrain from grumpy thoughts albeit the weather at the time of writing is somewhat inclement. I don’t know now what it will be like when you get this; probably, most of us long for an improvement anyway.

In case the weather is still unfavourable when this article appears, in an attempt to cheer you up, I’ll mention some things where people are pleased at the onset of snow. (prompted by radio listeners’ comments). When I saw the refuse lorry reversing down our snow-covered cul-de-sac, I felt a tinge of pride remembering when I used to calculate the operatives’ pay. Those who have to remove chewing gum from icy pavements must be pleased, also farmers who will spend less on insecticides after a cold spell has killed many of the pests. Apart from strict dieters (for medical or personal reasons), the majority of folk prefer to have an alleged excuse to eat cakes and puddings. Reluctant gardeners welcome the time when their white garden can look as attractive as their neighbour’s.

I expect that we may know of (and, possibly, envy) those unaffected by our weather, probably because of being abroad on holiday.. Mine include a local newsreader who honeymooned in Jamaica and a friend who went to Australia. Good for them!

The following thoughts demonstrate my tendency to retain my feelings as a former chorch treasurer - firstly, I hope you didn't keep your magazine deliverer waiting too long while you searched for some cash for the subscription. We owe a huge debt of gratitude to tho volunteers who make sure we get our magazine each month, regardless of the weather.  We have been reminded of the desire (need?) to increase subscrilpion levels; an easy way is for readers to show their neighbours a copy and tell them  the advantages of having it regularly (not forgetting the discount or value as a local trade directory).  It may well produce useful results if you leave a recent copy on the pile of reading materialis in the waiting area of such Thorpe organisations as hotels, hairdressers, doctors and several other places..

Thanks for your time reading this.
                                                            All the best for 2011


"Almost all absurdity of conduct arises from the imitation of those whom
we cannot resemble."                                                      - Samuel Johnson


"Once conform, once do what others do because they do it, and a kind
of lethargy steals over all the finer senses of the soul."
                                                         - Michel Eyquem de Montaigne

"Always be a first-rate version of yourself, instead of a second-rate version
of somebody else."                                   - Judy Garland

"Almost every man wastes part of his life in attempts to display qualities
which he does not possess, and to gain applause which he cannot
keep."                                - Samuel Johnson

"It is the chiefest point of happiness that a man is willing to be what he
is."                                             - Desiderius Erasmus

December '10

I must start these thoughts by echoing previous expressions of praise and thanks to Olga Bradshaw and Ann Cox for enabling and organising the Autumn Fair and Grand Raffle so well for their first attempt after Auriol Hughes’ many valiant years. As these articles consist of personal thoughts, I make no apology for making mention of some especially pleasing events there:-

• Getting a birthday presentation from the mayor, Russell James, a friend of long standing.
• Meeting Chloe Smith (in person: we had previously only exchanged emails!).
• Winning a Raffle prize of some tasty shortbread biscuits (although their consumption was restricted by my diabetes!). My wife had been lucky enough to win Jenny Fuller’s embroidered painting, a fine piece of work that has been much admired.

I was particularly pleased to see people I do not meet (and seldom hear from) during the year; a most sincere “thank you” to those who did come over to have a word.

On a recent 10-day stay in hospital I was impressed by the high standards of the food and explained to several of the nurses that I enjoyed their treatment of me and my eager desire to be discharged and return home had nothing to do with them or their colleagues! In fact, this visit was notable in that fewer members of staff invoked my anger by ignoring my over 48 years’ home experience of actually living with diabetes 24/7 . I deliberately refrain from mentioning the exceptions here for fear of wriing something I may regret; details are best confined to a letter to the Chief Executive. Those who accepted knowledge so learned soon earned my respect. .Among my other illnesses is the relatively rare ataxia (causing balance problems). Because this condition is seldom come across in everyday medicine, many inexperienced doctors, understandably, often ask me to perform standard diagnostic motions and this repetition annoys me. I mentioned thiis to a senior doctor (who later discharged me!) and he promised not to ask for this - he didn’t, although another doctor did that very afternoon!

                              May I wish you ALL a Very Happy Christmas.

                                                                                                             Mike Ireland

"By appreciation, we make excellence in others our own property." - Voltaire

"We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come as a result of getting something
we don't have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have."                             . -                                                                                                         Frederick Keonig


"Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child,
and the smiling faces."                                                                  - Cicero


"If a fellow isn't thankful for what he's got, he isn't likely to be thankful for
what he's going to get."               - Frank A. Clark

October '10

I make no apology for having some opinions which may well make me appear to be an old-fashioned stick-in-the-mud. In fact, I am quite proud of those which appear to be (to me, at least!) simple, obvious, common sense thoughts which seem to be shared by a considerable number of my contemporaries. Of course, many generations have yearned for “the good old days” following happy reminiscences of their former lives with associated things, people & methods. The older one gets, the more memories are collected, hopefully in pleasant nostalgia. Many practises are not performed today either through lack of being taught (following changes in “the norm”) or because of fear of contravening a Health and Safety Law - often blamed unjustly but not always so!

When I contacted several former bank colleagues to ask whether they would like to get in touch with me, I was delighted to get emails (some with photos!) describing further happenings in the lives of the senders and their families. Some of you already know that for some time (and even more, now!) I’ve spent most of my time at the computer and consider myself fortunate to exchange emails with some people I really like. As is my custom in these Musings, I’ll refrain from mentioning anyone by name, to prevent any embarrassment - to myself as well as to others!.

Emailing has been described as the modern form of penfriendship; I’m certainly pleased to receive emails, whether for a single instance or leading to a continuing exchange (of information, jokes, photos, messages, etc.). I can even be contacted on Facebook but I don’t Tweet (just coo gently!).

                                          Hope to hear from you, soon,
                                                        All the best, mike-Ireland@live.com


"Keep adding, keep walking, keep advancing."   - Saint Augustine

"It is not necessary to change. Survival is not mandatory."         - W. ds Deming

"Happiness, greatness, pride - nothing is secure, nothing keeps." - Euripides

“When you are through changing, you are through."                       - Bruce Barton

"Our only security is our ability to change."                              - John Lilly

“Each contact with a human being is so rare, so precious, one
should preserve it.”                                                                             - Anais Nin

September '10

I have written before about my present inability to access the computer which I previously used which has, unfortunately, meant that I am unable to retrieve some information which would simplify the composition of these articles. Nevertheless,.I have chosen a few anniversaries which mean something special to me as the theme for this month's Musings. For instance, September 11th marks the thirtieth birthday of Radio Norfolk (to which my clock radio is tuned so I wake each morning to it and then hear it all day unless turned off for the rare visits). We all remember that date for a particularly sad event - when expressing dates,  Americans quote the month before the day, as in 911. Another sad September remembrance is the 17th, which would have been the 70th birthday of the greatly-missed  Roy Waller.

Of course, I particularly remember the 24th for the birthday of my mother, who would have been 100 this year! That same birthday is shared by a former colleague who used to sit opposite me at work, hence the standing joke that (bcause of that) she saw me more than my wife did at that time!

And the 30th sees, this year, the 16th anniversary of my retirement.

                                                                                     All the Best

"It takes a long time to become young."                           - Pablo Picasso

 "There is still no cure for the common birthday."                 - John Glenn


"The best birthdays of all are those that haven't arrived yet."- Robert Orben

-"To me, old age is always fifteen years older than I am." - Bernard Baruch

" Inside every older person is a younger person - wondering what the hell happened.."        Cora Harvey Armstrong

"If you carry your chldhood with you,you never become older
- Maurice Chevalier

"There are three hundred and sixty-four days when you might get un-birthday presents ... and only one for birthday presents, you know."            -  Lewis Carroll


"You are only young once, but you can be immature for a lifetime."  - John P. Grier

"The greatest comfort of my old age, and that which gives me the highest satisfaction, is the pleasing remembrance of the many benefits and friendly offices I have done to others."- Marcus Cato