How do you spend your days?

Do you have a career, a job, or are you retired?
Do you have a routine or just take the day as you feel like it depending on your mood?
Is your life interesting or do you get bored a lot??

Not being nosy....just interested.

I used to work full time at a funeral directors, did a bit of everything, but generally I did the preparation of the body for viewing. Now I just work part time as and when only doing the prep now. I mostly do more housework these days, its not something I've ever enjoyed but I'm getting a bit Hyacinth Bucket, just a phase I'm sure. I spend a bit of time doing family history research, reading, going out for lunch and on here. I don't know how everything fitted in when I worked full time we had dogs and horses which had to be walked, feed, cleaned out and generally taken care of, I did most of the family history research then although now the family readily find the clothes they want clean and pressed instead of whatever I managed to do wash at the time then, now its in the wash as soon as they take it off. It's taking a bit of getting used to having no fixed time for working but its good so far.

I did, in total 27 years in the Military,travelled all over the world. Had a few dangerous moments but loved every moment of it [except the times I was crapping myself]. Met my Wife in OZ had 3 kids and now lots of Grand Children and Great grand Children. Now due to Medical problems I sit in the bloody Chair most of the day !

PS. I spend around 2 hours on my PC looking at newsfix. although I rarely start OP's it passes the time.

Did you spend your time in the military in Australia and/or Britain, I seem to remember you mentioning Vietnam so that must have been the Australian forces?

One thing I will always hold in high regard with nicko

He has faced the worst kind of fears that many people including, myself and the vast majority of posters. Is that they will never ever face the kind of fears he overcome in their entire lives

Sadly some uselese armchair pen pushers think its funny to call him a baby killer, when he spent his entire time in Vietnam protecting civillian life. The record of the Australian forces in Vietnam was exemplary. Where they certainly did save countless lives. People may bemoan why the US was involved in the Vietnam war, but none of them ever look at the countless attrocities commited by the Viet Conq. They only look at the ones committed by the US. That is because they are essentially bigoted and prejudiced and hold the western forces to a higher standard

There was many wrongs in this conflict, and Nicko was never one of them. He wass simple there doing what he thought was right to do, protecting lives and he did that. For some pen pushing lawyer to constantly demean him on this, when that snowflake and those other Australian idiots, would run at the first sign of trouble shows that in reality. Nicko is the epitome of someone to look up and be in awe of. He stood with his brothers, even though he was not Austrlian, showing how he is a proponent of multiculturalism. Even more so that he is mixed ethnic grand children

Again this shows the bitterness of the left to those who did serve, as they only look at the wrongs by some and never appllaud those who did what was right. Like I say they would be the first to turn tail and run at the first sign of trouble. Its people like Nicko, as to why we have the freedom that we have today. Vietnam may have been a war lost by the US, but it prevented the spread of the evil of Communism.

If in a crisis, i would rather have Nicko by my side, than some egotistical pen pushing lawyer, who would no doubt run at the first sign of trouble.

4 years in The Australian Regiment, 2 of them in Nam. 2 years wandering around Africa working for
any one who'd pay me. Rest of the time in the Parachute Regiment including 3 tours in Ireland !

I wish I could go back.

Vintage wrote:I used to work full time at a funeral directors, did a bit of everything, but generally I did the preparation of the body for viewing. Now I just work part time as and when only doing the prep now. I mostly do more housework these days, its not something I've ever enjoyed but I'm getting a bit Hyacinth Bucket, just a phase I'm sure. I spend a bit of time doing family history research, reading, going out for lunch and on here. I don't know how everything fitted in when I worked full time we had dogs and horses which had to be walked, feed, cleaned out and generally taken care of, I did most of the family history research then although now the family readily find the clothes they want clean and pressed instead of whatever I managed to do wash at the time then, now its in the wash as soon as they take it off. It's taking a bit of getting used to having no fixed time for working but its good so far.

Its true when we stop working we cant work out how we managed to fit everything in isn't it?
You are the opposite to me Vintage, in that I used to spend a lot of time and effort doing housework....the older I get the more I realise it doesnt need doing so often.....as soon as you dust more arrives, so I do it once a week...and a good hoovering lasts for a week too.
The bane of my life is washing...I have 2 double beds and a single here, and 2 double bed and 4 singles at the caravan....in the summer thats a LOT of bedding to wash regularly.

Retirement or semi retirement takes some adjusting to. When my OH retired (from working every hour God sends to doing nothing) I wondered how we would both adapt...big changes for us both, but he loves retirement and I have got used to him being around all the time....so happily it's worked out.

nicko wrote:I did, in total 27 years in the Military,travelled all over the world.  Had a few dangerous moments but loved every moment of it [except the times I was crapping myself]. Met my Wife in OZ had 3 kids and now lots of Grand Children and Great grand Children.  Now due to Medical problems  I sit in the bloody Chair most of the day !  

After being so active all your life it must be hard to accept that you no longer are Nicko.

You have a big family, and I think by your posts it's obvious you love and are loved by them....so compared to many you are blessed.

You are right Syl, once a week should be fine for cleaning. My mother used to have certain day for certain tasks. Monday washing, didn't matter the weather, once it had gone through the mangle it was on a line above the kitchen fire. Tuesday was ironing. The other days would be cleaning downstairs ,cleaning the bedrooms, doing the weekly shop at the coop, that used to take ages.

Vintage wrote:You are right Syl, once a week should be fine for cleaning. My mother used to have certain day for certain tasks. Monday washing, didn't matter the weather, once it had gone through the mangle it was on a line above the kitchen fire. Tuesday was ironing. The other days would be cleaning downstairs ,cleaning the bedrooms, doing the weekly shop at the coop, that used to take ages.  

I think a generation above ours there was more routine in running a home.
People tended to have more kids and housework was harder because not everyone had the modern gadgets like washing machines, dryers, central heating and so on. Plus shopping was often done without a car to ferry people around.....I think we have it so much easier now.

My days if I am at home are spent  getting up (late) OH makes a coffee, I dont eat breakfast, ...he has already been up and out for a morning paper, I read, do the quiz and crossword with him, then we get ready and go out most days. Have lunch out and shop, or just visit various local towns or a garden centre (summer) and have a mooch around.
When we come home between cooking a meal and doing odds and ends I usually log in here, do other stuff on the internet, watch a bit of TV, talk on phone to family or best friends if I havent seen them for a day or so, then usually go to bed late, about 2am, where I seldom sleep but like to read and listen to the radio for ages.

Sounds boring but I am seldom bored.

I'd like to thank Didge for giving a perfect insight of my life. It has been dangerous a lot of times, but interspersed with the knowledge that I belonged to a group of men who would not hesitate to risk their lives for me, as I have done for them several times.I don't know who said this, "There is no greater love than a man who would lay down his life for a friend"I'm going now because I'm crying,=.

nicko wrote:I'd like to thank Didge for giving a perfect insight of my life.  It has been dangerous a lot of times, but interspersed with the knowledge that I belonged to a group of men who would not hesitate to risk their lives for me, as I have done for them several times.I don't know who said this, "There is no greater love than a man who would lay down his life for a friend"I'm going now because I'm crying,=.

Aww Nicko, you are such a lovely man, I hope you know that.x

My brother was in the RAF, in peacetime, in the 50's and 60's he still has good friends from those days, those that are still around anyway, there's a bond, imagine how much greater that bond is when you are facing an enemy and rely on your mates so much. Being in the military for 27 years is some achievement, it must be difficult to then be outside that. My respect Nicko.
My father served in the first world war in his teens, never spoke much of it. ended up as a member of a machine gun crew, probably the reason he didn't talk about it, I could never quite understand my gentle father having to be part of that but he must have had conviction to do the right thing as far as he saw it because he enlisted at 17 years old..

Vintage wrote:My brother was in the RAF, in peacetime, in the 50's and 60's he still has good friends from those days, those that are still around anyway, there's a bond, imagine how much greater that bond is when you are facing an enemy and rely on your mates so much. Being in the military for 27 years is some achievement, it must be difficult to then be outside that. My respect Nicko.
My father served in the first world war in his teens, never spoke much of it. ended up as a member of a machine gun crew, probably the reason he didn't talk about it, I could never quite understand my gentle father having to be part of that but he must have had conviction to do the right thing as far as he saw it because he enlisted at 17 years old..

I find it fasicinating and years ago listened to many verterans about their experinces in WW2. Sadly never got to speak to any about WW1. My Irish grandfather served in the Battleaxe Division. The war completely screwed him up and he became an alcoholic. He drank away the family buisness and became very violent. Its a sad reality that such conflicts plague the people that fought this for the rest of their lives.

Do you know where about he served in the western front in WW1 Vintage? Do not mean to pry, but just very interested in such stories?

Albert, Loos, Somme, Ypres ending up In Germany guarding some officer prisoners, very nasty aristocratic types who thought everyone else totally beneath them, my father couldn't stand them , he liked the ordinary Germans he met. He ended up in Cologne. He once described to me what it was like to watch the first tanks to arrive to go into battle, he was a good story teller and it was like a scene out of a sci fi story. He never spoke much about war stuff, every now and again we'd get a snippet of information about his experiences.

Vintage wrote:Albert, Loos, Somme, Ypres ending up In Germany guarding some officer prisoners, very nasty aristocratic types who thought everyone else totally beneath them, my father couldn't stand them , he liked the ordinary Germans he met. He ended up in Cologne. He once described to me what it was like to watch the first tanks to arrive to go into battle, he was a good story teller and it was like a scene out of a sci fi story. He never spoke much about war stuff, every now and again we'd get a snippet of information about his experiences.

Wow, he must have seen plenty of horrors. So many places and battles

Thank you for sharing Vintage

There are a few other more obscure battles as well. He was demobbed into the z reserve, took me ages to find out what that was, its the first call up in event of further hostilities. He spent the next 15 or so years on trawlers and road building in Cornwall before coming home as his father was ill, hence he met my mother just after the second world war which he spent as a miner and as a fire watcher and member of a rescue team, which had to go out to planes that crashed into the hills, not much to rescue though and the rest is history. .Had things been different I could have been a Cornish nationalist,

Vintage wrote:There are a few other more obscure battles as well. He was demobbed into the z reserve, took me ages to find out what that was,  its the first call up in event of further hostilities. He spent the next 15 or so years on trawlers and road building in Cornwall before coming home as his father was ill, hence he met my mother just after the second world war which he spent as a miner and as a fire watcher and member of a rescue team, which had to go out to planes that crashed into the hills, not much to rescue though and the rest is history. .Had things been different I could have been a Cornish nationalist,

Very interesting

You might find this site very interesting Vintage

https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/

I had no idea my Maltese Great Uncle served in the Royal Navy in WW1, until I fonnd him on this website



It led me to research him further through the family

You could if you wanted to add information about your father onto this site

I'll have a look at that tomorrow, thanks.
The Battleaxe division were they in North Africa ?
I'm sure I've heard something of that, I'll look it up tomorrow.

Vintage wrote:I'll have a look at that tomorrow, thanks.
The Battleaxe division were they in North Africa ?
I'm sure I've heard something of that, I'll look it up tomorrow.

You are welcome

Yes they were. Also Sicily and Italy.

Its considered to be one of the best British divisions in WW2

But I guess that will be a bias on my part

You might be able find more members of your family on that site Vintage

nicko wrote:I'd like to thank Didge for giving a perfect insight of my life.  It has been dangerous a lot of times, but interspersed with the knowledge that I belonged to a group of men who would not hesitate to risk their lives for me, as I have done for them several times.I don't know who said this, "There is no greater love than a man who would lay down his life for a friend"I'm going now because I'm crying,=.

You are welcome buddy, some of us are not afraid to stand up for others


You are one of the few people I do actually respect on here, even though are views can be miles apart at times

Started reading up on the Battle Axe Division and note that they fought at Monte Cassino, that was pretty much hell. So many people came back home changed, usually unhappily so for their families.

Vintage wrote:Started reading up on the Battle Axe Division and note that they fought at Monte Cassino, that was pretty much hell. So many people came back home changed, usually unhappily so for their families.

Its very interesting and I love to read personal accounts from such conflicts

Did you look up the website?

Yes, it looks very interesting, I've got it in 'favourites' and will have a proper look in the week.