These may be my last 20 years but I am looking forward to them. Why? Because I have 70 years of experience, knowledge and insight to see me through! How will my last 20 compare with the first 20? How have the intervening 50 years helped me? Can people in their first 20 years benefit from my experience?
Website themes/pages
Living On A Low Income
How have I been able to make savings? My experience as a pensioner and private tenant with a lower than expected disposable income.
Life in Newton Abbot
I was born here of an old Newtonian family and look likely to spend my last 20 years in the town. What it used to be like and what it could be like. Newton Abbot
Life in London
I lived in London from 1975 to 2004, including 22 years in a council flat in a tower block, and enjoyed it immensely; a greater contrast than Newton Abbot would be difficult to imagine. Clubs, theatre, cinema, gigs – I made good use of what London had to offer.
Energy & Climate Change
My university education and work in the field of energy, climate change and sustainability have given me insights into one of the most difficult challenges of the next 20 years, together with an ability to explain complex matters in a way that can easily be understood – and acted upon.
LSE Diary
What was it like to be a student in London in the 1970s? Transcripts, thoughts and lessons from my diary recording a life of gigs, bars, clubs and the occasional lecture! Life at the London School of Economics.
50 Years of Photos
I consider myself an enthusiastic amateur and have taken photos since the mid-1970s, including of my life in Devon and London and of my trips to places like France, the USA and the West Indies.
Ents: Music, Film, TV, Books
I worked on the fringes of the music business in the 70s and 80s and keep up to date with music; what will I be watching, reading and listening to in the next 20 years?
Morning Thoughts From A Devon Sitting Room
My diary – recording my life in the next 20 years. Health, housework, paying the bills, politics, current affairs – anything that pops into mind with my morning cappuccino!
Recent NOTES
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How will you cope with laundry in retirement?
Now that I am in my 70s I must be careful with money, but that does not mean I should skimp on washing clothes. How did I prepare for doing the laundry in retirement? And what have I learned from the past that will help me save money?
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A nightmare in the suburbs?
Looking forward to a quiet day ahead – and which horror film series to watch this evening: Nun I & II? Insidious I, II & III? I suspect it might be A Nightmare On Elm Street…
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My energy bill is reducing!
Looking forward to getting out of the house for the first time in a fortnight, and concerned with all the negativity out there about energy prices. I will benefit enormously from the removal of the gas standing charge.
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Coffee: an affordable luxury?
One of the savings I have made at the beginning of my last 20 years is coffee but I still enjoy three cups a day at home. I am hopeful that I can continue to enjoy it for many years to come, but income – and coffee machines on the verge of breakdown – are…
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Trinidad garden
A tropical garden in Sangre Grande, Trinidad. I loved it but made the mistake of picking an extremely hot chilli with bare hands – and eating it! Needless to say I was forced to repair to the only bar in the village for a Stag.
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Gas fires: turn off the pilot light – it may be using more gas than you think
Is using the gas fire a sensible use of my money in my last 20 years? What about my well-being? In October 2026 I undertook an experiment: during the chillier days of autumn would I be better off having the gas fire on during the day and the central heating on only in the evening?
50 YEARS OF PHOTOS
No.16: Fingle Bridge Inn
1989: The Inn at Drewsteignton, Dartmoor, with the River Teign in full flood.
NEWTON ABBOT notes
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Demolition of the Royal Mail Sorting Office, 2005
Newton Abbot July 2005 and the ‘modern’ sorting office is demolished to make way for Asda. Progress?
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The bus station and the tax office – the sad tale of a valuable local amenity that was turned into an eyesore
I have many memories of Newton Abbot bus station spread over some decades and, like many townspeople over a certain age I still regret its passing.
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Newton Abbot in Old Pictures: Market Square in 1989
A busy Market Square in September 1989. Far more stalls than you will ever see now! Do you recognise anyone in the pictures?
LSE DIARY
What was it like to be a student in London in the 1970’s?
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Court, money, potential home, Peter Gabriel & another night in B&B
Homeless in London part 6. morning at the court, grant & wages cheques, unhappy Professor, abortive home visit & another night in a shabby King’s Cross B&B – but the chance of booking Peter Gabriel!
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Told my story in court; sympathetic Judge wanted action; brief optimism
Homeless in London part 5: 26th. April 1976. Today I felt temporary relief as I was finally able to tell my story to a judge, who made a clear decision to find our landlord and bring her before the court. However, things did not go entirely according to plan.
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Five days of hell: no home, no possessions, courts, police, heavies at the door – and a car chase
Homeless in London part 4: 24th. April 1976. Five days without a change of clothes, roaming the street for much of the day, visiting umpteen people and organisations that seemed powerless to help – and a car chase around Stoke Newington. Being homeless is painful, tiring, squalid and I felt very much alone.
MUSIC notes
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An Old 45’s Ecosystem?
From staring out of the window at almost motionless clouds I find myself thinking about my old 7” singles – and how the music world is a fine and complex mesh that could be described as an ecosystem.
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Of all the hugely underrated British music artists…
I have enjoyed a great day of listening to music on my HiFi, mostly records but also a bit of streaming too. Whilst on a nostalgia streak I was reminded of the excellent and underrated Graham Parker.
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My Groovy 45’s No.2: Kansas City by Wilbert Harrison
My second featured 45 from my collection is the first chart-topping version of a 1952 song written by Leiber & Stoller. Back in the days when R&B was raw and ballsy…
PHOTOGRAPHY notes
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Trinidad garden
A tropical garden in Sangre Grande, Trinidad. I loved it but made the mistake of picking an extremely hot chilli with bare hands – and eating it! Needless to say I was forced to repair to the only bar in the village for a Stag.
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If you have images on Kodak Photo CD’s, chances are you can no longer access them. What do you do?
Kodak CDs were great in the day and a very convenient way to keep your photos safe and looking good. HOWEVER, almost nothing can ‘read’ Photo CD files nowadays. So how can you access them?
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Merrivale: A 5,000 year-old Dartmoor settlement with stone rows, cists, cairns and a solitary menhir
What inspired people nearly 5,000 years ago to build stone rows, stone circles, standing stones and all the other features that can still inspire us all these years later?
A small selection of themed photography pages
Food!
Garden flowers
Shadow & Light
So who is Colin Anderson?
A Devonian with stories to tell and a love of history, science, philosophy, environment, & entertainment.
An increasing number of people I know are either down the rabbit hole or caught in its event horizon, which I find distressing. I prefer the real world and, like a frantic sponge, I cannot help but soak up knowledge, insight & quality.
Which I like to share…
USA 2016 travelogue
Scotland 2022 travelogue
