No.97, Friday, 13th. March 2026

My strategy for keeping my mind in good working order seems in general to result in greater activity in the morning in comparison with other periods during the day. Writing this is one example. Another morning task is to update my energy spreadsheet, which involves transferring data from my energy company app and checking that it seems okay.

Later in the day I hope to read my weekly newspaper, an actual physical paper delivered every Thursday (or Friday at the latest) since 1982. I might even attempt the crossword. Today I also need to tidy up my website; I changed the colour scheme yesterday as well as quite a few other design attributes, but had to leave it looking untidy late last night. I will also check my 1976 diary to see if there is anything of interest that will form either a ‘note’ or an ‘article’ on Substack. That will inevitably involve a certain amount of research.

Today my mother will be with me, which diverts me from personal activities for 4 hours or so. I will be glad to see her. After she leaves I shall have to think about dinner, and at the very top of my mind these days is how much it will cost to cook. Frozen fish and chips is expensive – the oven will be on for some 30 minutes at 190ºC. Pizza is less expensive, requiring 180ºC for 11 minutes. A can of soup is a cheap option – microwave in 3 minutes, but that was my ‘dinner’ yesterday.

So, I would like to think that my attempt to keep my brain active is working, not only for reasons of utility, but also to stave off any form of dementia. I suspect that most retired people of a certain age are thinking the same thing, even if they keep it to themselves.