No.107, Tuesday, 24th. March 2026

My last journey out of the home and into town was on 4th. March, so I am long overdue a visit. Today, it is my intention to meet up with friends I have neglected for nearly three weeks. Why do I venture out so infrequently? One reason always in the background is that I love my home, but the main reasons are lack of cash and what might be called character flaws.

Before retirement I would be in the pub two or three nights after work. I enjoy beer, cider and conversation. It was good to let off steam and listen to other workers whose employers were as bad as mine, if not worse. Many years ago my partner pointed out an aspect of my character that I had not thought about: I could not have one or two pints in a pub. I would need at least three. She was not pointing this out as a character flaw or as a negative trait. It was simply an observation – and she was right.

Now that I am retired I simply do not have the cash to visit a pub as and when I would like. I have to budget, and at the moment that means 2-3 visits a month, provided I limit myself the three pints a visit. I find that clinical and sad, but I do not let it get me down.

Another ‘flaw’ I have is that when I am enjoying myself I like to enjoy myself some more, and that is what happened on 4th. March. A most enjoyable afternoon that broke the bank, consequently my self-inflicted isolation. Some might say that I could get on a bus and go out for a day, but I cannot simply do that. Why? Because if I’ve made the effort to travel to Teignmouth or Totnes or Chudleigh I would have to visit a pub, if only for a rest. And that, I suppose, could also be called a character flaw.