So here were the random subjects that came to mind and they are so random that they just show how my mind works or doesn't work depending on your viewpoint.
Suits
Derek Osborne
This morning
Price of things
Superstition
Suits - at work I often had to wear a suit. It was in the days when suits were worn with smart shoes and ties rather than with open necks and pumps as seems to be the fashion today.
Nowadays I seem to only wear a suit for weddings, occasionally for funerals and on the odd occasion for presentations, but rarely out of choice and only when I feel it's expected of me.
I think suits are gradually becoming things of the past and I'm certainly not sorry about that.
Derek Osborne - Derek was Rector of Cromer when I worked and lived there 50 years ago. On many occasions he was also my Sunday afternoon tennis partner. He must have fitted a couple of hours tennis in between morning and evening services. Derek was a lovely man. He often sang hymns whilst we were playing. One day he was warbling All Things Bright and Beautiful when I smacked a serve against his head. He turned round, rubbed the spot I had hit, smiled and continued with the next verse.
I have to say he is the only person I've ever hit with a serve in over 60 years of playing the game. I can only think that his singing just put me off but I promise you I didn't hit him deliberately (or did I - you will probably never know).
A few years ago we were in Cromer Church and asked one of the guides about Derek. He was still very active at the time and it would have been lovely to have met him again. Sadly that never happened and I subsequently found out that he died two years ago.
This Morning - I of course refer to the ITV morning programme formerly co hosted by one Phillip Schofield. This programme illustrates one of my real dislikes in life and something I waffle on about quite a lot. I refer to theory being very different to the reality.
Watching This Morning you get a picture of bonhomie. "My goodness I would love to be on television in a fun show like that. Everyone seems so nice," I would say to myself. Take Christmas morning - there was lots of hugs and kisses and opening of presents. Now the show has been described as toxic with a culture of bullying. In other words not a fun show at all
I hate the portrayal of a perfect world you get from shows like This Morning and The One Show and adverts. Adverts are full of fun and colour - yes of course they are. There's one particular advert that really annoys me (actually there are lots of adverts that really annoy me). This one involves men and women doing ecstatic jigs because they've just sold their car. I have sold a number of cars over the years but never felt like breaking into a dance when they have gone. Unfortunately the world isn't like the one portrayed in adverts or on This Morning as we all quickly find out.
Sadly however far we have moved forward with human support, there is still a culture of bullying in many working environments.
The world that is projected to us is so often far from the world that exists.
Price of Things - Before heading off for North Norfolk on Bank Holiday Monday I watched BBC Breakfast where they were talking about the spiralling costs of a family day out.
Visits to zoos, pleasure beaches and other places are becoming very costly. Obviously these places have additional costs to meet but it's one of those difficult situations when the more they charge, the less people they attract. It becomes a vicious circle.
For instance, on the way to Norfolk we pass a family attraction called Roarr with two rs. It used to be called the Dinosaur Park. A day entry for two adults and two children is likely to cost £80 and that's just for entry. An annual pass for a family is likely to cost £300.
This kind of cost level is becoming commonplace. People are now having to think twice before setting off for these attractions I now more and more weigh up whether something I want to go to is value for money. Even amateur groups are now charging up to £20 for concerts and presentations etc.
Historian Lucy Worsley is touring the country to talk about her biography of Agatha Christie which I read earlier this year. But I don't want to pay over £30 to attend in Norwich and I'm sure many others feel the same way.
Many families are finding much more cost effective ways of entertainment. Beaches are free (mind you many sting you to park the car). Walking in the countryside is free, public parks are free.
We have an annual subscription to the National Trust which is cost effective because a one time annual fee gives access to hundreds of places throughout the country.
Sadly I think many family attractions will lose customers and some will be forced to close.
Superstition - I have lots of superstitions when I'm out. You know the kind of thing. On pavements not stepping on cracks, seeing a manhole cover and deciding you have to step on it with your left but not right foot. Now the interesting thing is the last of these is purely from my own mind - something I make up as I walk along. It's potty and I know it but I do it every time I go out.
Now it's moved inside. There's a metal strip in the door well to our bedroom. It just holds the carpet in place but I have decided that on the way out of the bedroom I mustn't stand on the metal but on the way in I have to stand on it but only with my right foot.
What on earth does that say about me? Answers in the comment section please.
And that's more than enough for today. For a little light relief I hope you enjoy some of my photos taken in Sheringham Park (free access but car parking charges which you don't have to pay if you are a member of the National Trust).
I'm quite pleased with some of them which certainly makes a change for me.