Wednesday 2 September 2020

Older, perhaps wiser

 ...or should I say: 'Proof of Life'...

I was a bit distressed to learn that an old mate of mine who had recently been in the 'Lundas' in NE Angola sorting out a hydro project, and had fled back to UK with a severe bout of malaria, was discovered by his sister dead in his rooms.  I did not have the heart to ask if he still had his boots on, but knowing him, I bet he did.

I have passed by the barber's since this was taken last week.  Doesn't do to cut my hair too often, or wash for that matter, confuses the dog...

27 comments:

  1. Ker - rikey ....he lives.....good to see you.

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  2. You look very well Tom , it’s nice to see

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  3. I'm so glad to see you! I've been wondering about you for years now and I truly hope you'll resume blogging (at least a little bit) to update us on your life these days. You've been very missed! As John said, you look good. Nice looking dog, too.

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  4. Have you become the leader of Luanda Boy Scouts Association? No wonder you couldn't find time for blogging.

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  5. That sure don't look like someone who has assumed room temperature.
    Shit, even the boots are looking mighty shiny.
    Glad to hear "Reports of your demise were greatly exaggerated"
    Your boys Alex and Dom must be all grown up.. and your daughter must be three?? by now??

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  6. Is it really you or a ghostwriter?

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  7. Nice hat, nice boots, not sure about the dog.

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  8. So nice to see you looking so healthy Tom, I was fearful that you had died !!!
    Did those seeds I sent you for the red flowering Poinciana and purple Jacaranda trees ever come to anything I wonder. cheers

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  9. Looks like you, sounds like you. Welcome back.

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  10. Glad to know that you are alive and well. Nice photo BTW.

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  11. You can’t keep a good’un down.

    LX

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  12. Great photo! Good to see you.

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  13. Replies
    1. If I may say so, Rachel (and long may the moment live you left me a comment on this very blog ages ago) you are a master of stating the obvious without offsetting it.

      U

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  14. You never used to have comment moderation.

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  15. In the interim hours since first reading this blog post, it's come to me why I find the above photo of you vaguely disconcerting.

    The Khaki and the boots. What is it with types of "uniform"? Just married, I and my freshly baked husband, on holiday in Andalucia, found ourselves at a police station in the red hot midday sun. Some sort of driving misdemanour. The guy in charge, representative of the Guardia Civil and at least a good ten years older than me, flicking through the paperwork, whilst, quite deliberately in that self assured yet almost lazy way, working his magic on me sitting across the room. Let's just say that I wouldn't vouch for myself had we been alone. It was dynamite. Neither would he have needed to take his boots off.

    U

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    1. Incorrigible. Let us hope your man can chew everything he has bitten off.

      Congratulations! Hals und Beinbruch.

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    2. Thank you for your good wishes, Tom.

      Alas, what I related took place when I was twenty seven. In the intervening years no legs were broken, a lunge to my neck I took in my stride, and the divorce was amicable.

      U

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  16. I was never aware of your blog until I read John Gray's post yesterday about you. A lot of people are glad to know you are alive and well.

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  17. @ Rachel. I guess that is because I am older. Thank you for noticing and reminding me of the fact...

    When I looked at the blog again, I realized two things:

    First, the last real post was five years ago when I treated meself to a pair of new boots. A lot has happened since then and looking older is the consequence, but still preferable (since we cannot wish ourselves younger) to the only other alternative.

    Second, I had over 10,000 comments, 99.9% of them spam. I quickly grew tired of trying to delete them, all the time wondering why blogger could not pick up such fairly obvious key words as 'Sex' (something Rachel, as you have kindly pointed out, is evidently beyond me anyway), 'Investment Opportunity', 'Poker Online' and 'Lawn Care', and protect me from being spammed to death.

    But (a shudder from Yorkshire Pudding, starting a not only a sentence but a paragraph with 'but') while doing this I noticed that Blogger was deleting the genuine messages, at random, I wanted to keep and did not ask to be deleted. So rather than lose messages from people kind enough to take the time to contribute (even those imputing a loss of virility), I initiated comment moderation and immediately ran into another problem.

    @Everybody:
    Now, only 50% of the comments I mark as legitimate actually make it to the post. Ursula is an avid poster. Only one of her comments made it to this post. I have read these comments as part of the moderation process so did enjoy them, but am distressed to think that you, the posters, might assume that for some obscure reason, I eliminated them at the moderation stage. Far from it, I am being Buggered by Blogger.

    So, I am divesting myself of comment moderation and exposing my nakedness to fate.

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    1. "Buggered by Blogger" is the best thing I've read lately. Hahaha!

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  18. So good to hear you are still with us! I've missed your writing. I am still waiting for the book.
    We're also seriously considering a move to the lower continent should idiocy trump sanity for another 4 years here.

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  19. One of my goals in life, is to die with items on my to do list, sounds like your friend might have done so

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  20. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  21. I had thought you must be at the bottom of a ditch after someone knocked you on the head to steal your treasured boots. But I guess the Yorkshire man in me always looks on the dark side. Good to see you back and looking Jolly smart to

    Andy

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  22. Just popped by to see if you'd started posting again and you have! hope all is well
    SBW

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  23. Bloody hell, he lives!!
    Tom, what a pleasure it is to see you posting again. I used to check in every day, then every week and now, boom! You're back.
    I gave serious thought to flying out to Angola to find out whether you'd shuffled off...

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