And so........................redundancy looms

I was looking forward to picking the time and method by which I chose to give up work, but alas, it has been chosen for me.

After 13 years with this company, I've been made redundant - although I have a few weeks yet, before I actually leave work.

so, what of the future? I must admit that, at the ripe old age of 65, I'm disinclined to look for another job. Indeed, the chances of me landing another decent job at this age is very remote. The increasingly poor state of my wrists precludes me from doing anything too manual, and I really don't think I'd have the patience with other people to do something like part-time shop work.

So, what do I do? I now have the opportunity to try and make something of my little craft business. At the present time, I've been a bit hit and miss with it. I've made stuff when I've had time, sure, but I've not done a lot to promote it, or myself.

Well, now I will have. I will probably split it into 2 separate businesses - one for jewellery, and the other for other hand-crafted items. To me this makes sense, as it will enable me to build more clearly defined brands, instead of it being a mish-mash of ideas all under one 'roof'.

If you've not yet had a look, then please follow the links scattered all over this page to my little Etsy shop. If you have any suggestions or ideas that will help me, please pass them on. I'll be really grateful.

Of course, I'd be even more grateful if you either buy, or commission something!

I will also have more time to pursue my Buddhist studies. Whether this will make me a better person, is open to discussion. I will also not have the finances to travel quite so much as I do at present, so I was really grateful that my last trip to Wales a couple of weeks ago happened in good weather, and was truly memorable. So my other blog, My British Isles, will probably feature more local places from now on.

Actually, this won't be a bad thing, as I've very much neglected the South East so far in the blog, and it has a lot to offer.

Mind, if I'm not working, it will make sense to sell one of the bikes - not purely for financial reasons, but, if I'm not working, I won't actually NEED two bikes. It will make sense at some point to sell the CBF1000 in favour of the Hornet. Although the bigger bike is better in a lot of respects, the Hornet will be cheaper to run, and it is newer, has a lot less miles on it, and has not suffered the indignities of a British Winter so much. And I proved on the Welsh trip, that the little Hornet is more than capable of distance touring - and it's certainly a lot of fun on tight, twisty mountain roads.

So, there you have it. Let's wait and see what 2014 brings

Om Mani Padme Hum