World Of Winfield

World Of Winfield

James Went To Palermo, Sicily

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And finally I start writing about my holiday to Palermo, in Sicily. I’ve got into this groove of going away late March, to celebrate the end of my detox, and also to try to find some warm sunshine. In 2022, there was no shortage of sunshine in Las Vegas and San Diego. In 2023 there was likewise no shortage of sunshine in Malta. Yet there is no guarantee of warm sunshine anywhere in Europe in late March…it needs a bit of luck, and a good weather forecast. Having just had a sudden stratospheric warming, I thought this ruled out Spain … Continued

Achieving Emotional Stability

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Those that know me well know that I’ve had my ups and downs over previous decades – not depression, but I’ve had some emotional struggles at times. But it’s kind of struck me recently that actually, I feel like I’m achieving emotional stability. What happened? Having My Own Space Holy cow, having my own flat, my own space – being able to do what I want to do, when I want to do it, is so refreshing. I can play music when I want to, at the volume I want to, do the washing up the next day (or never … Continued

Beating The Match.com Promotion

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I was reminded of this exchange with Match.com recently, and realised that I had never posted it. Basically, back when I thought I was vaguely dateable, circa 2017 (and I didn’t even own property back then), I came across a special offer from Match.com which was that if I didn’t have a girlfriend by Valentine’s Day, then I’d get a full refund. Challenge accepted! How hard could it be to still be single 6 months after signing up? Refund Request to Match.com Dear Match I succumbed during a weak moment of loneliness around a year ago into signing up for Match.com. I … Continued

Welcome to Croydon

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Another one of those posts that I meant to write a long time ago – like 4 months ago, but hey, Welcome to Croydon. I arrived in November, after living in the south of Spain for nearly a month. Once the initial wonder of actually having my own place settled in, albeit I’d had my own place(s) in Spain for the previous month, I was wondering around in the cold and dark, wondering what kind of place Croydon was. I was a little unnerved – appreciating the M&S within walking distance, but really missing Spain. Christ, what am I doing … Continued

Detox Is Over…Long Live Retox

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Detox is over…long live retox. The feeling is a bit like moving into my flat…phew…it’s over. What took it so long? Yet it officially ended on Monday, and it took me two days to celebrate it. At first I really wasn’t feeling it. The first few weeks of January I was pretty miserable – memories of 4 weeks in Spain were long gone, the weather was cold and crap, bills were flooding in, I didn’t do as much as usual – little in the way of trips to theatre, etc – and I couldn’t have a beer. It almost put … Continued

How Many Holidays Could I Have In A Year?

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Back in September, when I was on the beach in Gandia, I started to think how nice it would be to have one week’s holiday every single month. Alas, 5*12 does not go into the 25 days’ holiday allowance that M&S offers. So how many holidays could I have in a year? Definition Of A Holiday I guess we need to start by defining a holiday. I think it needs to be some stay away from home, which isn’t my parents home, for a minimum of 2 nights.. So a weekend in Devon, staying Friday and Saturday night is a … Continued

2024 Goals

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Yay it’s one of my favourite blog posts of the year – that of my 2024 Goals. I try to ensure that I can track every one of these goals, yes I do have too many spreadsheets and keep too much data. I should get out more, but also I now have an expensive flat so I shall go out less. There’s only so much I can do in a year – this is to try to ensure that I get maximum enjoyment out of life, but also improve my conditions so that I can continue to enjoy life even … Continued

Review Of 2023 Goals

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So in 2022 I managed a 61.6% success rate in terms of reaching my goals – could I beat it in 2023? Time to review and see how I did: Health Lose 12kg. Well I actually lost weight in 2022. Not quite 12kg, but 6kg. Happy with that. 50% success. Do 3 forms of exercise that are not walking. Lol, maybe in 2024. 0% success. Get some data on my health. Well I’ve started measuring my blood pressure. 33% success. Find out what sorting my teeth out will cost. I did send an e-mail to a private dentist but didn’t … Continued

23 Moments Of 2023

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Welcome to my moments of 2023 – as usual these are not highlights, though most of them are. They are the most important moments of 2023 in my life. I achieved some pretty whopping things in 2023 – bought a flat, left Harrow, spent 6 weeks in foreign countries including living there. And I damn well enjoyed quite a lot of it. However, it all has to be taken into context with the first of the 23 moments, and pretty much the first thing that happened in 2023. 23. Heart failure So my sister took herself to hospital on New … Continued

Favourite Things Of 2023

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So I thought I’d do a little collection of my favourite things from 2023. Starting with food, because, well, it’s like the most super important thing ever. It really is. Believe it or not, I need food more than I need holidays. Favourite Restaurant Meal I’ve ticked off quite a few restaurants this year, not as many as I’d like to as my socialising tends to be focused around the Sunday roast. Some of them are pretty ordinary yet good, like Honest Burgers, Brindisa, Ceviche, others a little disappointing like Steak & Co or German Gymnasium. Butchie’s did some amazing … Continued