Sep 4th, 2015
Author: donich_admin
Not quite as expected….
When I was a child I lived in rural Cumbria, and my dream was always to live in a big city (preferably London). I was going to be a barrister and live in a smart apartment with a fancy sports car, wear designer clothes and go to the theatre and the opera a lot. I spent quite a lot of time trying to iron out my Cumbrian accent, and even more time reading books I didn’t like and watching opera I didn’t care for (Wagner’s Ring anyone?) so that I could talk about them in an intelligent (perhaps) fashion afterwards. My big dread was that I would end up as an accountant living in a semi-detached house somewhere in suburbia…
Anyway, time happened, and life happened and somehow I didn’t become a barrister, don’t drive a car (well we have a Land Rover but R drives it because I am a useless driver) and don’t possess any designer clothes (I have one M&S suit in case a client visit is required). I go to the theatre about once a year and I don’t think I have been to the opera in 20 years – the last time was to see the Mikado in Darlington and that wasn’t what I had in mind when I was 18. Unfortunately I got rid of the Cumbrian accent too effectively and now I would like it back I can’t get it. I read the books I want to which are generally history, fantasy and programming (not all at the same time) – whether I talk about them intelligently I will not try to judge.
But I didn’t end up as an accountant, and I don’t live in suburbia. We have a house on more than enough land to keep us busy. For a living I try to break peoples’ websites (I will emphasise here – only when they ask me to!), which is pretty interesting really and makes enough money not to have to worry about it. Every morning R and I step out from our door and go for an hour’s walk through some of the loveliest countryside in the world and then I sit in my office and watch the squirrels and the jays going past.
So actually I’m pretty glad I didn’t get the apartment and the designer clothes…
Off to Glasgow to buy some new trail shoes tomorrow, and then Sunday we are going to have a go at Beinn Bheula.