Categories: Life

Stuff and Nonsense

Excess tools, some of which I inherited from my father, have been donated to charities that refurbish them and find useful homes, particularly in underdeveloped countries, where they can help change peoples lives.

Cuddly toys can be donated to dog rescue charities, or similar, where they can become much loved friends.

We now have nothing in the attic except for lots of insulation! Nothing stored under beds, nothing on top of wardrobes and I can find things in my shed!

We are not perfect by any means. I do have 2 suitcases lurking in a wardrobe. One is filled with artifacts from my time in the army, one is filled with what I could not bear to part with after I cleared Dad’s stuff when he died.

I also have collections of coins and stamps that have not been looked at in many years, an old reel-to-reel tape recorder, in the shed, with tapes of American Forces radio from when they broadcast non-stop music with very few interruptions. What a joy it was!

But there is the whole point! I do not need the tapes to help me remember what a joy that time was. The memory is enough in itself. The tapes are just stuff.

Whoever has the task of sorting through my stuff in the future will probably just think “What is all this nonsense!”

P.S. Anyone want a collection of old badges?

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Peter Matthews

After an idyllic childhood, spent in the wide-open countryside of Staffordshire, Peter left school in 1964 with no idea what he wanted to do. To give himself time to think, he joined the Army and, 28 years later, he left, having served as an electronic engineer and a military accountant. As he still had no career plan, he took a 50% cut in salary to work in education administration, but left after two years, having become disillusioned by consistently having to make teachers redundant in order to balance the budget. Peter moved to Methodist Homes for the Aged. Peter joined MHA as they were moving income processing into their Head Office. He enjoyed a unique, and very satisfying, opportunity of learning a role, recruiting someone to fill that post, and then moving on. As the organisation grew, so did the Income Section, and Peter’s role within it. Peter retired on 19 January 2012 having particularly enjoyed interviewing and mentoring during his unplanned career. He feels privileged to have served his country, his community, and older people. In retirement, Peter keeps himself busy with gardening, a daily walk, a little photography and an active blog. He also continues to help older people as the hands-on Chairman of the oldest charity in Nottingham. Peter admits that his life, so far, would have been so much poorer without the love and support of Erica, his wife of over 40 years, and his daughter Claire. He apologizes for having dragged them around the world! Please check out Peter's website. You can also reach him via email.

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  • I've done that sorting after my parents passed away, and I've done more than my fair share of accumulating stuff. I've had it in the back of my mind that my son deserves that experience, too, but now you've got me thinking seriously about starting on my attic, darn you. And then on the garage which hasn't held a car in decades. Wanna come over and help? Your expertise could be just what we need!

  • I shall keep a look out for the ticket in the post! Sue Ranscht kindly advised me on my Bio content. Thank you Sue. My apologies for mostly ignoring your advice.

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Peter Matthews

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