32 years later..........

Well today was my last time of wearing uniform.  Almost 32 years to the day of joining the RAF, I put on and took off my uniform for the final time.  It has to be handed in on Monday, evidently the Queen sells them on eBay, and I will have to wear civvies for my last three days at work.

At the end of recruit training at RAF Swinderby, nearly 32 years ago!

Having to decide what to wear in the mornings is just one of the many challenges that I am looking forward to in the future.......although I’m not sure I will get it right every day!

Enjoy your weekend.

Just for the Love of it!

Having spent long periods of time out of the country over the years, often in areas that have poor lines of communication in comparison to being back here in the UK, I have sometimes totally missed out on some of the news stories that have taken place in my absence.

It is only this week that I have heard of the “Moneyless Man”.  Mark Boyle was someone who set himself the challenge to live a whole year without spending a penny - this was back in 2008 - and as far as I know he is still living the same way.  I am reading his book (of the same title) at the moment and it is a fascinating account of how he set about and met this challenge, in a World driven by money.

You can find out more about how he achieved this and the ethos behind the challenge he set himself at the following website: Just for the love of it.

But living without money isn’t the most interesting part of the story, it is the ‘community’  that he has set up both online and in the real world.  His Freeconomy is a place where you can offer any skill, a tool, a space in you house, just about anything to anyone else within the community.  It costs nothing to join the community and anything you offer on there is for free , expecting nothing in return (just for the love of it).  And of course you can search and find any skill that you may require yourself - and you would pay nothing for it.

This site isn’t about bartering, it’s about giving.  Giving to your community and to your fellow man.  

On the other hand, the current government has it’s “Big Society”, which is meant to involve local councils, charities and local volunteers running local services  - "What this is all about is giving people more power and control to improve their lives and communities." - but it is seen by many as a cover up for cuts in spending.  The Big Society lacks form and substance and, as far as I can tell, hasn’t really taken off. 

With many people struggling with money at the moment, shouldn’t we be looking at going back to the old style community where neighbor helps neighbor, not for money - a freeconomy - just for the love of it?

Oh so busy!

I’ve had a few comments about the lack of posts on here over the last two weeks, well that’s because I’ve been oh so busy.

I’m pleased to say that after an intensive 6 weeks of courses I am now a fully qualified Personal Trainer with further qualifications in ‘spin’, circuits, kettle-bells, sports nutrition, weight management, etc, etc and I have further courses booked for both ‘Suspension’ and Mixed Martial Arts, which I should complete by the end of the year.

Being back in work for my last 4 weeks in uniform  I have come to the conclusion that it is probably harder to leave the military than it is to join……well from the paperwork perspective anyway.  But that last day is rushing towards me now and I will soon be able to step out into the light. 

In the meantime I am closely monitoring the availability and prices on the second-hand yacht market and I’m pleased to say things are definitely going well if you are part of the buyers market, with plenty of bargains out there, particularly in Greece for some reason.  I also had a great day out at the Southampton Boat Show recently and although the yachts there were a little too pricey for my liking, there were plenty of gadgets and gear to admire and ponder the usefulness of for my future vessel.

I hope to have some more photos to put up on here shortly as I am away this coming weekend and have plenty of plans for the future which will also involve my cameras (I haven’t forgotten the surfing shots either…….I’m just waiting for the photographer to sort them!!).

Right, back to being busy…………