The Lemon Fool

I would have been by my mother's bedside when she died.

RC

ReformedCharacter wrote:I would have been by my mother's bedside when she died.

I feel for you. But I'm sure you don't have anything to beat yourself up about. It was only by a very odd coincidence that I happened to be in town when the hospital rang to say that my own dad's time was nearly up, and so I was able to be there though the final night. Wasn't an easy passing, unlike my mum, who slipped away quietly in her sleep. Took me a very long time to get over it.

It was the night that England lost to Portugal in the 2006 World Cup. A very warm July night, and all the windows on the ward were wide open. Funny how these things stick in your memory?

BJ

ReformedCharacter wrote:I would have been by my mother's bedside when she died.

RC

I had just arrived in the USA on a business trip, when I got the call that she had passed away suddenly. Fortunately one of my cousins was able to step in and take charge of things until I got back. She has recently been widowed, and I am determined that she will never feel lonely or unloved.

TJH

ReformedCharacter wrote:I would have been by my mother's bedside when she died.
RC

I feel exactly the same about my dad. I left him in his hospital bed, with the lame excuse I had a call-out - I was a telephone exchange engineer at the time. I've just been listening to Mike & the Mechanics 'The living years' and it's heart-breaking. Having said that, even after 40 years, he still guides my actions, I just wish I had thanked him.

I wish that I’d spent longer learning about business rather than simply working hard in the family business. Working hard simply isn’t enough, but when you get your nose to the grindstone its difficult to see the bigger picture. I can see that successful people are fundamentally very good at doing business; not always tremendously skilled at whatever it is the business is producing as an end product. It still bothers me to the present day.

happydavid wrote:I wish that I’d spent longer learning about business rather than simply working hard in the family business. Working hard simply isn’t enough, but when you get your nose to the grindstone its difficult to see the bigger picture. I can see that successful people are fundamentally very good at doing business; not always tremendously skilled at whatever it is the business is producing as an end product. It still bothers me to the present day.

Perhaps, but what is the bigger picture? Money or happiness, very few gain both, but judging by your name, I think you might have achieved the ultimate,(I hope so) so don't beat yourself up. My name sounds like a disease

happydavid wrote:I wish that I’d spent longer learning about business rather than simply working hard in the family business. Working hard simply isn’t enough, but when you get your nose to the grindstone its difficult to see the bigger picture. I can see that successful people are fundamentally very good at doing business; not always tremendously skilled at whatever it is the business is producing as an end product. It still bothers me to the present day.

Hmm ... I think you may be doing yourself a great injustice. The is no real replacement for experience, in my experience. A general who has fought in the trenches, before promotion, will have a front line understanding of the impact of the orders [s]he gives. Will every order they give be perfect? No. But it's highly likely that the orders will be tempered with a better understanding of what is being asked. I appreciate that's all very much of a generalisation(that was awful I know ) but I believe that probability will support leaders who have risen through hard work and ability.

I can't recall who said it ... a golfer if I recall correctly ... (and golf is a good walk ruined ) ... sorry I digress .. he said "the more I practice, the luckier I become".

Anyways ... please don't underestimate your own abilities. Much of the time those who look as if they know how to conduct business have little or no clue. They are just better card players. Ultimately though they will eventually be dealt a poor hand they cannot deal with and will find their fall rather large.

AiY

AsleepInYorkshire wrote:I can't recall who said it ... a golfer if I recall correctly ... (and golf is a good walk ruined ) ... sorry I digress .. he said "the more I practice, the luckier I become".

Geoff Boycott always attributed it to Gary Player, IIRC.

didds

didds wrote:

AsleepInYorkshire wrote:I can't recall who said it ... a golfer if I recall correctly ... (and golf is a good walk ruined ) ... sorry I digress .. he said "the more I practice, the luckier I become".

Geoff Boycott always attributed it to Gary Player, IIRC.

didds

Boycs is apparently incorrect - see https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/07/14/luck/

The golf walk one is covered here - https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/05/2 ... good-walk/

PinkDalek wrote:Boycs is apparently incorrect - see https://quoteinvestigator.com/2010/07/14/luck/

Shurely shome mishtake !|!

LOL

Silly old Boycs..
https://www.huxleygolf.com/news/cricket ... golf-green

didds

1. Take credit where credit was due rather than assume others knew I did the work
2. Leave the UK before I was 25 (I left when i was 30, now 57)
3. Learnt to play a musical instrument proficiently
4. Become an Aerobatic pilot decades before I actually became one
5. Take more risks in life
6. Do what I wanted to do rather do what was expected

I was on my way, driving to London, to see my Dad when the hospital called to say he'd died. After I'd had a sob in a village car park en-route, I continued to London and to the hospital to collect his things, also to see his doctor. Only to have to wait around for over an hour because the Dr wasn't available, which wouldn't have mattered had I not told the car park attendant I'd only be about quarter of an hour (so when I got back, the attendant had moved my car to somewhere inaccessible for me so have to hang around for another hour waiting to be able to get to my car and drive away). After Dr and moi chatted and I thanked him for looking after Dad, I was just about to leave the hospital when the receptionist asked how I'd like to pay the invoice. I provided my address and asked it to be sent to me. Shock horror: his BUPA membership hadn't covered him for what had unfolded so what with the cost of a private ambulance to take him from the old people's home and the ensuing medical bills, the whole lot came to getting on for 20K.

---

Do differently? It was only the other day I was thinking about that. Now that we (including Mrs Bnc) are planning to move, the prospect of the cost of transporting my book library (mostly reference books and non-fiction) and whether to remove net of things no longer needed or gross and prune after moving sprang to mind. Looking at the books I've never read but bought for the future, I concluded that as not only do I rarely have time to read anything like as much as I used to and second-hand books are effectively worthless, I would've done better to have spent the money on buying shares instead. At least with shares even if they go down from what I paid there is no physical occupation that costs on removal. Glancing around and estimating around £5,000 on books, plus several thousand more on other things for which i don't have time to get my money's worth out of, I could, for example had I followed through some advice I was given years later to have bought shares in Greggs on the IPO at about the same time as I started writing my newsletter to clients, 1000 shares at circa £1.35 would have first risen to £35 a share, then split 1 for 10 risen again to £24, in all around I estimate fifty grand. Over the years, i've earned more than 50K from work received from my newsletter but that's not the point. The books haven't paid dividends and I did not forsee, perhaps no one other than in the IT world, just how much useful info could be had on-line at the touch of a button.

Talking of shares another thing I would've done differently is not venture into the high risk world of junior mining companies. Yes, I shouldn't have sold some to buy Mrs Bnc's Christmas present only to find day after selling the sp rocketed. But really I shouldn't have got sentimental about Gippsland but sold when I got my money back rather than hold on for better days ahead, only to lose out when the Egyptian government seized the assets. Where there's hope there's life : https://icsid.worldbank.org/en/Pages/cases/casedetail.aspx?CaseNo=ARB/18/22

Women? No regrets, different packaging and innumerable permutations but fundamentally the same so having had more than enough, but not as many as Tony blackburn's rumoured 500. I am content to be faithful to Mrs Bnc, whilst running a mental slide rule over a prospect and leave it at that. I still keep in touch with the first Mrs Bnc, pretty good I reckon to remain on friendly speaking-terms after 41 years since divorce.

Health-wise, my long term approach has held me in good stead. For example, i avoid getting emotional about the weather. 'Twas 32C when I drove into town earlier, adorned in my usual heavy jacket, sweater and t-shirt, trousers, pants and socks, shoes. Actually the jacket itself is light, what makes it heavy is what I keep permanently in the pockets: for example umbrella, secateurs, camera, tons of loose change, torch, etc. Only the other day after I'd taken from a pocket a heap of coins to pile in my outstretched hand so that a shopkeeper could take some money to pay, I was asked if they could have more of the change. I declined saying that if the weight in that pocket were reduced then I might keel over from the weight of the other pocket

The only thing I occasionally tinge of is that my misspent financial youth and failure to live within my means means that I cannot afford to retire. i don't want to retire but it might've been nice to have had a choice. Looking back when others were working and I took the occasionally day off during the week to visit a National Trust property or a long weekend holiday somewhere I was young enough to over-spend, enjoy the experience and be able to find a parking space. Whether I should let it be known that Mrs Bnc and I have lunched in the regular haunt of Sir Philip Green in Monaco is something else to think about. Heigh ho! "Premium Bonds" means never having to say you're not looking forward to next month.