I'VE JUST INVENTED THE BLOBBOGRAPH

This is a new form of graphic communication, (or most probably it isn't), but these two examples of this sort of mutant Venn diagram show some of the differences between the roles in my life before I retired two years ago , and after.

BEFORE


AFTER


So it seems that there could be an analogy between the impact of retirement on my life and that of the internet and its associated technological innovations on the print media. Whereas as one element used to predominate now various differing ones compete and overlap in confusing way and believe me, I wish I knew how to monetise it!

PAIN

This is one element in my whole post retirement way of life that I have not yet mentioned, and the fact that I haven't yet mentioned it might be due to my socialisation, (big boys don't cry etc), and because for me it is a constant background to my waking hours. It is concentrated in my legs and feet and gets worse every day the more standing and walking that I do. It is bearable, I can walk, cycle and even climb stairs, although I am beginning to fear that more and more.

It exhausts me, especially after a six hour shift in the Birkbeck bar, when I can get it, I need a lot of sleep to rest and recover. It slows everything up. it took me hours to get up, do housework and get to College this morning.

http://gptu.net/orjo/WS310025.WMA This is a link to a recording I made whilst throwing the empty bottles from the night before in Birkbeck Bar into recycling bins, which is my first task of the day when I work there as a barman. I doubt if you'd know what it was if I hadn't described it, but it does give a slight idea of what constant background pain is like.

I SEEM TO BE DEVELOPING a TIME LAG And I'm certainly running up a sleep deficit, Sunday (18th May) was spent mainly in the Birkbeck computer rooms finishing off coursework, so no day of rest there. Then Monday was also productive, but I don't mean any Calvinist implication that that is a good thing. On the way to work a Green Party comrade rings me in a rage with another Green Party comrade who has called a meeting to clash with the all important Green Left AGM next saturday. So when I get to Birkbeck I have to compose and send various electronic Fatwas about this, and print out papers and flyers for a London Federation of Green Parties meeting that evening. To do this I have to treck round Birkbeck college searching for a computer room that is not being used for an exam and has any paper in the printer. Then more people come into the Birbeck bar wanting drinks after their exam (see below;)





so I don't get much work done on the laptop. Then I go to London Fed which is surprisingly good tempered, now that the electoral obsessives have had their fix (ie after the Greater London Authority and Mayoral elections on May 1st), we can do some real poiltics and a motion that I wrote re S.African dockers goes through unan nem con. "Gleft/London Federation of Green parties congratulates the Durban dockers of the South African Transport and Allied Workers Union (Satawu), and the police trade union (POPCRU) members who supported them for turning away the Chinese arms shipment to Zimbabwe where it might be used to attack trades unionists and others engaged in the struggle for democratic rights in Zimbabwe. We note that such action would be illegal if taken by British Trades unionists and call for a restoration of the rights of British trades unionists to take solidarity action with other groups nationally and internationally." Prop P.Murry sec John Carver (PP: GPTU) Good drink in the pub afterwards too

This is the Birkbeck bar where I work as a barman, usually it's very quiet in the day, but just this week as exams finish crowds come in to celebrate or drown their sorrows. I grabbed a moment to shoot this with my mobile phone as things quietened down a bit.