There are two key givens in employment. First, it is the employer who pays; second it is the employer who decides what is to be done. Well, that is the theory. When we employed a local engraver, things did not go exactly to plan... During our first holidays in Tréguennec, goods, guests, and even letters…
The constant hammer
For years three questions have haunted me but now I am down to two. I still do not know why the chicken crossed the road; I have not resolved whether it was the chicken or the egg that came first (based on Aristotelian principles I am told it is the chicken) but I do agree…
The bliss of solitude
One great difference between full time work and retirement has been the amount of time I spend alone. As a doctor and teacher I had a career that involved working closely with people and during my last years at work almost every hour was spent in the company of others. Mostly it was with individuals…
Let them drink tea
What's all this? Joe Collier finds it much easier to create the perfect afternoon tea ritual in France than in England. For around three months each year I live abroad in France, and when away, the ritual afternoon tea gives moments of great pleasure. Preparation begins at around 4.30, so before the 5.00 caffeine watershed. Centre stage…
Same old, same old
Though I'm fortunate to work mostly from home, twice a week I put on a suit and head off to the City. This gives me some credibility with my neighbours, in that I visibly have a proper job and don’t spend my days “fiddling around” as a neighbour once rather dismissively described my working from…
Who am I?
Post election, we find Joe Collier in an introspective mood.. I value change greatly. As I age I look back and delight in how I have and can change, and that this is still going on. Indeed I treasure this capacity. In the last three years I have lost a great deal of influence but this…
Il faut cultiver notre jardin
Joe Collier muses on the contrast between the garden and the kitchen when it comes to contending with the forces of nature. We arrived in our cottage two weeks ago. As usual the thing we did first was to check over the garden and on this occasion the trees were our main concern. Luckily the…
Long live love, long live life!
Inevitably, we greyhares get a bit gloomy from time to time. We are, after all, faced with uncertain futures. But some of the reasons for pessimism are receding. For a start, we now know that as a group we can expect to live much longer than any previous cohort of our age. Overall, by 2030…