The archive
Everything we have published
Recovered articles from Middle Aged Free and Single, preserving their original dates and perspectives.
339 stories · Page 9 of 29
Day Tripper
Yesterday I took myself off to York for the day. One of my New Year’s Resolutions was to get out and about more. But what with one thing and another, it hasn’t been easy… My first memory of York was a school trip. The teacher took us to a…
Choosing a Tradesperson
I want to replace my front door. The day we came to view the house, in early Spring 2013, I remember saying, as we walked up the front path to the front door – ‘That’ll have to go’. That was more than 7 years ago. Hasn’t happened yet. I’ve…
A Year of Kitchen Designing
It’s a year today since I started work as a kitchen designer for a major DIY chain. I needed a job, because my husband had left me. We ran a limited company together – and that was my only source of income. When he told me he was leaving,…
Corona Curves – Progress
Here’s my diary for the first 10 days of attempting to lose my Corona Curves . But first a bit of history. My normal weight, from about age 14 until I was about 45 was 7 ½ stone. I’m 5’8” tall. I was basically skinny. So skinny that…
Life After Lockdown – The Fitness Studio Owner
Take a look at her ‘Life Under Lockdown’ post too! The Rollercoaster and the Sycamore Tree by Jules Parry Finally, after three months of me jumping around in my makeshift fitness studio (aka our garage), and me talking to myself and a…
Blackberry Picking
It’s blackberry season. There’s an abundance of them down by the Leeds Liverpool Canal, just a stone’s throw from where I live. It’s a very pleasant way to spend a summer’s evening. It brings back a lot of memories. It was an annual…
A Yellow Handbag Day
Yesterday afternoon, after a morning spent hoeing and weeding and cutting the grass, and a quick bite of lunch, I went Out. I decided a few days ago that I wasn’t going to let this day off just evaporate without doing something. I’d…
Corona Curves
Or Covid curves. Or love handles. Or middle-aged spread. Whatever you want to call it – I don’t like it. I’m 6lbs heavier than I was pre-Covid – and it all seems to be round my middle. It’s not a lot, but it needs to be sorted out. So –…
999
At 2 o’clock this morning I had to dial 999. It was a hot night, and I already wasn’t sleeping. But if I had been sleeping I’d have been woken by loud voices on the road outside. Male voices, yelling at each other. I assumed it was just a…
Husbanding my Resources – Still
I’m still husbanding my resources . And still very aware of the irony of that statement. Last year, when my husband had just left me, I needed to try to live as frugally as I possibly could. I cut back on the amount of money I spent on…
Supernumerary back to South Africa
The States , South Africa , back to the States , and now back to South Africa. Backwards and forwards across the Atlantic. My first husband was in the Merchant Navy, and I spent the first three years of our marriage at sea with him. This…
Here We Go Again
Here in West Yorkshire – and specifically in the Bradford area – we’re in Lockdown for the second time. Things had started to ease – I’d got my hair cut , the gym had re-opened . Life seemed to be getting back to normal. Now, with just 2 ½…
