Really can’t be bothered writing a proper synopsis of some recent pancreatitis problems, and since I’ve told my sorry story 20 times, I’m just going to say I’m back to 66 kilos from 61 and I’m feeling fine and am already bored of being back at work after an 8 week absence. Have even snuck in a couple of pots of stout this past week with no adverse effects, though I don’t feel I’ve quite got my past liking for it back yet – tasted slightly odd to me.

Driven by an unexpected urge to read about English history, I found myself at the end of Tudor Queen Elizabeth 1st’s reign in 1603 wondering about the possible future of a Catholic or Calvinist England and the origins of Great Britain, and genuinely not knowing the answers. It felt like the ultimate whodunit really. When  the “virgin queen” Elizabeth allowed Mary, Queen of Scots’ execution, she pretty much signed over the English crown to the young James (Stuart) VI, King of Scotland, as she was the last Tudor.

I was dying to know what happened next, and it can be crudely summarised like this:

James VI (Scotland) became King James I of England (you know – the King James bible? Yeah that guy!). He was a great talker, but not much of a doer, and was much unprepared on entry into England for the complexity of the English Parliament and governmental Administration.

Succeeded by son Charles I, who was quiet and economical with his words, and who ruled for 24 years before a Civil War between an increasingly hostile Parliament (steered by Pym) and Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army and the King’s Loyalists began. He was eventually captured by the Scottish army and was handed over for trial and execution.

Oliver Cromwell took over as Lord Protector (wisely refusing to be named King) for 11 years before the “Restoration” began, and Charles’ son in exile Charles II was restored to the position on Cromwells death.

Charles II was a popular and at times ruthless King who restored the Anglican Church to it’s former glory (from Cromwell’s Puritans) and ruled for nearly 25 years before suffering a stroke, and was on his death bed received by a Catholic priest.

His son James II didn’t last long – was Catholic and sought to place fellow Catholics in high positions in Parliament and in the Church.  Was attacked on English soil by William of Orange (the Dutch husband of his sister!) and  forced out of England into exile in Catholic France.

William and sister Mary Stuart ruled as King and Queen for 13 years before he died in a horse accident and the Stuart lineage ended in James II’s daughter Queen Anne.

And that takes me up to 1714. Time for the Hannovers.

I’ve been having blood test after blood test for significantly odd liver readings and they have finally found it. I have Alpha-1! Sounds like I won a prize or something, but it’s really not quite the boon, or shrug-off moment I figured it might be.

There’s not a lot more to say just yet – I am bracing myself for the Spirometry test results on my lungs for genetically derived Emphysema and for a liver biopsy procedure. I have been wheezing a lot lately and using my asthma pump a bit. Apparently sufferers can have either just liver damage or lung damage or both.

The Wikipedia bit that still rings in my head is “but it usually produces some degree of disability and reduced life expectancy”

Let’s just see what happens I suppose. I have been feeling a bit down and out about it tbh but what do you do? Retire early? Woohoo!!

I walked into the Ukrainian Hall in Aberfeldie recently, expecting a Computer Swap Meet-sized crowd, only to find more store holders than customers. There was literally 20 people in the place at 11am on a Sunday morning. I baulked. I’d never been to a Stamp Fair before. I had no understanding of what to bring, how to discuss my revived hobby, or what was allowed between buyer and dealer.

I stumbled forward nervously – there was barely anyone in the large room, and no cars out front. The local teens were smoking on the footpath outside – only a small sandwich board down the street gave any indication that anything was going on. At other fairs, I’d become used to standing and browsing from a distance before being forced to interact when about to buy. BUT THERE WAS NO GETTING PAST THE UTTER INTIMACY OF A SUBURBAN STAMP FAIR – to even look at the books you needed to be introduced or accepted somehow. An overweight and lonely trestle-table owner was eating a sandwich at the rear – it seemed the natural place to go to when each other stall already had a seated pensioner in front leafing through books. I was familiar with some stamp acronyms, but even then I faltered when I mumbled about an interest in KGVs (see pic below) and he didn’t understand me properly.

Both dealer and customer appeared to know each other intimately – for the last 20 years or more. It felt like a hobby that was dying really – and it probably is.

I walked out with about $250 worth of stamps I had been wanting to fill out most of  the remaining chunks of my collection of 1930 to 1965 pre-decimal Australian stamps. By then I’d earned the trust of a few sellers; they let you remove the stamps on your own, and write down the prices on a sheet (at least for the sub $30 stamps) – that felt nice. And boy can they gossip and gasbag – I guess they get bored sitting there for 4-5 hours each time. Now I’m hanging out to get back there next month where I have some of the tougher KGV and Kangaroos to source. The game gets a lot more serious at 50-100 a pop, but I feel a lot safer at the Fair than bidding on an unknown watermark or hinge mark on Ebay.

Who would have guessed that English History would become the object of my interest in 2012? Like most hobbies, passions morph from a subject to an adjoining, related one and before you know it, you’re into new territory. Birds to plants to weather to home vegetable gardens to renewables. See what I just did?  This year it went from a Booker prize winner writing about the Thomas Cromwell, to Downton Abbey to Game of Thrones to The Tudors to the History of England parts 1 and 2. And now it’s The Borgias and a huge volume on the virgin queen Elizabeth I. Kim, sensing the need for new ground, recently bought me a book on the history of Venice, though I confess it may be too much of a jump.

I was a lot happier about my reading in 2012 – probably only a dozen books, but many of them BIG, a far cry from the shameful four of 2011. Fiction has soured for me; I find myself getting bored, or putting it down and then not having the urge to pick it up again. I regained interest in my long neglected (since 1982) collection of King George V stamps, then decided that my old crappy used copies could be upgraded to mint (unused) and so pretty much started it all again from scratch. Then added the Australian pre-decimals, and then the kangaroos. Oh dear. That gets expensive fast – the kangaroos are about $2.5k for a used set, so I’ve come to a bit of a halt on the rarer ones. It’s been quite a blast on Ebay though, but bedtime phone use has skyrocketed.

I nearly forgot, 2012 was the year of the “renovation” – we got a new kitchen and bathroom in November, which are great improvements even if visitors are generally tactful “oh you went for a modern green?” and underwhelmed. We both really love it, so we wonder if our tastes are out of step. The architect Marcus was jubilant at not having to do *another white kitchen* but he’s the only one (of a very small group) who seem keen. I guess people aren’t very demonstrative about things like benchtops and sinks.

Finally Chloe’s panting and thirst got more notable, and after a series of very expensive tests was diagnosed with Canine Cushings disease, which means her liver is in bad shape, and her cortisone levels are sky high. We brought the levels down with daily tablets, but now she’s almost crippled by leg pain / arthritis, and often stands in one spot till she is forced to move with considerable limping. The doggy pram may soon need to be purchased for walks. It’s very sad to see it all gradually deteriorating. Been a good year all round though.