A decade ago Pullyman – aka Michael Cowin – was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease, a condition that affects people in different ways. Michael discovered writing and Island Life is featuring some of his musings. Sometimes topical, sometimes nostalgic, read about life as seen through the eyes of Pullyman

Have you made any New Year resolutions?

I think that I’ll just give up giving things up.

The trouble is that the onset of old age and infirmity has severely restricted me from doing most of the few things that I still have the ability or the agility to think of doing.

I gave up tobacco over 50 years ago, and the small amount of alcohol that I still drink is hardly worth the effort involved to even think of giving up.

I suppose that I do eat too much chocolate, and I am very partial to an apple turnover with stacks of cream, but now that I have reached the age of 78, I think that it’s not going to make much difference to my state of health if I have a couple of slices of belly pork every so often.

When you think about it, it’s fairly easy to give something up, but the hard part is giving it up for more than a couple of days.

But there is the other kind of resolution that is a little bit easier to stick to.

Taking something on and doing something new.

For example, taking more exercise.

You don’t have to rush out and start shopping for lycra, just take a walk round the block every day.

If you use the bus, get off at an earlier stop and walk home, or if you arrange to meet a friend for a coffee each week, change the venue and walk a bit further.

The main thing is, don’t set your target too high or you will lose.

Start slow and grow bit by bit. Remember, the main thing is that you have to really want to succeed.

If you don’t mean it, don’t try it. You can guarantee that it will fail.

If you want to give something up, or make an important change to your lifestyle, New Year is usually the time that we would take as a cut-off point.

But whenever you start, take it one day at a time. Time soon passes.

I find it hard to believe that it was this time last year that I was trying to psych myself up to the idea of giving up driving.

I was still ok (in my view), and the medical was fine, but common sense was telling me that it was time to stop.

I always listen to my inner voice and, here we are, a whole year gone.

Have I missed driving? No. Do I regret my decision? Not at all.

Do you remember the Ten Commandments? You must do, or was all that religious instruction at school wasted?

From what I remember about such things, if the human race had taken any notice of the commandments we would all be a lot better off.

No, I don’t mean that we would all have 50-inch television sets and new cars, but the world might have been a safer place.

What was that bit again about thou shall not kill, and thou shall not steal?

I think that I read somewhere that now they teach something called humanities instead of Religious Instruction.

I wonder what went wrong with that idea?

So, what about these New Year resolutions? Are you going to make any?

I was giving the whole idea some thought and it suddenly struck me that most of us make what I would call selfish resolutions.

In other words, you would be making an effort to improve your health or well being.

So what about making a resolution that will make some difference to someone else.

Say ’good morning’ and smile at someone who serves you in a shop.

Call on a neighbour who lives alone. Make a phone call to someone that you haven’t heard from for a while.

You could even make time to have a regular get together and chat with other folk who remember the days of the sadly missed No23 bus.

Just give it a go.

You could get a pleasant surprise. Or not.

Happy New Year!

Have you made any New Year resolutions?

I think that I’ll just give up giving things up.

The trouble is that the onset of old age and infirmity has severely restricted me from doing most of the few things that I still have the ability or the agility to think of doing.

I gave up tobacco over 50 years ago, and the small amount of alcohol that I still drink is hardly worth the effort involved to even think of giving up.

I suppose that I do eat too much chocolate, and I am very partial to an apple turnover with stacks of cream, but now that I have reached the age of 78, I think that it’s not going to make much difference to my state of health if I have a couple of slices of belly pork every so often.

When you think about it, it’s fairly easy to give something up, but the hard part is giving it up for more than a couple of days.

But there is the other kind of resolution that is a little bit easier to stick to.

Taking something on and doing something new.

For example, taking more exercise.

You don’t have to rush out and start shopping for lycra, just take a walk round the block every day.

If you use the bus, get off at an earlier stop and walk home, or if you arrange to meet a friend for a coffee each week, change the venue and walk a bit further.

The main thing is, don’t set your target too high or you will lose.

Start slow and grow bit by bit. Remember, the main thing is that you have to really want to succeed.

If you don’t mean it, don’t try it. You can guarantee that it will fail.

If you want to give something up, or make an important change to your lifestyle, New Year is usually the time that we would take as a cut-off point.

But whenever you start, take it one day at a time. Time soon passes.

I find it hard to believe that it was this time last year that I was trying to psych myself up to the idea of giving up driving.

I was still ok (in my view), and the medical was fine, but common sense was telling me that it was time to stop.

I always listen to my inner voice and, here we are, a whole year gone.

Have I missed driving? No. Do I regret my decision? Not at all.

Do you remember the Ten Commandments? You must do, or was all that religious instruction at school wasted?

From what I remember about such things, if the human race had taken any notice of the commandments we would all be a lot better off.

No, I don’t mean that we would all have 50-inch television sets and new cars, but the world might have been a safer place.

What was that bit again about thou shall not kill, and thou shall not steal?

I think that I read somewhere that now they teach something called humanities instead of Religious Instruction.

I wonder what went wrong with that idea?

So, what about these New Year resolutions? Are you going to make any?

I was giving the whole idea some thought and it suddenly struck me that most of us make what I would call selfish resolutions.

In other words, you would be making an effort to improve your health or well being.

So what about making a resolution that will make some difference to someone else.

Say ’good morning’ and smile at someone who serves you in a shop.

Call on a neighbour who lives alone. Make a phone call to someone that you haven’t heard from for a while.

You could even make time to have a regular get together and chat with other folk who remember the days of the sadly missed No23 bus.

Just give it a go.

You could get a pleasant surprise. Or not.

Happy New Year!