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.

You may have noticed that Christmas is coming.

Although, if you own a TV, you’ve probably been looking forward to the festive season since the end of September.

Children everywhere will be sending texts and e-mails (or whatever they use today), to Santa Claus with their lists of this year’s ’must haves’.

Poultry farmers will be gazing lovingly at their flocks of free-range turkeys.

One day last week, I read in the papers that the banks were in trouble because they have just increased the credit card borrowing limits for many of their customers. Apparently, they haven’t had their knuckles rapped, not because they are encouraging folk to spend even more cash that they don’t have, but because they increased the card limits without the permission of the card holders.

I don’t know if the Bank of England has any say in the matter, but the next day we are told that they are concerned with the rise in personal debt.

We’re all doomed, so why worry and, anyway, you deserve that new car.

And just look how much you’ll save if you sign up to that new leasing scheme. With a bit of luck, you should have enough to pay the deposit on that special offer holiday that you like the look of.

One of the problems families today have to face is that buy now, pay later schemes are being dangled in front of them whichever way they turn.

Why not have that new furniture? The repayments don’t start until next year.

Now I think that it would be safe to say that many of the folk who read the Pullyman column will fall into the age group known as ’mature’, and sometimes, as a group, we tend to be just a tiny bit judgemental.

A question that us wrinklies often ask each other over a cup of tea and a biscuit is: ’would you swap generations and be young again, or would you rather stay where you are?’

Despite the unavoidable fact that, because of our age, we’re all on the ’short list’, I have yet to find someone who would jump ship and change sides.

There is just no comparison between then and now. When Pullyman and Brown Eyes tied the knot, we set up home in an old cottage in Greeba.

It was a two-up, two-down, with an outside toilet and a 6ft by 8ft kitchen, which was also our bathroom, and was fully equipped with a sink and a cooker.

But the one luxury that elevated our cottage from a cold, draughty, leaking hovel to a warm, draughty, leaking home was the big open fire. It gave us heat, and the back boiler gave us hot water.

From memory, the rent was £3 per week, and rates were about £20. In round figures, rent and rates for the whole year came to £175.

When fine son number one was on the way, Irene did what most young wives used to do in those days. She stopped work and for the next15 years or so she became what was known as a housewife.

Every spare penny was used to buy, maintain, and improve our ancient cottage where we were to live for 46 years.

We had been married for 35 years before we had our first holiday. We worked long and hard for everything that we needed and everything that we achieved. But we had no debt.

Sometimes, folk of our generation are accused being too critical of the lifestyle and behaviour of those who have inherited our Earth. But we must always remember that our children learn by example.

Our parents fought and worked to make life easier for their children. Likewise, we did the same for ours. But sadly, when things are made easier to achieve, they soon become a demand, and not a reward. Easily available credit becomes the norm, and not the last resort.

For once I have no easy answer!