Panic

A sense of panic has set in. The Nespresso coffee machine has just failed after the Gorse Fox went through the descale cycle.

Phoned the technical help desk and they are collecting the machine tomorrow - and providing a replacement while it's being fixed. Still, the Gorse Fox has to complete the day without the requisite infusions of coffee-based caffeine.

While talking of panic, GF notes the email he received from Old Father Time(OFT) this morning (subject was GF's impending retirement):

"Well done Granddad, you've made it.
Be warned, it's a holiday at first, then the shock sets in. You become a 'non-person' outside society, no status. Being 'Retired' carries a stigma... 
A hobby won't suffice, no interaction with colleagues, no mutual respect.
After a year I looked for work. Agencies told me I'd be a threat to whoever was reading my C.V. - No have chance, you will have to lie in the C.V. or work for a charity.
Don't despair, it passes... Then you start to not give a (expletive deleted) when you realise most retired people are hard up and you ain't! 
Good luck mucker... Going out with your slippers on and fly undone becomes a habit."

Perhaps a little cynical - but that's OFT for you!