About

Hi everyone. For those of you who already know me, you will need read no further. For anyone else…

I retired in 2012, then aged 60, and moved from a busy life and work in Central London, to Beetley, in rural Norfolk. I thought I would start this blog to share my thoughts about life in general, and my new life in Norfolk in particular. My wife Julie is still working, so I am at home most of the day, accompanied by my  Shar-Pei dog, Ollie.

My interests include local and global history, politics, and cinema and film. I also enjoy music; Motown, Soul, Jazz, along with many modern singers and styles.

After 22 years as an Emergency Medical Technician in the London Ambulance Service, followed by 11 years working for the Metropolitan Police in Control Rooms, it took some adjustment to being retired, and not working shifts.

**Update. Our dear Ollie died on the 20th of February, 2024. He is terribly missed. I have left the previous information as it was, as I cannot bear to delete it**

I am updating this info on the 27th of November, 2023.  Ollie is now almost 12 years old, and slowing down considerably. But he is still a great dog to own, and my constant companion. The blog has continued to grow, and I have now posted over 5,000 articles. I currently write a lot of fiction, a bit about films and cinema, mostly short reviews and suggestions; and I did write a lot of anecdotes about my years in the Ambulance Service. I have written a lot about past travel and holidays, and also about architecture. I post a lot about music and songs, those that have a significance in my life for one reason or another. The core of the blog remains the same though; my experiences of my new life in Norfolk, walking my dog, and living in a rural setting.

Over the past few years, I have been adding a lot of photos, and they are always popular.

I have had my blogging ups and downs; attracted some followers, both loyal and fickle, and gained a great deal from the whole process. I have written articles that were published on other blogs and websites, as well as trying my hand at more than 1000 fictional stories and serial episodes. I am pleased to report that I have had two stories published in a magazine, and one article in a book.

If you are considering starting a blog, I would suggest you give it a try. I really would.

It may not change your life. But then again, it just might.

You can contact me at peteypops44@gmail.com

Me with Ollie on the North Norfolk coast
Me with Ollie on the North Norfolk coast

296 thoughts on “About”

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      1. Oh good. I thought’d mean anyone following me would need a new link. You might think on this assumption that was a silly move on my part, but most of my followers are from my old previous blog ( mostly on classical music) and they are all inactive these days; not posting on their own blogs.

        Liked by 1 person

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  16. You take your blog seriously, much the way I do. It’s an art to doing a good blog. I love London and I am using this as a resource as I’m contemplating eventually moving to London or nearby. Don’t really know what I may be getting myself into so I continue to research for now.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. Thanks, Henry. There is not much I don’t know about London, so if you ever want any advice, or to ask about the city, feel free to send me an email. Just type London into my search box to find all the relevant posts.
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. Thanks for your kind words, Amanda. The next episode of The Homestaed will appear soon, but there are many earlier ones to read in the archives. Just look under the ‘Fiction’ Category on the site menu.
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply
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  23. Hello Pete! Nice to meet you. I read your bio. Interesting. Thanks for visiting my blog.

    How is Ollie? WordPress gives us this wonderful chance to meet creative people like you. If it weren’t for WordPress, probably would have never interacted with people like you. It feels great really because I’m back to serious writing on wordpress after a hiatus of 3 to 4 years now.

    You are the first person I’m interacting with after such a long time. That’s why Pete, you will be special.

    Let me read your further articles, and nice to know you more.

    – Anoop

    Liked by 3 people

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    1. Thanks very much, Anoop. Ollie is doing okay. He is quite old now, and will be 9 in February. So he is slowing down a bit, but still my constant companion. I hope you enjoy your return to blogging, but just to let you know that I am having a break from posting that much at the moment.
      Feel free to peruse my archives though, there are well over 3,000 posts to choose from. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
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    1. Thanks very much for the link, Christina. My Ollie is not a pdeigree Sharpei, but he has all the traits of the breed, and his father was a local champion.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      Reply

      1. It doesn’t matter if he has Pedigree or not, Ollie is a beautiful Shar-Pei and he has a gorgeous rare chocolate color that’s quite hard to find in this breed. Is it hard for you to travel with him? I know mine is very curious and stubborn and it is difficult to take him in long trips. Not to mention that he has to check out every single dog he comes across.

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        1. Ollie will travel happily in the car, and is as quiet as anything, lying in the back. He has even been on a boat, when I took him on a walking holiday to the Lake District. He does like to sniff and examine every dog he sees, but is friendly, even though he has not been neutered. I just have to be careful with him on a lead walking near traffic, as he has no road sense at all, 🙂
          Best wishes, Pete.

          Liked by 1 person

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  27. Hello Pete!

    Hope you’re keeping well. I’m not sure whether you remember me, I use to blog at WaywardScribbles. But recently I’ve launched my new website. So it would be great if you could pay a visit and share your thoughts on it. It would mean a lot to me.

    https://waywardscribbles.com/blog/

    Hoping to see you around. Thank you!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. Hi there. I just left a comment on your post. It may be awaiting moderation.
      Your site is bright and fresh, and literature is a hugely popular blogging subject. Good luck with it!
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

    1. It’s a stubby, curly tail. It is full of character though. You can put things in it, and it curls around them, just like the tails on some monkeys. Glad you like my dog. 🙂
      (He is 8 now, that photo was taken a few years ago)
      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 3 people

      Reply

  29. Hi Pete. I see that I “liked” this already, but did not comment. Don’t know why! But I just want to say how much I love and appreciate your blog and your friendship. It has given me a great “lift” at a diffucult time in my life, and indeed given me a new lease of life in giving me the desire to write more Fiction, especially Mysteries. I thank you for that. Although I am, as you know, legally blind, I can just about see your photograph though it is very blurred. Both you and your dog look very handsome. I too am retired, but had a very active life, so now adjusting to a totally different life. Blogging truly is a wonderful way to do it. So glad to have found your blog. It is great.

    Liked by 4 people

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    1. Thanks for those kind words, dear Lorraine.
      It has been wonderful to meet you through blogging, and I am sure that we will remain great friends for a long time to come.
      (I haven’t seen a photo of you on your blog, is there one?)
      Best wishes, Pete. x

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

        1. Save a photo to your computer. Then add it to your WordPress media library from the admin page via Media, then ‘Add New’. When it is in there, edit a post (or create one) and choose ‘Add Media’ from the top menu. Then select the photo by clicking on it to insert the photo wherever you want it to be on that post, 🙂

          Liked by 1 person

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          1. Wow. Thanks Pete. I will have to get someone to do that for me! Looking forward to giving it a go. I am on an iPad though. Let’s see what we can do!

            Liked by 2 people

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  31. Hi Pete,

    Kudos to you for keeping on blogging and having your stories published.
    Ollie is a lovely boy, we send him greetings 🙂 So good of him to pose. I bet he bolted afterwards.
    Many thanks for following my blog.
    Kind regards, Pat

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  32. I admire you already even though I am just getting to know your blog. Thank you for your encouragement and kind words.
    I am a new blogger and just starting to get the hang of it ND I am enjoying every minute of it !😁
    So far… Though.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  33. Hi Pete

    A bit of advice if possible.

    In 2012 I moved CabbieBlog to a self-hosted site. Despite throwing money at protecting the site malware has been inserted for the second time.

    I’m assuming that BeetleyPete is using WordPress to host your missives.

    If so, what paid extras, if any, have you added to your WordPress hosting?

    My new site under construction can be found at:
    https://cabbieblog.wordpress.com

    Regards
    David

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    1. Hi David.

      I use a free software on my PC to combat Malware. It is called ‘Advance System Care’. The free to download basic option seems to work well, though they do constantly prompt you to ‘Upgrade’ of course. I just ignore that.

      I happily used the free WordPress blog option for years, until last January. But then I started to use up too much of the allowed space with my photos. I also wanted to get rid of the adverts that readers see on posts.

      So I upgraded to the ‘Personal Plan’. It is much cheaper than ‘Premium’, but loses the ads, and doubled my space allowance, as well as giving me direct contact with WordPress Help. I will stick with it again in 2020, I’m sure. It costs £3 a month, paid at £36 annually. Considering how much I use and enjoy blogging, I reckon that is great value.
      Once that starts to get used up, which will take many years, I will consider going with ‘Premium’.

      Blogging is my main hobby, after all.

      So that is all I pay WordPress for everything, £3 a month.

      Here’s a link.
      https://wordpress.com/pricing/?currency=GBP&sgmt=gb&utm_source=google&utm_campaign=google_wpcom_search_brand_desktop_uk_en&utm_medium=paid_search&keyword=wordpress%20plans&creative=329692446158&campaignid=647897976&adgroupid=58186199651&matchtype=e&device=c&network=g&cpn=647897976&device=c&pl=&targetid=kwd-81343023804&locationid=9044864&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIpuzJuuS35QIVCcreCh3suAtXEAAYAiAAEgJfyPD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

      Best wishes, Pete.

      Liked by 2 people

      Reply

      1. Thanks Pete
        Like you my home computer is protected, but my self-hosted CabbieBlog site, despite expensive protection has been attacked again, but not via my laptop.
        As I said, with all the ‘extras’ one needs I’m going back to WordPress for my hosting, who, after all, with their basic paid plan gives you most of what you need. So hopefully on 1 November it will go live!
        I originally emailed your gmail about this, have you changed the address?
        David

        Liked by 2 people

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  35. Hi, thank you so much for your comment at our NYC Elopement Blog. It would be great to have one post on your blog about NYC City Hall Weddings. I will be glad to share some interesting stories. Best from NYC.

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  38. Interesting career. Retired Connecticut State Police, 31 years ago. Many jobs and careers since. I do a bit of house & pet sitting to continue to buy toys. Married 54, 3 kids, 9 grands, 4 greats. Traveled to London last year, the entire paternal side of the family from the Manchester area. Migrated to the USA in mid-1800s. Wife a retired Nurse, last 23 years inside a prison.

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