Coasting or dancing

I came across an old interview with Roger McGough this week in which I thought he said, at the age of 75, that he was “coasting.” I then talked to Dave about the definition of the word coasting with reference to our own lives in retirement, and he and I disagreed - as you might expect.

Then I texted Het who said this:

This morning I tried to find the interview where McGough had said he was “coasting” and I couldn’t. I was baffled because why would I have embarked in a discussion of the word with Dave and later with Het? Where had the word come from?

Was it actually from an interview with Alan Bennet, talking about aging?

I asked ChatGPT and it couldn’t find the word coasting either, though I wouldn’t take the first no for an answer.

OK, so this is what RM did say… 

All of this came about because I was wondering why I was exhausted when I got back from my lightning trip to London. I went on Monday morning and came home on Tuesday afternoon. Het met me at St Pancras at 11.30 and we talked until we sat down in the Royal Opera House at 7.30 to watch Giselle.

Giselle was out of this world - music and dancing. I have never seen it before and it was a beautiful production and I loved it. Loved it.

The next morning we went to see the Tracey Emin retrospective A Second Life, at Tate Modern. When Emin burst into the public consciousness with her bed…

…I knew little about her, and wasn’t impressed with her bed. But since I heard an interview with her a couple of years ago, I have been impressed with her, (and I like her bed.) This is why I wanted to see her exhibition. It’s huge, and includes paintings, tapestries, quilts, the bed, her studio, bronzes, documents, films and interviews. My favourite exhibits were the interview about her abortion, and the film of her dancing. Here is the Arts Council description of it.

She dances beautifully, and joyfully, and I love her message.

I still don’t understand why critics like her paintings, though Het thought this one beautiful:

Is Tracey coasting now? No. She has to spend three days in bed every week because of her poor health, following radical and extensive surgery for bladder cancer, but she is still working, and she is still pursuing her philanthropic work in Margate, supporting young artists, and doing so much more.

I’ve been coasting for three days, which has included two bike rides, one walk and lunch with a friend.

I’m not coasting this morning. It’s not yet eight o’clock, and I’ve already written this blog post and a letter to my “Labour” MP.