Game, (Re)Set & Match?

Debbie Harris 
July 2024  •  2 min read

Game, (Re)Set & Match?

It seemed rather fitting that on the day Solomon’s bid farewell to our office in SW20, Andy Murray bid a tearful farewell to the green grass of SW19 (not to mention it was also the day we had a changing of the guard in parliament … but that’s a blog for Dominic to write!)

I met Andy well over a decade ago (before he won the coveted Wimbledon championship trophy) and he was a really down to earth guy.  I was relieved to see that despite fame and fortune, during his post match interview after his foray into the doubles tournament with his brother Jamie, he seems to have retained that ‘average Joe’ attitude to life.

I wish him well for the future and I feel confident that he will remain in the public eye in the sport that he loves, but I actually wanted to talk to you about our office move to the leafy village of Cobham in Surrey.

As much as we loved our office in Raynes Park (it was the firm’s home for 17 years), we had started to outgrow it. And growth is a good thing! Our new space in Cobham is a wonderful place surrounded by nature and shrouded in the history of the area. You can read about ‘The Old Mill’ here.

Just like Mr Murray, it will take us a little time to adapt to new routines and arrange things so that the new office feels like ours, but it opens up new opportunities for us as a firm providing a more flexible space for us to be creative and productive.

As with all change – there is a feeling of having a ‘reset’ … it’s why I love Mondays so much (and the first page of a new notebook!). The team here don’t all necessarily agree with me about ‘the Monday thing’ but there is a freshness about starting something new – the novelty factor – that gives us an extra spring in our step and a little more focus.

We are hopeful that as we move forward in our new ‘home’, we will continue to do better and to challenge ourselves as we aim for excellence in everything we do for you.

We would love to welcome you to our new offices in the coming months – whether it’s for a meeting with one of our advisers or just for a coffee and a chat!

Game, (Re)Set & Match?2024-11-19T16:46:53+00:00

Tilly – the day my dog died

The day my dog died

You may have met Tilly, my golden cocker spaniel… well in truth she was a mix between a Cocker and Springer (a ‘Sprocker’). She often came with me to the office and (being a little too friendly) may have greeted you or been ushered into one of the other rooms.

Tilly was my first dog, after much ‘discussion’ and persuasion, I eventually capitulated to the calls from my family to take the plunge. That was back in 2009. I can tell you that the reasons for my reluctance to become a dog owner were largely right, but also totally wrong. The daily walks come rain, shine or snow did me enormous good – indeed much of this quiet time was spent thinking about how I could help clients, develop the business or simply be a better human.

Tilly became a companion and the phrase ‘a man’s best friend’ resonated. Not a human friendship of course, but one of complete acceptance of me. During lockdown, I took to posting rather more pictures of our walks together as I’d been encouraged to do so – some found it helpful to see the normality of a middle-aged bloke walking his dog. You can see many of them on my social media accounts should you wish to.

On holiday this summer it became evident that Tilly was not well. We returned home a day earlier than planned for a trip to the vet. Suspicions were confirmed and drugs to help with eating and weight loss prescribed. A couple of weeks later, she was in a poor state and reluctantly we made the decision to say goodbye. The vet said that this was definitely the right thing to be doing. I called my family so that they could all come home to say goodbye.

It was horrible. I suspect many of you have had such an experience, it’s horrid. There is the lingering feeling of ‘was this really the right thing to have done?’; to have been alive one moment and gone the next, so suddenly.

I was struck by my own feelings about the loss; genuinely deeply sorrowful. I could reflect on many lovely memories, but was acutely aware that this part of my journey was at an end. I found myself replaying that last day over and over in my mind – could I and should I have done things differently? The thing is, as we all know, it’s all so final isn’t it?

To be clear, grief isn’t a new experience for me. Sadly, over the last 30 years I have lost several close family and friends, and another dear friend in February. Not people from the expected older generation and not dying of ‘old age’, but invariably very sudden and catastrophic changes in health. These are experiences that many of us have had, and all of us have in the end.

Tilly

You can read more articles about Pensions, Wealth Management, Retirement, Investments, Financial Planning and Estate Planning on my blog which gets updated every week. If you would like to talk to me about your personal wealth planning and how we can make you stay wealthier for longer then please get in touch by calling 08000 736 273 or email info@solomonsifa.co.uk

Tilly – the day my dog died2023-12-01T12:12:43+00:00
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