Contemporary Retirement Coaching Blog

Virtual Vacation

I want to live by the sea.  Or, at least, within sight of a large body of water.  I've managed it twice in the past but haven't been able to sustain it. 

I lived in Eastbourne on the South Coast of England when I was much younger and, more recently, I lived on the Isle of Anglesey for a couple of years, with a glorious view of the Menai Straits from the balcony of our apartment.  Every day, I used to stand and look at the water - which was less than 100 yards away - and think how lucky I was to be living there.  It was a dream come true.  I used to wake up in the middle of the night and peep out of the window, just to see the moon on the water.

I think it must be because I'm Scorpio - a water sign.

An ex of mine had a boat on Lake Windermere in the English Lake District and some of my best memories ever are of sitting on the back of the boat, on its mooring in the middle of the lake, and loving how the motion of the water turned the boat slowly around in one direction and then back again in the other.  I would always be attempting to read a book and failing miserably because the scenery was irresistible and the water itself was so beautiful that I couldn't take my eyes off it for long.

I'm determined to live on or by the water again and, next time, I'll be staying put.  Until then though, I've discovered that I can get little 'fixes' via webcams.  So, for example, today, I ate my lunchtime sandwich checking out Lake Windermere via the webcam at Low Wood Hotel and Marina. 

Tomorrow I might decide to have my coffee break surveying the splendour of the Gulf of Mexico via the Island Inn webcam on Sanibel (another favourite of mine).  And who knows where I'll be the day after?  Maybe a beach near you... just look up at the webcam and give me a wave!  I promise I'll wave back.

The Retirement Show 2011 in Manchester

The Retirement Show is coming to Manchester on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 March 2011.  As usual, the venue is Manchester Central (formerly GMEX) and it'll be open from 10am to 5pm.

I have it in my head that it has always been free entry in the past, but I could be mistaken.   On-line pre-registration is now open (please click here). (You don't pay anything on-line, only at the show).  When you pre-register, you'll receive ticket vouchers through the post, which will allow you to gain entry to the show for only £5, compared to £10 for non-registered visitors.

The entry fee includes the Show Guide Magazine (normally £2) and a complimentary visitors' bag. By pre-registering, you will also be able to gain entry to the show more quickly on the day.

The Retirement Show is the UK's largest exhibition for active over-50s, and provides a full day's worth of fun, activities and information. Well-known exhibitors include BT, SAGA, Age UK, RIAS, Girlings, Warner Hotels, Women's Weekly and Prudential, with many other companies also confirmed.

The popular Fashion Show will return after its success in 2010 and a major park and holiday home area with a full-sized holiday home will be at the show. Other features include a two-day seminar programme, cookery theatre and guest chefs, a Health Zone with free health tests, dancing demonstrations, dance and activity sessions and art classes and - new for Manchester - a climbing wall... (and they've had a 76-year lady get to the top of it - you're never too old!).

Full details on the show in Manchester can be found on the show web site (click here) - including the video of last year's show.

Interesting Lives - Rita Golden Gelman

"I am a modern-day nomad. I have no permanent address, no possessions except the ones I carry, and I rarely know where I’ll be six months from now. I move through the world without a plan, guided by instinct, connecting through trust, and constantly watching for serendipitous opportunities."

Rita Golden Gelman has been living a nomadic existence since the day in 1986 when, at the age of forty eight and on the verge of a divorce, she looked around and thought, "There has to be more than one way to do life".

Find out more about Rita's 'way to do life' via her website: http://www.ritagoldengelman.com/

Travel insurance with no upper age limit

If you live in the UK and are looking for European travel insurance with no upper age limit on single trips, check out EHICPlus, which has been featured in the Daily Telegraph, the Daily Mail and The Guardian.  (This is not an affilliate link.)

The Shirley Valentine Syndrome?

Here in the UK, a 44-year-old actress in one of the nation's popular soaps has been hitting the tabloid headlines because of her romance with a Moroccan man almost 20 years her junior.

This (I suspect) inspired a Mail Online article entitled: Why does every middle-aged woman think HER holiday seducer is the real deal?, which recounts how 'seemingly sensible and middle-class British women' are opening their hearts (and, sometimes, their bank accounts) after falling 'for no more than a pair of flashing, dark eyes, a mouthful of white teeth and an endless stream of compliments' on foreign holidays.

So what do you think?  Are these women ridiculous and gullible or are they to be congratulated for taking a grab at an opportunity for hope, romance and happiness?  Would love to hear your opinion in the comments section below...

Quick Links

From Mail Online:  Ear popping, jet lag and dry skin - how cabin crew beat the travel blues

Want to cut your stroke risk? Get your hiking boots on!

A large, long-term study of 39,315 female health professionals, with an average age of 54, has found that women who walk for an average of 2 hours or more per week have a 30% lower risk of all types of stroke than women who don't walk.

The study also found that women who were brisk walkers (3 miles per hour or faster) have a 37% lower risk of any type of stroke than non-walkers.  Find out more here.

The Roving Wrinkly - keeping on, keeping on

When Mary Edmonds' husband of 40 years died in 1993 she 'cried enough tears to sink a battleship' and felt that nothing would hold any joy for her any more.  She knew that she was sinking into depression and it was really only the responsibility she felt towards her children that forced her to pull herself together. 

She returned to her job as a teacher for a while but found she couldn't settle and, when she saw a magazine ad by a voluntary organisation looking for people to teach English in Moldova in Eastern Europe, she embarked upon an adventure that was to change her life. 

Now, aged 79, Mary is still travelling - often solo - and she's about to have her first book, 'The Roving Wrinkly', published later this year.  Read Mary's story here.

The London Retirement Show 2010

Pre-registration for the London Retirement Show, which will take place on Friday 16 and Saturday 17 July at Olympia, has opened in the last few days.

When you pre-register, you can gain half-price entry into the show (for £5 rather than the normal £10), and you will receive a free show guide magazine (which would normally cost £2). Entry is free after 3pm each day (but this, too, requires on-site registration).

Features of the show include perennial favourites like the fashion shows, cookery demonstrations and have-a-go dancing and, this year, the organisers have arranged to have a super-safe climbing wall at the show, for more adventurous visitors to try.

In addition to the climbing wall, other new features will include a Motor Zone featuring both classic and modern cars, a Travel Theatre, a DIY Advice Depot for visitors to get advice on their do-it-yourself tasks, and a prize quiz at the end of each day. These new features will run alongside other show favourites, including the free health checks, a major park and holiday home area, have-a-go t'ai chi and yoga, an arts and crafts area and the gardener's question panel.

You can pre-register at http://www.the-retirement-show.com/london/london.htm and receive vouchers in the post that allow you half-price entry.

Grey Sea Nomads & Retirement Sea Change

Are you looking for an out-of-the-ordinary retirement living experience?  If you are, I heard about one the other day that you're going to find pretty hard to beat!

Vic and Ann Zurek are, originally, both from the UK but they met each other in Australia many years ago.  They raised a family and, once the kids had grown up and left home, they started to think about early retirement... but they wanted a retirement with a difference.  It took five years of research before they found a lifestyle that ticked all their boxes but the good news is, they have no intentions of keeping it to themselves as they've turned their dream into a unique, not for profit, retirement option for over-fifties.  This is what they say about it:

"About five years ago we enjoyed a voyage aboard a huge Indonesian sailing vessel for three weeks. It was our best vacation ever, with only four suites on the boat, more crew than passengers taking care of our every need, anchoring in the most beautiful spots, pristine beaches, dinner ashore, and nobody for miles around. Sailing from island to island, experiencing different cultures on each, friendly locals, it was most idyllic time we have experienced.
 
We dreamed of doing this round the Pacific and beyond, so for the last five years we have researched how it could be done. Not only how it could be done, but how to do it for the rest of our lives. We found it is possible, to live life in luxury on a pensioners budget and see the world at the same time."

Has your appetite been whetted?  Check out Ann and Vic's website, Grey Sea Nomads & Retirement Sea Change to find out more, but save a cabin for me, won't you?