A Retirement Blog by Caree Risover

  I came across something not so long ago (not that I can find it now) that suggested one of the ways to keep oneself happy and alert at Christmastime in retirement is to embrace new traditions. Something of an oxymoron there I thought, as I pondered on all those nostalgic rituals of Christmas past and thought no more about it. Buried in the recesses of my mind, however, here we are a matter of days before Christmas and I keep coming across novel experiences for this time of year and suddenly find myself contemplating whether or not they should be adopted for the future. To be fair most of it I certainly don't want to repeat. Like this morning when I took the youngest to a walk-in vaccine centre back at the local auction house in Leyburn. Nothing Christmassy there, you might think but we wandered into their cafe afterwards for coffee and mince pies. It must have been the list of events on the glossy page left on the table that inspired me; film showings, festive teas, speciality au...

  There's a certain sense of déjà vu at present. The moment the current incumbent of the office of Prime Minister stands before a lectern and tells us that we won't be locked down for Christmas, you inevitably fear the worst.  When he tells you to work from home (I always do in my minimal role as Parish Clerk) but still go to the office party (there are no other employees to party with), you know you are probably going to be in trouble. When he urges the whole country to join "a great national fight back" against Omicron and to "carry on giving it both barrels" by queuing up for a booster vaccination (fortunately we had ours several weeks ago) and by testing constantly, you can't help wishing a serious adult rather than somebody who apparently thinks visiting Peppa Pig World is a great way to spend the day, was in charge. It was left to the Chief Medical Officer to pick up the pieces and recommend that sensibly we should prioritise our social contacts an...

   Sort Your Life Out is the name of a television programme, an episode of which is being transmitted this evening. It's not what you would describe as riveting viewing. Indeed there's a definite sameness about each instalment when Stacey Solomon and a team of decluttering/organisation experts help overwhelmed households empty the contents of their homes into a giant warehouse where they reduce their possessions by at least 50% before restoring those they retain into some kind of order within their property.  My digital TV Guide gives it an excellence score of only 1.2 out of 10 which is probably about right. As somebody who continues to make slow but steady progress in reducing her own collection of stuff, I confess that I still find watching it a little compulsive. Moreover that is despite the fact that I haven't even picked up any good tips or ideas. What it does, however, apart from feed the voyeur within, is offer comfort in droves. I now take solace from the knowled...