A Retirement Blog by Caree Risover

I do want to devote entries on this blog to our trip to Norfolk and Suffolk and they would, of course, have come earlier had I not succumbed to tonsillitis last week. It never fails to surprise me how much the different areas of Britain differ, a fact that is all the more surprising when one considers how small our country really is. However, it was a point that truly proved itself during our visit to East Anglia. It is perhaps twenty years since we last visited Norfolk so we expected changes and I confess that, save for Southwold, I do not recall visiting Suffolk before. I planned our route and booked a variety of hotels and gastro-pubs with rooms in advance, finishing our visit by staying with good friends who have recently relocated to a small village close to Woodbridge. Our accommodation did not disappoint and I can thoroughly recommend the Kings Head at Letheringsett, The Norfolk Mead at Coltishall and The White Horse Inn at Sibton. The food was excellent at all of t...

Having planned to do more travelling in retirement than ever before, I have recently come across the hazards of packing. Determined never to repeat the inglorious incident from ten years ago of departing in a mad rush on a fly-drive holiday  without my driving licence, I have been trying to pack in advance and with reference to a list. Sadly I still seem to fall short of a 100% success rating.  On our recent trip to Albania and Greece , I ticked everything off on my list only to find that medication I take for my under active thyroid had mysteriously disappeared from my bag. A similar situation arose a couple of weeks ago on our journey around Suffolk and Norfolk . I was certain that I had packed the charging lead for my camera after it had initially fallen out and I found it lying on the floor near the front door. Indeed I could remember picking it up and placing it in the car. Strangely it was not there when I needed it, upon arrival in our first hotel. ...

Oh dear, I have been ill with tonsillitis. Something of a surprise, as I  hadn't  had even the slightest hint of a sniffle since finishing work in June 2014 but I suppose it had to happen one day.  You know what though? I have discovered that being ill can be a lot worse, as was the case in my previous life when I still dragged myself out of the house to fulfil commitments at work. These past few days I have simply taken it easy.  There’s nothing I now do in retirement that can’t wait for another day. Guess what, taking it easy has aided a speedy recovery  too. I'm not sure why I have reached this stage of my life without previously discovering that.

We returned earlier this week from 10 days away, travelling primarily around the coastline of Norfolk and Suffolk. We forget, sometimes, just how interesting our own country is and often how little we have seen of it, in the mad dash to experience distant cultures and kinder climates.  Why travel? What do we want from it? What is our strategy? Yes Mister E and I were considering these questions whilst travelling around Albania  and I have continued to ponder. Whilst away this time, however, I came across the following quote by the renowned post-war Italian poet, Cesare Pavese: "Travelling is a brutality. It forces you to trust strangers and to lose sight of all that familiar comfort of home and friends. You are constantly off balance. Nothing is yours except the essential things- air, sleep, dreams, the sea, the sky- all things tending towards the eternal or what we imagine of it." A path to the eternal or the imagination of a spiritual plain; I h...

With the European migrant crisis dominating the headlines all summer, I have been moved to take action. Whilst I do not wish to over commit myself with voluntary work, Save the Children, founded as a result of famine following the First World War continues to be active throughout the World where children are suffering and has been appealing for Community Campaigners. The role involves liaising with the media, lobbying Members of Parliament and networking both in person and online in order to raise awareness.    I applied and, despite a very early train journey, attended an Induction Day in Edinburgh. It was lovely to meet so many committed people of all ages and backgrounds and I only hope that I can play my part to help alleviate some of the horrors that have filled our television screens of late. In addition I have also taken on the role of Parish Clerk for the Civil Parish in which I reside, after an appeal for a v...

During a career of perusing and absorbing paperwork I inevitably developed the gift of speed reading. It is useful when travelling as I can comfortably settle down in my aircraft or train seat, open a novel and forget myself until shortly before arrival, when, all being well, I will have finished the book and enjoyed a journey of emotion, humour and adventure en route to my destination. It can be embarrassing if the text moves me to tears or to laugh out loud but an old fashioned handkerchief or paper tissue is normally relied upon to come to the rescue. This month I picked a somewhat mixed selection for my travels and on my outward journey to Greece and Albania read "The Girl who Saved the King of Sweden." Easy reading, funny and with a taste of the international; what better way to start a trip? On the return journey I was seduced by Jim Crace's "Harvest," transported back in time across the centuries to a simpler but harsher time, it was intriguin...

Every season has something special to offer, but the colours of autumn are always there to be enjoyed. It is something that perhaps in my previous life I frequently ignored in the haste to fulfil other commitments. The falling leaves also hastened the knowledge that the daily commute would soon be undertaken in the dark, both there and back. No wonder that in my working days Spring was always a more favourable option. This week however I have revelled in the glorious reds and golds of the season. Not least when I met an old friend at a mid-way point in Yorkshire between our homes. Autumn is glorious and now I don't have to go out in the dark mornings and nights every weekday, I think that there is something almost snug about the shortening days!