A Retirement Blog by Caree Risover

In these harrowing times of explosions, shootings, war and terrorism, it is easy to carry the miseries of the world on your shoulders. Add climate change and sustainability to the mix and the problems of the planet weigh heavily. It has therefore been a relief to become Parish Clerk and realise that what keeps the local community and fellow citizens awake at night is not always the prospect of invading ISIL warriors nor even of strange beings from Mars, but rather: The turning off of street lighting after midnight; Dogs fouling on public footpaths; Drivers speeding or illegally parking their motor cars. It is good to get a local perspective on the issues of our time.

I have just discovered the Action for Happiness' website . Reading its pages has to bring a smile to anyone's face. However the page that caught my attention is labelled 10 Keys and on it are set out ten keys to happiness. I can't believe that since retiring I have been on a journey of self discovery in which I have succeeded in identifying almost all those aspects of life; instead all I needed to have done was to read this website! Still now that I have found it, I am delighted to note that I have been on the right track all along, no wonder retirement is proceeding so happily! The Action for Happiness whose patron is the Dalai Lama has an impressive Board of Directors committed to helping people take practical steps for a happier and more caring world. In so doing, and using Great Dream as an acronym, we learn from them that:  Giving or doing things for others makes us feel better too. I sense more commitment to my voluntary causes, family and friends com...

The Situation is Getting Worse - Save the Children  Yemen, You Tube With Syria and the refugee crisis grabbing newspaper space for what seems like months now, when I became a voluntary Community champion for Save the Children it came as something of a shock to me (as I'm sure it will to most people) to realise that the biggest humanitarian crisis in the world today is probably in Yemen. Pulverised by a bloody civil war and now the infiltration of Al Quaeda and ISIS, it is subject to a commercial blockade that is preventing effective aid reaching those who need it most at a time when it is estimated that 80% of the population are reliant on organisations like Save The Children and the UN for food and health care. Prior to the conflict Yemen was already the poorest nation in the Middle East but the statistics are now horrific. It is estimated that:  21.1 million people are in need of aid and 9.9 million children are affected 12.8 million people do not even have ac...

Back in September I was explaining how our limited use of National Trust membership was causing Mister E and me to query whether or not to continue with it. I am delighted to say, however, that whilst journeying around East Anglia we must have visited the equivalent of a year's worth of properties. I ndeed on route to Norfolk, we took a break just off the A1 near Grantham in order to visit the childhood home of Isaac Newton at Woolsthorpe Manor. The apple season is of course, in full season in October so what better time to call as it was in the orchard here that Newton is reputed to have had his Eureka moment with gravity as well as conducting his experiments to split light. The tour around the house does not take long, but it was one of the most informative that I have visited with an introductory film in one of the farm outbuildings and, in another, hands on activities  seeking to demonstrate Newton's Laws of Motion and other discoveries. Moving on to Wisbech in C...

Proceeding down the coast, Lowestoft, the most easterly place in the United Kingdom, was our first stop in Suffolk.  Like so many former fishing ports, it has obviously known better times but, as the birthplace of Benjamin Britten, musical fountains outside the tourist office, choreographed to spray to a background of his music, were a pleasant touch. It has two piers of which the South Pier, adjacent to the river entrance, had only recently re-opened whilst the Claremont Pier remains closed on its seaward side, as does part of the Blue Flag Beach for repairs to the sea wall to be carried  out. The elegance of the Victorian resort of Southwold,  dominated by its lighthouse and  with the famous beach huts (we noted one for sale at £90,000!) and bustling pier, restored since our last visit,  was in marked contrast to Lowestoft . However, for sheer solitude, Dunwich, a thriving seaport from Roman times until the 14th Century...

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. ...