A Retirement Blog by Caree Risover

  I am about to go through a second retirement. When the eldest and Dilly told us last autumn that, all being well, we were scheduled to become grandparents at the end of this month, I decided to relinquish my role as Parish Clerk. I have been in post since October 2015 and whilst a small salary is paid, it is very much a voluntary position in so far as hours worked and tasks undertaken double those contracted to be delivered. I have, however, enjoyed contributing to the community in this way and been able to put the skills learnt from my decades of legal practice to good use.  However, having been a working Mum for most of my career, I have absolutely no intention of being a working Grandma and so my notice of resignation was duly delivered. Sadly, there have been no enquiries from anyone interested in taking over the role and, honour bound, I have continued in position on the strict understanding that, replaced or not, I would not work beyond my grandchild's due date of 28th...

  Yesss! It's hard to know how to express my delight but today was my first time working in the garden this year. To be honest, I wasn't entirely looking forward to what I anticipated would be a somewhat chilly occasion but there are a couple of pruning jobs that have to be undertaken in February and I had resolved to start them this weekend. Conditions, however, were so delightful that I extended my time outside and did three times what I had planned. I was rewarded not only with a front garden that looks distinctly more tidy than when I started but that feeling of being alive and at one with the world.  Bulbs are peeping through, there are crocuses in bloom and tiny buds aplenty. The birds were singing loudly and I even sowed some seeds to germinate indoors. The season of rebirth is beginning and in another month or three the bare shrubs are going to be resplendent once again in green. It's hard to describe how completely uplifting the whole experience was. Spring eases i...

  I know food inside packaging is shrinking as manufacturers try to convince us that the current round of price rises isn't as bad as we know it to be. But surely that shouldn't apply to books as well? "Brevity is the soul of wit," says Polonius in Shakespeare's Hamlet (an ironic point for a character who was somewhat verbose). Perhaps I'm just stumbling across particularly clever literature, but if a book length of 70 pages or so is gripping then, a little like the chocolates in the box on the supermarket shelf, I want more. Conversely if the writing is awful then you might think I've been relieved of the chore of turning too many pages. Since resolving not to stick with disappointing novels , whether it's a novella or trilogy I can, of course, just as easily ditch both at an early point. No, my complaint here is that for some curious reason the books I have been reading this year are much shorter than I had expected. I suppose that comes from taking ...

  It's quite common in some of the Yoga sessions I attend for the instructor to open the class with a poem. Something short and meaningful that we can hold onto. A calming theme to focus on during the practice perhaps. Maybe my mind is just too active because it doesn't always have that effect. Yesterday was one of those instances and on this occasion the poem was called "Joy Chose You," by Donna Ashworth. She has the whole piece on her Facebook page if you are interested in reading it but in it she indicates that we "usher joy away because (we) are not ready for it." Instead we can be too busy getting our home clean and tidy or trying to perfect our lives or earn money, all so that we can live happily.  Joy, Ashton points out, however, "cares nothing for your messy home, or your bank balance or your waistline." Instead she claims it works by sneaking into the "cracks of your imperfect life" so you cannot invite it in, but only be ready...

  I've never been a great one for shopping although I imagine like most people I love a good deal or at least to believe that I am getting value for money. I suppose for that reason and in my previous pre-retirement life, the January Sales were always an opportunity to top up my wardrobe, linen chests and glassware too. In retirement, I still detest shopping but my relationship with stuff has also altered. I now appreciate the importance of reducing rather than accumulating and in recent years have tried various tactics in the fight against extraneous collecting.  In my wardrobe I dutifully embraced the "turn your coat hangers" method, with the intention that anything that had not been turned and therefore not worn would be recycled or donated at the end of a six month period. In so far as it worked, it was only with those items that I would probably have reduced in any event. I've also deployed the "one in, two out" system, but had to accept that buying a c...

Tax avoidance seems to be in vogue at the moment, certainly in certain quarters of elite society. Not to be outdone and since my last blog entry, I have: Participated in 5 Pilates, 6 Yoga, 2 Strength, 2 Abs, 3 HIIT and 2 Zumba classes; Been swimming twice; Met friends for lunch on 3 occasions; Prepared for and clerked a Parish Council meeting, typing up the minutes afterwards; Met a friend for a walk along the escarpment at the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors; Spent a week staying and walking in the Langdale Valley in the Lake District; Met up with my Sketchbook Group; Knitted a baby blanket and a couple of new born size hats; Kept up my regular visits to Mum; Read 2 books and started to follow various TV series (the latter is a complete novelty for me); Attended a meeting and to administration as a charity trustee; Acquired a steam carpet cleaner and set it to use throughout the house somewhat vigorously; Talked to all and sundry on the phone and face to face; Started a big clear ou...

  The fight or flight response which apparently evolved as a survival mechanism is still with us today. I was reminded of this twice in recent days. The first was when reading an article in the Guardian newspaper on studies showing that moderate stress is actually good for  us. The second was in a video from Action for Happiness where there was reference to negativity being a common human disposition arising from the need of our ancestors to be ever vigilant and on their guard, ready to fight or flee at all times. So there I was in recent blog entries revelling in the concept of finally learning to relax, when all along it seems that it's not necessarily a natural state and that a degree of stress actually promotes longevity. My inevitable reaction was that to be expected of the negative, cynical person that I am, namely: but cavemen never got the opportunity to retire and didn't live very long either! Obviously nothing that I have read this week alters the fact that chronic ...