A quiet week

With Eno staying over the next weekend it was a ‘quiet’ week, so maybe this is a good time to consider  what a quiet week means now we are  both retired.

As well as doing two evening classes – one in French and one in Spanish – Margot is still active as Chair of the Fair Trade Forum and a member of the  Advisory Board of the Centre for Applied Human Rights but still has time to keep up with friends in the cafes and coffee shops in town. We have joined the new’ Sports Village’ at York University and it remains to be seen whether we continue to use it enough to get our money’s worth. We go to a personal trainer once a month to help us keep on track and have weights in the garage and plenty of countryside to run and cycle around but when the winter weather starts (as it now has) a warm gym with swimming pool and jacuzzi has its attractions. And of course there is squash two or three times a week.

Although I ought really to be doing Spanish too in preparation for our proposed trip next year I have signed up for an evening class instead. Its called “Contemporary Philosophy of Mind” which sounded like a logical extension of the series of psychology classes I did last year but it turns out Philosophy is an entirely different world (or is it?). They not only invent words I’ve never heard of but use words I have heard of but in totally different ways. Still, its good mental exercise and the debates continue in the bar afterwards and even with my friend Peter at the table tennis club I go to on Thursday morning.

The Centre for Applied Human Rights runs a series of talks by visiting Human Rights Defenders and the university has a good programme of public lectures so Margot and I reckon we spend more time on campus than most undergraduate students.

Finally a lot of my time is spent co-ordinating the Sustrans Rangers in York and the York Greenway Champions which is an offshoot more focussed on promoting biodiversity. Our drive hosts a trailer full of tools we inherited from the 2010 job creation scheme and its my job to enthuse enough local people to get out and use them. If you want to know more its on York Greenway Champions  . A bit like a part time job really but without the salary – though that’s what I consider my pension is for.

And there is all that reading and movie going. I try to have one fiction book on the go at the same time as everything else, to give me a break. Not to mention digitizing my vinyls and tapes, And cleaning, house repairs, occasional cooking ….. and of course tidying my study and garage/workshop.

When retired people say they don’t know how they ever had time to work, believe it! Fortunately no-one but us really care if any of this stuff ever gets done (cleaning excepted) so no pressure really.