shuvonshuvoff motorhome adventures

  When I started my travels in my motorhome, over a year ago now, I had so many ideas about what I would do to challenge ageism and challenge stereotypes of what retired pensioners did in their lives or could do in their lives. I never envisaged that a Pandemic would stop me in my tracks. My whole philosophy was to have no plan but to go with the flow, travelling around Great Britain seeking out adventures and meeting interesting people along the way and telling their stories about what ageing means to them. I was even planning to invite them to join me for a couple of days, to experience life on the road with me and tell me a bit of their back story and why they wanted to see what Motorhome life was like. Hopefully they would  have connected with me and my campaign to make old a positive thing, rather than something to be dreaded.  During this second lockdown I have been reflecting on all the things I have done so far and feel that despite the pandemic I have come a long...

Today is World Mental Health Day, which has prompted me to reflect on how I have been coping mentally since I started my retirement just over a year ago. Having worked for the BBC for thirty years it was interlinked with my sense of identity. Now I am no longer part of that big organisation it has taken me a bit of adjusting to life and finding a sense of purpose and identity that I am comfortable with. And I do think that after a year I am finally getting there. I am more aware of who I am and what I want out of life and what my boundaries are.  Already I feel a great sense of achievement because for a longtime I said that I wanted to get rid of most of my things, buy a motorhome and travel Great Britain. This was because, despite travelling the world extensively, I had not really stopped to explore what was on my doorstep. Here I am doing it, I purchased my dream motorhome at  www.elitemotors.co.uk  and I have only just scratched the surface of places to see in this cou...

 Well the day finally came, the first of August and I was packed up and ready to leave the safe motorhome site I had been staying on since the start of Lockdown, in Lancashire.  The night befor the couple from the other lockdown motorhome, Steve and Helen, Catherine from the caravan and Kevin and his son Patrick from the transit van motorhome, who we now nicknamed, 'The Lockdown Crew' got together, at a safe distance, for a BBQ, kindly put on by the owners of the site, Sarah and Roger and their children, who have become lifelong friends after spending so much time with them during lockdown. It was a great way to say our goodbyes and to reflect on what life had been like for us all during the five months of lockdown and how we all supported one another through good and bad times.  I admit as I prepared to drive off the site I was feeling so anxious about what life was going to be like. I had bottles of hand sanitiser and wet wipes in all my bags and in the front of the mot...

Well I have somehow managed to survive lockdown in my motorhome without going totally stir crazy. But I have definitely been on an emotional rollercoaster. Sometimes feeling totally lost and at other times embracing the fact that I have all the time in the world to do what I feel like doing. Which after my busy working life is such a luxurious position to find myself in.  I have embraced the world of social media, which I have to say has been such a source of support and knowledge. I have connected with so many inspiring people who have reaffirmed my desire to challenge ageism and change the images and narratives surrounding the ageing process. Some have taken umbrage at my social media skills and how I tweet and retweet things but for me it is a learning process and I am sure I will get it wrong at times. But as long as I know I am coming from a good place with a good heart I will continue to embrace social media and see the good in it. I also have to find a tougher skin to not le...