Is retirement the beginning or the end?
Fabafterfifty: Interests
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Article by Fabafterfifty For those of us who will be lucky enough to enjoy the luxury of retirement, it appears there may be a lot to look forward to according to a new survey of retirees. We retire from work – not life!! Just as well as we may spend nearly a third of our lives ‘retired’. It appears that most of us will be fitter in our retirement than in our working years , socialize and travel more. Today retirees are ignoring traditional retirement expectations and rediscovering their youth instead. The statistics revealed over half of those polled are now exercising more than they ever did in their twenties – regularly hiking, swimming and cycling. One in ten have opted to go back to school in a bid to keep their minds active via language lessons, evening classes and even higher education. A spokeswoman for Skipton Building Society, which...
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Fitness over 50: Jane takes up rowing and is aiming for the world championships!
Article by Jane Turner How fulfilling an old age we will live largely depends on how we live our lives today. Fitness is key. With many years invested in bringing up families or pursuing careers, many women reach their 50s and find that they finally have time to invest in themselves – and their own fitness. Many women in their 50s return to sports that they enjoyed in their youth. We caught up with Jane Turner, who has rekindled her love of rowing. I am 52, and a few years ago after a long illness I was trying to come up with something new to invigorate my life. Failing to identify anything that inspired me, I thought back to the things that I had most enjoyed doing in my life – and one of those was rowing at university. I tentatively joined my local club, and discovered that I still...
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What are the secrets to keeping young? The top 40 secrets of the fountain of youth
Article by Fabafterfifty Age is just a number and attitude is everything! So what does make us feel young? The study of 1,000 over 50?s unveiled the secrets of youth the older generation rely on- with having regular sex, fancying a younger celebrity and being on Facebook all likely to shave off a few years. Owning an iphone and being on facebook also help, while anyone feeling a bit stale could benefit from knowing what Twitter is, sporting a leather jacket and trying yoga. It seems having a broad and varied life are key. The research, which was commissioned by leading health and wellbeing mutual organisation Benenden Healthcare, found one in five places faith in a particular food, with broccoli, oats and blueberries offering the health boosts most swear by. Most of us feel younger than our chronological age And apparently age is just a number, with the average person...
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Women perfect the art of cooking at 55 according to new study
Article by Fabafterfifty Now I am feeling very inadequate on the domestic front! I have never been known for my culinary skills, and the latest study indicating that women are Women finally become ‘perfect cooks’ at the age of 55, indicates just how lacking I am in culinary talent! A new study shows that by her fifties, the average woman has become proficient at throwing random ingredients together to make something delicious, and has the confidence to host a dinner party for 12. Interestingly there is no mention of the culinary skills of men at the same age! According to the study, by this age, women are rustling up more than 15 meals on a regular basis – to include chicken casserole, steak and kidney pie and seafood linguine – all cooked from scratch. Soggy broccoli, tough beef, runny gravy and limp carrots are also firmly OFF the menu by...
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What are the best courses to take for over 50s?
Article by Ceri Wheeldon It is never too late to learn a new skill, develop a new interest or even revisit old interests we left behind when we were younger due to lack of time and family and work commitments taking over as priority. Just because we turn 50 does not mean that we aren’t curious. A new website called Love to Learn (www.lovetolearn.co.uk) has recognised this and conducted in-depth research into what us over 50s are most interested in. Ceri Wheeldon chats to Gill Jackson, Director of Love to Learn, to find out more: So tell us about the research you’ve just done We’ve conducted two big pieces of research over the last few months and specifically honed in on the 50+ generation. We found that adults in their 50s are overwhelmingly upbeat about the benefits of their age group. They have greater freedom and financial security and 87%...
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Women in their 40s, 50s and 60s are leading the technology revolution
Article by Julie Tempest. When I read the headline ‘Sorry, Young Man, You’re Not the Most Important Demographic in Tech’, I gave out a little cheer. One that grew louder when the article went on to say that despite ‘companies hamfisted, male-focused marketing efforts, women are the dominant users of a wide variety of new technologies’. And the best part was the closing paragraph: ‘So it turns out if you want to find out what the future looks like, you should be asking women. And just before you think that means you should be asking 18-year-old women, it actually turns out the majority of technology users are women in their 40s, 50s and 60s. So if you wanted to know what the future looks like, those turn out to be the heaviest users of the most successful and most popular technologies on the planet as we speak.’ It’s music to...
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Midlife Adventure: How do you go about climbing Kilimanjaro?
Interview with Jo Bradshaw It would seem we are an adventurous group of women! I have received lots of emails in response to the ‘fabwomen’ featured, from readers saying that they would like to have their own midlife adventure over 50. I have selected the most popular adventures and asked for tips on how to get started on an adventure holiday or charity challenge. Climbing Kilimanjaro seems to have captured a lot of imaginations, so we asked Jo Bradshaw who is a freelance Outdoor Instructor and Expedition Leader often working for Discover Adventure, she completed her 10th climb of Kilimanjaro earlier this year for her tips. What are the options in respect to ways to join a group to climb Mt Kilimanjaro? The easiest way is to join a group from a UK tour operator, such as Discover Adventure! This way you will know that all of the details are...
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How to make new friends in your 50s? Tips on joining a social group
Article by Gill Buchanan. For many of us who relocate or find ourselves going through life changes in our 50s, meeting new people is not always easy. I asked Gill Buchanan, founder of Hens Dancing to share her tips on how to approach attending a first ‘organised’ social event: I often get asked, ‘what is it actually like turning up at a Hens Dancing social event?’ Most women come on their own the first time and for some that’s a bit of a daunting prospect. The great thing about Hens Dancing is that all the meetings are hosted and from walking through the door you will be greeted with a warm welcome and be introduced to other members so you soon feel comfortable and can relax. I love that quote by William Butler Yeats: “There are no strangers here, only friends who haven’t yet met.” It is so apt for...
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What excuses do you give when you overindulge on a spending spree?
Article by Fabafterfifty We’ve all done it! Justified that impulse purchase, sneaked in that extra shopping bag, claimed to have had something in the wardrobe ‘for ages’! So what are the top excuses given by women feeling guilty after a shopping spree? A third of shoppers use a pre-prepared list of excuses to justify their spending to their partners – ‘It’s a bargain’, ‘I need this to cheer me up’ and ‘it was on sale’ completed the top five. Researchers found two thirds of the 2,000 women studied relied on excuses to feel better about spending money on themselves. Half of respondents confessed they even hide purchases from those closest to them in order to avoid an interrogation. The research, commissioned by money-saving website LoveFashionSales.com, found ‘I’ll get my money’s worth’ or ‘I really need this’ were regularly used, while many are convinced they have nothing to wear. ‘I’ve wanted...
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How do you go about volunteering overseas- things you need to know
Article by Ceri Wheeldon Far from planning holidays at sunkissed resorts, sipping cocktails on the beach, there is a growing trend for women over 50 to participate in ‘voluntourism’ , combining travel with volunteering. But how do you go about volunteering, and how do you know what project is right for you? Is volunteering for you? I spoke to Kate Stefanko co-founder of www.travel-peopleandplaces.co.uk about what to expect from a volunteer placement. “If you arrange your volunteer placement through a reputable company, who work with you to define your specific requirements – and limitations – you can specify the level of accommodation acceptable to you, the environment and the type of voluntary work suited to your own particular skills.” What are the types of skills which would lead to a successful volunteer placement? “A reputable voluntary placement organisation will look to place a volunteer in a project where they can...
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