Gap year late

Some friends of mine are taking a gap year this year, travelling the world - literally - over some ten months and keeping an online record of their travels and experiences as they go. The usual time to do this is after leaving University or maybe before, sometimes taking a year out during Uni to travel and do some work experience at the same time. Penny and Stuart (or StuPendus, as their blog is called!) are doing it late, in their fifties. Stuart has retired early - lucky man - Penny was able to take time out from work, both children had left home and so they grabbed their chance, proving that it is never too late to do such things. You can dip into their blog at http://realtravel.com/the_world-trips-i5281378.html if you are interested in life on the road in your fifties. They are currently in India.

I think such people are an inspiration and prove that you can do anything you want, whenever you want if you really want it enough. We can't all afford to travel the world for a year, but we can certainly go to different places and experience more of life if we choose to.

Britain needs leaders like this!

I am not much of a political animal, but little things get under your skin from time to time don't they? I was born and bred in this country, but spent my childhood years growing up in Singapore which taught me a greater tolerance for other cultures and races than I might otherwise have had. It also taught me that when you are in another country you respect the laws and customs of that country. Hence the following which arrived in an email this morning really struck a chord. See what you think . . .

Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law were told on Wednesday to get out of Australia , as the government targeted radicals in a bid to head off potential terror attacks. Separately, Howard angered some Australian Muslims on Wednesday by saying he supported spy agencies monitoring the nation's mosques. Quote: 'IMMIGRANTS, NOT AUSTRALIANS, MUST ADAPT. Take It Or Leave It. I am tired of this nation worrying about whether we are offending some individual or their culture. Since the terrorist attacks on Bali , we have experienced a surge in patriotism by the majority of Australians.' 'This culture has been developed over two centuries of struggles, trials and victories by millions of men and women who have sought freedom' 'We speak mainly ENGLISH, not Spanish, Lebanese, Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Russian, or any other language. Therefore, if you wish to become part of our society . Learn the language!' 'Most Australians believe in God. This is not some Christian, right wing, political push, but a fact, because Christian men and women, on Christian principles, founded this nation, and this is clearly documented. It is certainly appropriate to display it on the walls of our schools. If God offends you, then I suggest you consider another part of the world as your new home, because God is part of our culture.' 'We will accept your beliefs, and will not question why. All we ask is that you accept ours, and live in harmony and peaceful enjoyment with us.' 'This is OUR COUNTRY, OUR LAND, and OUR LIFESTYLE, and we will allow you every opportunity to enjoy all this. But once you are done complaining, whining, and griping about Our Flag, Our Pledge, Our Christian beliefs, or Our Way of Life, I highly encourage you take advantage of one other great Australian freedom, 'THE RIGHT TO LEAVE'.' 'If you aren't happy here then LEAVE. We didn't force you to come here. You asked to be here. So accept the country YOU accepted.'

Maybe if we circulate this amongst ourselves, American /Englishcitizens will find the backbone to start speaking and voicing the same truths. If you agree, please copy and past this and SEND IT ON.

Intro & the Menopause

'A what? A Blog? Why does anyone want to set up a blog?' The main question posed when I suggested doing such a thing. Why indeed? Well I could keep a diary I suppose, or I could write long boring letters to my friends - who would probably think I was off my trolley and what the heck was I talking about anyway . . . or I could set up a blog. Much more fun I thought. A mini adventure into the cyber world. Throw my thoughts out and see what they might catch. A bit like cosmic fishing. I have a real fascination with the possibilities of cosmic consciousness and energy. But more about that another time . . .

So here we are, a blog of my own, for all and sundry to peruse. In the Billy Connelly style of counselling, that is venting to anyone who will listen (or in this case read) about the things I observe - mind you if you are under 50 you really shouldn't be here, you should be tucked up in bed with a bedtime story, or possibly on MySpace - grownups only here please.

Have you noticed as you reach this stage in life that you make more noise as you go through your day. I don't mean like kids, shouting and shrieking when they are playing, I mean involuntary groans as you get out of a chair or bend down to pick things up, creaky knees as you climb the stairs, cracking joints and the like - I'm sure you have - not to mention wind in it's various forms. A friend of mine kindly pointed out that this only gets worse with age - great I thought, (he is such a comfort to me) nothing like announcing your arrival in a room with a small trumpet fanfare! So you develop little strategies to deal with such things. Talking loudly as you enter said room, or clattering things which may be to hand. After all you don't always have control over such actions do you . . . ? The wind I mean.

Alongside this is the dreaded menopause - men can switch the football on now - I always swore I would not bore for England on the subject and couldn't understand why my sister made such a fuss about little things like hot flashes (sorry 'mini tropical vacations'!). I have since had to apologise to her and eat my words. She, poor soul, is still having symptons after 12 years! Not an encouraging sign. Who'd be a woman at this stage and various others in our lives? For some three plus years now I have tried just about every product recommended or listed for dealing with this 'side-effect' and would be grateful to hear from anyone who has found something that actually works! My partner tells me he doesn't need an electric blanket anymore, he just lies next to me and soaks up the heat! Trouble is the extremes are so volatile and he cannot understand how I can be boiling one minute and freezing the next! Just this last weekend we had a BBQ (yes the weather was good enough!) for family and a few friends and I was a constant source of amusement as my jumper came off, went on, came off, went on . . .

A female friend of mine who is also suffering somewhat from menopausal symptons tells me she could easily commit murder for no accountable reason - her husband has yet to learn when to duck and sets himself up for a number of falls over the course of the weekend when she is home. As she says 'fortunately with my job I am away all week otherwise I would have been locked up by now!'

Still other friends breeze through this time with almost no symptons at all - lucky, lucky people! They too, cannot understand why I am full of energy one minute and fast asleep the next. It 'never happened' to them. So I am currently researching like mad to find yet more solutions to the dreaded 'hot flashes'. I'll keep you posted.