AGE 70 plus ... Play
I reckon everything in the later years of life is 'Play' - for me at any rate. There really is nothing better than being retired. Admittedly, I have self-inflicted commitments to the cottages and our paying guests, but when we let the cottages and when I service them is all pretty much down to me.
I will admit to my life being fairly solitary - which is a way with which I have been comfortable since childhood. I have my lovely wife, Sue, of course, and the loyal companionship of my dog, Cupar, but I seldom seek out the company of other humans. I will chat with our neighbours from time to time, but there is no-one locally I would describe as a close friend. Some readers may consider that to be a sad situation, but I am content, and consider my life to be a very happy one.
So - what do I do all day? Well, I don't rush about! It is great to never feel pressured. Cupar has his needs for exercise of course, and without fail gets walked four times every day, no matter what the weather. Admittedly, a couple of these outings are quite brief, but there is still often the need to kit-up in waterproofs, gloves, scarf and hat for the foray into the wilderness just outside the front door. Sue almost always undertakes one of the walks - I do the other three.
Then, every day, usually straight after breakfast, I spend some time catching-up with what has been going-on on the email and social media. Keeping up with the cottage admin can be quite time-consuming. Depending on what I find there, I can sometimes be at the computer for half the morning.
During the visitor-season, there are quite frequent cottage turn-rounds to be dealt with. This is sort-of 'Work' really.. We've been offering short-break visits for some years, with a minimum stay of three nights. I now put an empty night between bookings to avoid having to rush the cleaning of a cottage. In between the cleaning, the gardens often need attention, then there is the laundry to be done, and I also carefully iron all the bedding. Unless an emergency occurs, the cottages themselves don't get a lot of attention to maintenance during the visitor season, but there is plenty of time during the winter and early spring for whatever refurbishment jobs may be needed.
Here at the Barn, the garden takes up a fair bit of time. Sue tends the flower borders in the front of the building, while the grass-cutting and large vegetable plot are my responsibilities. We both find that there can be something quite spiritual about the garden - no doubt a lot to do with the peacefulness and the beauty.
I also like to get involved with DIY projects. Deciding to buy a holiday home for ourselves has given me quite a bit to keep me busy for the last couple of years. The property we bought is the Old Bakery, in Strathpeffer, about 20 miles west of Inverness. We bought it in August 2018. It takes just about two and a half hours to drive there from Roskhill - and it is a beautiful, scenic drive across the often deserted Highlands roads. The building is a conversion of former bakery store-rooms, and was built around 1885. (It is not, as the name would suggest, the bakery itself - that is long-since demolished). Although in good condition when we bought it, the decor did not suit us, so I have undertaken a complete re-decoration job, as well as fitting curtain poles, refitting a kitchen cupboard (which houses washing machine and dishwasher), and assorted other tasks. The garden remains an ongoing challenge at the moment...!
I will admit to my life being fairly solitary - which is a way with which I have been comfortable since childhood. I have my lovely wife, Sue, of course, and the loyal companionship of my dog, Cupar, but I seldom seek out the company of other humans. I will chat with our neighbours from time to time, but there is no-one locally I would describe as a close friend. Some readers may consider that to be a sad situation, but I am content, and consider my life to be a very happy one.
So - what do I do all day? Well, I don't rush about! It is great to never feel pressured. Cupar has his needs for exercise of course, and without fail gets walked four times every day, no matter what the weather. Admittedly, a couple of these outings are quite brief, but there is still often the need to kit-up in waterproofs, gloves, scarf and hat for the foray into the wilderness just outside the front door. Sue almost always undertakes one of the walks - I do the other three.
Then, every day, usually straight after breakfast, I spend some time catching-up with what has been going-on on the email and social media. Keeping up with the cottage admin can be quite time-consuming. Depending on what I find there, I can sometimes be at the computer for half the morning.
During the visitor-season, there are quite frequent cottage turn-rounds to be dealt with. This is sort-of 'Work' really.. We've been offering short-break visits for some years, with a minimum stay of three nights. I now put an empty night between bookings to avoid having to rush the cleaning of a cottage. In between the cleaning, the gardens often need attention, then there is the laundry to be done, and I also carefully iron all the bedding. Unless an emergency occurs, the cottages themselves don't get a lot of attention to maintenance during the visitor season, but there is plenty of time during the winter and early spring for whatever refurbishment jobs may be needed.
Here at the Barn, the garden takes up a fair bit of time. Sue tends the flower borders in the front of the building, while the grass-cutting and large vegetable plot are my responsibilities. We both find that there can be something quite spiritual about the garden - no doubt a lot to do with the peacefulness and the beauty.
I also like to get involved with DIY projects. Deciding to buy a holiday home for ourselves has given me quite a bit to keep me busy for the last couple of years. The property we bought is the Old Bakery, in Strathpeffer, about 20 miles west of Inverness. We bought it in August 2018. It takes just about two and a half hours to drive there from Roskhill - and it is a beautiful, scenic drive across the often deserted Highlands roads. The building is a conversion of former bakery store-rooms, and was built around 1885. (It is not, as the name would suggest, the bakery itself - that is long-since demolished). Although in good condition when we bought it, the decor did not suit us, so I have undertaken a complete re-decoration job, as well as fitting curtain poles, refitting a kitchen cupboard (which houses washing machine and dishwasher), and assorted other tasks. The garden remains an ongoing challenge at the moment...!