Any Suggesstions Please

I just did 1000 piece jigsaw,haven’t done one for years,I was surprised how much I enjoyed it,apparently it’s good for your brain.I started a book exchange years ago which morphed into a fun group of friends,not many have real books now but we recommend things we have read and enjoyed or not,we meet once a month.

I oft go off ‘flaneurin’ I call it that cos it sounds a tad euro 🤭 I walk around places looking at buildings and locales and enjoy the spaces and places… folk are oft inclined to aim for the ‘end-of’ on walks and forget the journey… I love just trundling, meandering and just ‘being’… this for me is both interesting and inspiring and I tend to feel free of life’s ‘drudges’… finally I have a thing now about rushing, I say ‘no rushing’ to self, reason being I’ve done far too much rushing and a slow pace is the secret to my well-being…

What a pity more people don't have your attitude. So many people complain that they are bored/lonely, as though it is someone else's fault. Keeping busy and using your mind helps with mental and physical health.
There are plenty of charities looking for helpers...if you don't have a dog of your own, you could offer to walk other peoples. Just getting out and being part of what is going on is very therapeutic.

Check out your local hospital. They often need volunteers for all kinds of things from looking after patients' flowers to making them a cuppa to fundraising events. I volunteer at our hospital radio station doing their social media and broadcasting the news and it fills my weekends!

I remembered another thing too. I volunteered at a primary school to go in one day a week to hear children read. Some needed extra practise. For some of the things I've suggested you need a criminal record check. It's generally if you're interacting with vulnerable people.

Years ago I volunteered at the local hospital radio. They needed people to go round wards to get requests and to man the hospital shop and join events to raise funds. I also did a programme there for a few years. You get to learn how to use the equipment. It's changed quite a lot since then though.

I was also pack helper for a local Brownies group for a while. Not Brown Owl, just a helper to have ideas and help at meetings. And then I helped at their jumble sales and events and was chair of the local association of guides and brownies for a while. I also belonged to an amateur dramatic society. They need off stage help as well as actors if you don't fancy acting. Wardrobe and scenery help.

Carmen54 You are not “alone in the world” - there are hundreds if not millions just like you. Count me in.

Since I retired I discovered that if I have fulfilling, busy and satisfying weekdays, I look forward to having low key, relaxing weekends (except for occasional dinners, birthdays, etc.)

There are many good ideas here for you. You need to go in search of like-minded groups - after you determine what your interests are. It will take some mental and physical work to search this out.

Friends are around the corner!

Check if you have an U3A in your area, they have all sorts of 'clubs' to join?
Also plenty of charity shops are crying out for your help!

Maggiemaybe

The U3A seems to offer a lot. I’m not a member as we haven’t really much free time at the moment, but a neighbour is and she joins in all sorts of classes and activities - walks, writing, family history etc. Once the grandsons are old enough not to need us for childcare, I think I’ll be signing up.

Yes look up your local U3A and see what they have to offer you might be interested in… I joined over a year ago ( I’m 78) but it’s open to anyone retired or semi retired over 55.
I go to an evening meal, backgammon , scrabble and a book club ( all MY interests) and all just once a month, but there are groups for all sorts…walks, gardening, IT, history, coffee and chat, etc etc… you could fill all your days with one club or another IF you really wanted to! Nice to meet new people too.

I have started going to country dancing after my husband's death.

All right, you probably cannot do so at the weekends, but you will get to know some new friends, who might, who knows, be on their own too.

If you live in the countryside, choice may be more limited than in a large town or city, where you could visit art galleries or museums, if you can get there, and can afford the entrance prices.

In a smaller place, going for a walk and greeting the people you meet, will make you feel a little less lonely, and after a while you may find yourself talking for a while instead of just saying Hullo, nice day, or the like.

I know the feeling of the empty h ouse and no-one to talk to. I have come to the conclusion that it doesn't matter what you choose to try, as long as it gets you out of the house for a while, preferably if not every day, then two or three times a week.

So many lovely things you could fill your time with:-

Gardening
Reading, join a book club
National Trust/ National Heritage days out
Look and see if there’s a theatre club near you, we have amazing one which also provides a coach and many local pick up and drop off points
You could also join a dining club group
Part time college course?? So many to choose from, on line or in person

Good luck x

Crochet
Gardening
If no garden grow herbs in pots
Dog walking. Borrow my doggie website to walk someone else's dog. Lots of elderly people very grateful to a person who will walk there dog once or twice a week. It does have to be a long walk.
Aquarobics at local swim pool.
Geniology. Find my Past.
Swimming
Join a fitness class. Stepping
Duolingo for learning a language from the very beginning. It's free
National Trust/ English Heritage
Join a walking/rambling club
Volunteer at local library (It's in the warm and you meet people).
Community groups food banks always want volunteers.
Charity shops like volunteers too. My Mum used to wash clothes and put on hangers (sometimes even iron too). She didn't want to have to learn honuse the till and credit card machine.
Flower arranging. Some churches like volunteers.
Chess club
University of third age have loads of different activities to chose from
Learn to play bridge.
Volunteer to help with Rainbows/cubs/brownies/Scouts/
Guides.
Crossword puzzles
Jigsaws
Join a reading group.
Evening classes at local college for soft furnishing and restoration of a little project e.g. coffee table or similar.
Do a car boot sale if you have a lot of stuff you want to get rid of and declutter.
Make home made gift cards. Hobbycraft.

I volunteer as an usher at my local Arts Centre. I really enjoy meeting and talking to people and I see a variety of shows and plays. I have made friends with some of the other volunteers. I thoroughly recommend it!

If you live near a major city, you could visit the cathedral or do a tour of the art galleries. I live near Liverpool and really enjoy repeat visits to look at the huge paintings- spot something new every time!

What about antiques fairs, you might find a bargain?

You could pick an area - local or a little further away and research places of interest to visit i.e galleries / museums etc.

A friend did this and said she was surprised at what was actually 'on her doorstep' that she didn't know about!

The Ramblers have local groups who do a range of things:,walking campaigning, footpath maintenance etc

www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/ramblers-groups

and they have wellbeing walks - local, free, short and accessible - which are a good way to pleasurably fill some time and meet other people

www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/wellbeing-walks

Check out the meetup website. It is not dating, just way to find groups with similar interests. For single people it is great way to find people who want to do stuff but lack people to do it with. You search by area.

Do you have an odeon cinema near you? I’ve just booked a silver screen. A 3 hour film for £3.50.
I used to go to the silver screen regularly pre COVID. I hadn’t realised it was back.
I’m going on my own but I know that I can chat if I want to because it’s a “shared” experience.

My gym is excellent at the weekend. Since Covid things have got very friendly and its easy to strike up a conversation, you just ask someone else to help you adjust the machines. One chap who is 82 goes in there to cycle very gently for twenty minutes and is always up for a chat. There are quite a few people with disabilities too, a lady who had her leg amputated, a girl with Downs Syndrome, a chap who had a stroke and one with Parkinsons, plus all ages and states of fitness. Its just a small private gym, nothing fancy and you dont need to be a keep fit fiend to join.

The U3A seems to offer a lot. I’m not a member as we haven’t really much free time at the moment, but a neighbour is and she joins in all sorts of classes and activities - walks, writing, family history etc. Once the grandsons are old enough not to need us for childcare, I think I’ll be signing up.

I lived alone for the best part of 15 years in my 20s and 30s ; Although I worked full time and was lucky to have some wonderful friends , particularly after I bought my own home , I often came home to an empty flat.
The things in life that have most helped my mental state, I have found , are physical exercise ( yoga, swimming , biking, jogging ( latter didn't last long , I am too heavy and it knackered my knees). I don't know what you would characterise as hobbies , so could I suggest yoga or other exercise classes ; join a choir (that enlarges your social circle); do you like to read ? so join a book club or form a book club if you can't find one.
Could you get or share or foster a dog if you like animals. Get a part-time job -do a few shifts in a pub ? ... that enlarges your social circle.
Meditation classes. Do the park runs.
Best of luck. Nil Desperandum.

I am recently retired after a lifetime of working and looking after people so I’m in an ‘experimental’ phase of finding out what I want to do. My ‘go to’ hobby is family history, which has morphed into an interest in jobs and lifestyles of the past. I have exercises that I do to music each day, I regularly go to the cinema and I’ve found a painting style that, as a complete non-artist, I can actually do. I take long walks, have visitors round for meals and spend time on our allotment or in the garden. Today I wrapped up warmly and took my breakfast outside as it was such a crisp day.

My suggestion is to have a go at whatever takes your fancy and some of the activities will be just up your street. 😊

Thank you

Ooh, yes: the National Garden Scheme, Greatvif you just want to visit nice gardens (all sorts from city courtyards, to rural acres) but there are volunteering opportunities too.

ngs.org.uk/get-involved/

I garden, have an allotment, and volunteer at a community growing project. I am a volunteer tour guide with a national historical charity. Normally, I walk long distances, preferably in hills and mountains. I cycle a lot.

Since I can’t do most of these at present, I’m learning a new language (painful, I’m not a natural), I take my granddaughters swimming once every weekend, I’m going to the cinema more, and I’ve just begun talking to a nearby bookshop about starting a Saturday crime fiction book group.

My other half is a volunteer with a historic boat trust (mainly as a photographer) and goes fishing. He’s recently (he’s 75) re-started kayaking, and he’s a member of our local ‘good neighbour’ scheme, doing all sorts: some handyman-type stuff, dropping of prescriptions and library books, and the like.

Don’t know if any of those would suit you.