Bored and despondent with the virus.

The walking group as suggested by N4na sounds a good bet. Your crie-de-cour struck a cord with me because I am ex Liverpool (5 yrs. as a student 50 yrs. ago!)
I think there comes a point at which we have to say "there is more to life than avoiding death". Get vaxxed if it suits, get out there and go for it. You will meet like minded people. Best of Luck.

I’ve been retired a few years now. Wonderful at first! Then I travelled quite often which I lived. Pandemic arrived, I too moved house, bought myself a puppy (which I love) BUT am bored out of my brains at times. Miss my working life in the media, am divorced and often wish I could go back to my full and happy life. BUT will not let this depression beat me and Spring will soon be here and thankfully I have my health but I do understand where you’re at!!

Hi NetflixFan

I can recommend Sefton Active walking if you live in the part of Liverpool near Sefton. Great walks good chats and some beautiful scenery. The walks are free and Sefton libraries and leisure centres have a booklet listing times and locations.

If you like people, and want to volunteer, I would recommend going for a Samaritans Training course. They are very good, in depth, supportive, you meet many other people and if you get through the training you can start volunteering at the Local Samaritans Centre. It can give you some huge benefits and an insight into what other people are trying to cope with too. And all the other volunteers are supportive and very friendly.

Covid came two months after I retired. I had just joined U3A and was also planning on joining the gym as as well as doing lots of other things. Have to say I too have spiralled down. It has left me unsure about going anywhere. I need to get out of this...sighs

I agree. It’s getting to the stage where there’s seemingly no “bright side”. Watching how this Govt. have handled things, how in England it’s been allowed to run amok under Boris Johnson just makes me so sad. It’s like we don’t count at all, ordinary people.

I think you’ve done fantastically well. You’ve joined things and really tried to get involved but no one could have seen that two years in, we’d still be living this grey half life.

Does your local library have an online book club? Again, it’s “online” but, just a thought. What about a running club. All levels welcome. I’m not a “runner” but it’s outside, fresh air and moving so… I do it!

Don’t beat yourself up, love. It’s dreadful and ongoing and we’re being mocked by a bunch of Tories who’s attitude is “let’s push on”. Easy to do in their position.

Gumtree

I’ve been wondering whether we could do with a recruitment agency (department of one) aimed at employment for retired people? i.e. a full time job vacancy at the library done on a jo-share scheme with two or even three retirees sharing it? I ran my own business for over 30 years and miss it terribly now. Thoughts please.

Great idea but knowing what most companies are like they'll think they can suck all the years of knowledge and experience out of us for peanuts! Hell! It used to happen when I was working! All those meetings that ended up like an enemy interrogation trying to find out " how do you do what you do?" If I told them that I'd have to shoot them! Oh and what? Sack me once they knew all my stuff? No thanks. sorry for being realistic.

Gumtree, I think that’s a really good idea. I was helping at a jobs fair aimed in my local town a couple of years ago and was chatting to someone from the Jobs Centre who told me they’d placed a 75 yo lady as a receptionist at a doctor’s surgery. The company and extra income would be welcome for most of us.
COVID has been difficult for everyone on their own, long, grey days and then a bad summer followed by more grey days but at least we have vaccination and treatment and we must be moving towards mass immunity?

We had just settled into a retirement routine when Covid hit. It scuppered our moving plans and we are a bit cheesed off with it all. It could be so much worse so I always bear that in mind and am grateful but I think life may have changed in many ways and once again we will have to find a new normal when this subsides .

Hi there Netflixfan I am a fellow scouser now living in London. I echo all your sentiments. Bored. Yes. Fed up with zoom. Yes. My DH died 6 years ago, yesterday. After all the sad business of sorting out his affairs (messy), I decided to move and that took up a lot of time. Having done that I realised I needed to create a new life for myself so joined U3A, WI, local clubs and all was going very nicely until along came the pandemic. I then needed treatment as an inpatient and during that was infected with Covid. Have never been well since. So not only has my health gone down the swanny but so have all my attempts to move into new friendship groups. However, as you say, you cannot keep a Liverpudlian down for long so I am trying to keep myself as occupied and cheerful as possible. I do find walking helps a lot. You get good endorphins and return home quite tired. I have been trying to see more of inlaws, who are a nice bunch but very settled into their existing friendship groups. Hopefully U3A, WI etc will begin face to face meetings again sometime soon. I will try Futurelearn and try to give myself reasons to get out of bed in the morning. Good luck to you and I wish you the happiest new year possible.

You had a lot happening in your life all at once pre pandemic. It all came to a grinding halt. Now though there is a lightening in life and we are engaging more with others. The walking group suggestions could be helpful. How about wild swimming. I know a few folk who have taken to having a swim in the sea conditions permitting or in local rivers. They say it's changed their life. You are in a similar position to many others nowadays but you seem to be a proactive person so hopefully you will pick up where you left off before long. Do keep a check on your mood and seek help if you feel your approach to your life isn't improving.

Now then despondent little liver bird ? you know what it's like? Best mate gets a fella, you get dropped!new job not what they cracked it up to be but you're stuck there for the foreseeable.....good friends depart and feeling very blue.all these things chuck themselves In Front of us to try and trip us up or worse-stop us in our tracks! Don't be scared of Omicron. It's not scared of us, weak and weedy though it is. Get yourself armoured up ( mask distance, latflo. G&T) And get out there to visit someone you knew where you used to live? All the museums and galleries are open. So maybe venture into fantasy land? See something you've not seen before then do a picture about it/them/ ? Start a project.i love a project to keep me occupied on my lonesome. Even if it's to rearrange a room/redecorate/have a chuckout then enjoy replacing old tat with new tat? the winter months are the pits, but not for long, just think In bout 6-8 weeks nature will be busting out all over. Clocks will be forward, days longer, virus is just ONE aspect of your life, so try to shove it to the back of the queue where it belongs, gone but not forgotten like creeping mould, needs to be checked and kept at bay. I feel like rubbish at the moment too so decided to get rid of a big dresser from my unhappy past and swap the rooms upstairs about, no costs involved but eating up the days. You're not alone. So join the club!xxxxx

I’ve been wondering whether we could do with a recruitment agency (department of one) aimed at employment for retired people? i.e. a full time job vacancy at the library done on a jo-share scheme with two or even three retirees sharing it? I ran my own business for over 30 years and miss it terribly now. Thoughts please.

I think a lot of us share your feelings. This has gone on too long now and we are all sick of it. Sounds to me like you have been very sensible in joining various things. Chances are that if you have had 3 jabs, even if you did catch Covid you would probably only have it mildly anyway.
Personally, I'm fed up because I still have itchy feet and am longing to go on holiday. I'm very old, so if this covid thing goes on too long I will probably be too old and feeeble to travel. I've had two booked holidays cancelled, so I am wary of booking again at the moment.

Sorry misspelt that Mirthy!

Have you come across Murthy.co.uk? They offer a very wide range of talks about e.g. history, travel, interesting and quirky topics and exercise, yoga, dance etc sessions on Zoom. I suggest you have a look at their upcoming events, I'm sure there is something that would appeal to you. You get a month's free trial. Good luck!

If you are a member of the U3A, they have walking groups, I’m sure.
Perfectly safe out in the fresh air,

I was diagnosed with breast cancer in the summer. I've had a mastectomy and the hormone reduction course of medication is quite challenging. I have found walking for some time every day a huge help when feeling low. I don't know if it's the exercise or being in the fresh air but it works!

I'm bored and fed-up too, recovering from a stroke in July (I was in hospital for several weeks and am about 95% recovered but not quite back to normal yet). I'm signed off as being unfit for work, until June. But I need to be doing something outside of the home.

I've just started going to Aqua Aerobics twice a week, with a friend, and plan to do a couple of Strokeability classes in the week. I go to a friendshipclub one day a week, where the people are very friendly, although they're about 20 years older than me (I'm 62), so I'm unlikely to make real friends there. I see another friend now and then, but she works various shifts, so we only meet up about every 3 weeks.

I feel guilty that I'm not contributing anything financially. My husband (63) works full and tells me we can manage (it's a struggle) on one wage.

I could get a job easily - I'm very experienced in my line of work - but am I really up to it? I just don't know what to do yet.

Oh thanks so much for your lovely replies! Its so good to share with people who truly understand. Im going to try Futurelearn, and go swimming. And you're right, Spring will be here soon. Thanks again.

I imagine we are all weary of it, but how much more so those who have the virus, have long Covid or have lost their employment through no fault of their own?
Yes, have a moan, but then decide what you are going to do about it. It’s not going to last forever, so Zoom courses as a temporary expedient are better than nothing, yes, get out walking ,either with a friend or in a group.
If your Art Group is Covid compliant and you take sensible precautions you need not be afraid to attend. It’s a question of priorities- everything involves an element of risk, but with common sense that risk can be mitigated.
For those of us who retired just before the pandemic or were bereaved, it’s been a double whammy - and we can but hope that “normal service will be resumed as soon as possible” .

Netflixfan, I’m feeling so weary of the whole thing as well. I was on the verge of joining U3A just before the pandemic hit. I decided not to go ahead as I was off to NZ for a visit. By the time I returned the first lockdown was almost upon us.

As a relatively busy person with family commitments, I was looking for something outside just for me. I just didn’t want to spend more time online via Zoom meetings so haven’t made any progress in joining just yet. More time online just isn’t a solution. I’m still hoping that a more normal existence is on the horizon but it’s now becoming so hard to be motivated to get on with something.

Shelflife soul destroying that’s the word, especially if you are a social animal like my DH. In my case not too bothered.

Cinema! We see our AC and GC but not so often, our AC are very anxious to keep us ' oldies' safe. On a happier note spring us round the corner, that should make us feel more optimistic! In the meantime everyone stay safe and well. Good wishes to all.

I get it too. This is indeed soul destroying! So many events cancelled and I miss the social side of our lives. A massive garden party would indeed be wonderful!!! On a happier note me and DH have escaped the virus , but not surprising as we havi been anywhere!! Seems a lifetime away when we went to the theatre / cinsma