Author
DR Rob Gandy I UK
It’s May, and it’s Spring, and the birds and bees are all very active! Summer is just around the corner.
Many of us will have just recovered from Easter and the May Bank Holiday barbeques. As usual I did my annual calculation as to whether there is more chocolate for your money in one of the Easter eggs, in their fancy boxes and wrappers, or a straightforward large block of chocolate? Again I concluded that it was the latter, but such economic deliberations were lost on my grandchildren who liked the eggs that came with Paw Patrol designs and big fluffy bunnies. But Easter was also the time of year when many people realised that they hadn’t got their plans in place for their Summer holidays, and launched forth to the travel agents and on to the internet, armed only with their (melting) credit cards.
Now the great advantage for people of our generation is that we can be a little more relaxed about arranging holidays. In particular, we do not have to worry about taking our kids out of school during term time1. This of course excludes that small minority who have somehow found themselves as new parents in later life, a situation that reminds me of the old saying “Insanity is hereditary – you get it from your children”. Of course, what is wonderful is that you can book your holidays outside the school holidays. So not only do you get cheaper holidays but you also don’t have the little horrors loudly running around everywhere causing chaos. Babies and toddlers are OK because they can be controlled and are usually in bed by a decent time, and they are also usually very cute – enabling you to go “Aah!” to their parents whilst tickling them under the chin (the children – not the parents!), and thinking “I’m glad all that is behind me”.
Of course, with the reduced buying power of the £ following the Brexit vote some of the holiday prices will have gone up, but it will still be cheaper to go outside the school holidays. And don’t forget retired GBoomers have the added bonus of being able to take advantage of any last minute deals because they are not tied to work rotas and booking leave well in advance.
The more adventurous will be heading for far flung places, maybe looking at places that formed big parts of our youth, at least via the televisions, e.g. Vietnam. Others will want to be educated and learn things, and go on tours of big cities or megalithic sites or places where you can paint, or whatever. So, dig out your bucket list – while you are still fit enough to go gallivanting – and have a look at what has not yet been ticked off. And if you don’t have a bucket list that includes places to visit then just look for somewhere that takes your fancy.
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