Leisure Activities

Whatever amount of leisure time you have available in retirement, there is almost certainly something you will be looking forward to doing. Whether you tend towards studying, sports or crafts there are loads of suitable activities for everyone’s tastes on offer locally or nationally. You may need to do a bit of research and one of the easiest ways is using the internet. For example, many areas have online neighbourhood communities – such as nextdoor.co.uk – where you can find kindred spirits to share your interests in walking, reading, music, craft and much more. Other sources include local newsletters and community noticeboards.

Coronavirus has changed the way we socialize. Meeting people and sharing interests in person carries on but you need to take care to follow the rules and guidance, for example, about social distancing. Where meeting physically is not possible, you can still have an active social life online, meeting in groups on platforms such as zoom. us, keeping in touch with individuals and groups through messaging services and playing games with friends or strangers through sites like boardgamearena.com. If you are one of the third of over-65s (and half of over-75s) not yet on the internet, now might be a good time to take the plunge! For information about how to get online and use the internet confidently, contact the Age UK Advice Line 0800 678 1602.

Adult education

Opportunities for education abound, and there are scores of subjects easily available to everyone, regardless of age or previous qualifications. You might be a leisure learner or among the many older people studying with a view to taking on a new career in later life.

Formal learning

Not all educational courses are free, and this can deter a number of people from taking the opportunity to learn. However, there is no age limit for applying for a student loan to cover university tuition fees and, because of the way the rules work, you probably will not have to pay back all or even any of the loan.

Loans are not interest-free. They start to be repaid after you leave fulltime study or after four years if you are studying part-time. Repayments stop if you are not working or your income falls below a specified threshold. The rate of repayment and the threshold vary across the UK: • England and Wales: for undergraduate loans, you pay 9 per cent of your before-tax income above £26,575 a year (2020/21). For postgraduate loans, repayments are 6 per cent of income above £21,000.

Any unpaid balance is written off after 30 years. • Scotland and Northern Ireland: for both undergraduate and postgraduate loans, repayments are 9 per cent of income above £19,390 a year (2020/21).

Generally, any unpaid balance is written off after 30 years (Scotland) or 25 years (Northern Ireland).

To be eligible for a student loan, you must not be studying at the same level as a degree you already have, unless your new qualification is in a STEM (science, technology, engineering

or maths) subject or healthcare. While most universities require you to have some minimum qualifications (such as A-levels), the UK’s largest distance-learning higher education institution, the Open University, is specifically open to learners regardless of whether or not they have prior qualifications.

The UK has two specialist distance learning universities: the Open University (open.ac.uk), and Arden (arden.ac.uk). However, increasingly, traditional brick universities are also offering online distance learning, which you might find more convenient than attending a campus. Many universities offer a choice of part-time or full-time study.

You may be interested in courses that offer pre-university or professional qualifications.

Not all educational courses are free, and this can deter a number of people from taking the opportunity to learn.

Informal learning

There are also increasing opportunities for informal learning, both at university and other levels, online and in the physical world. Agencies such as Age UK (ageuk.org. uk) will supply information on free and subsidized educational courses. Local libraries and your council are two of the best places to obtain information on local opportunities, such as adult education and life skills courses in, for example, literacy, numeracy, digital skills and financial capability. If you are interested in learning online, here are some of the leading websites where you can study informally for free: • BBC Bitesize: learn with the

BBC through online courses and study. See bbc.com/bitesize/subjects. • Massive Online Open Courses (MOOCs): These are offered through online platforms. You can study a very wide range of courses often from leading universities around the world.

See coursera.org, edx.org and futurelearn.com. • The Open University (OU): free courses are available on its

OpenLearn platform, some of which tie in with TV programmes that the BBC and OU co-produce.

See open.edu/openlearn.

Many universities offer non-degree courses for adults and public lectures, sometimes in the evening or during vacation periods. In addition, there are non-university organizations that offer a wide range of lectures, talks and courses. Here are just a few possibilities: • Guardian Masterclasses: life skill, career and hobby-related courses with a leaning towards writing, media and the arts from the

Guardian newspaper group, held in London.

See theguardian.com/guardianmasterclasses. • U3A (the University of the Third

Age) is the national representative body for the Universities of the

Third Age in the UK. U3As are self-help, self-managed, lifelong learning cooperatives for older

people. The U3A website has a diverse list of courses available online, which have been specifically designed for those in later life who are looking to learn some new skills.

See u3a.org.uk. • The Women’s Institute (WI) Denman College offers half-day, day and residential courses for men as well as women, both WI members and non-members, at the WI’s college in Oxfordshire. Over 650 courses covering a wide range of subjects. Some bursaries are available to cover the fees.

See denman.org.uk. • The Workers’ Educational Association is the UK’s largest voluntary sector provider of adult learning with part-time adult education courses for everyone, delivered locally through partner organizations.

See wea.org.uk.

Women’s organizations

Women today participate in almost any activity on equal terms with men. But there are women’s clubs and organizations that continue to enjoy enormous popularity: • The Mothers’ Union promotes Christian care for families internationally in 84 countries, with over 4 million members. See mothersunion.org. • The National Association of Women’s Clubs has around 130 clubs with nearly 5,000 members nationally, open to women of all ages, faiths and interests. See nawc.org.uk. • The National Women’s Register has groups across the UK of ‘lively minded women’ who meet informally in members’ homes to enjoy challenging discussions. The groups choose their own topics and many also arrange a varied programme of social activities.

See nwr.org.uk. • The Scottish Women’s Institute is one of the largest women’s organizations in

Scotland and has thousands of members of all ages who enjoy social, recreational and educational activities.

See theswi.org.uk. • Townswomen’s Guilds is one of the UK’s leading women’s organizations, providing fun, friendship and a forum for social change since 1929. Over 20,000 women nationwide have joined.

See the-tg.com. • The Women’s Institute (WI) is the largest national organization for women, with nearly 220,000 members in local WIs across

Britain. It plays a unique role in providing women with educational opportunities and the chance to take part in a wide variety of activities and campaigns.

See thewi.org.uk. If you live in

Northern Ireland, there is the

Federation of Women’s Institutes of Northern Ireland – see wini.org.uk.

For people with disabilities

In large part due to legislation, facilities for people with disabilities have improved dramatically in recent decades, so there are fewer activities from which disabled people are now excluded. Fencing is one which is fun and exciting, and a good way to keep in shape. It involves panache, style and grace, and can be done in a wheelchair. While wheelchair fencing is very different from the sport of ambulant fencers, the weapons and their usage remain the same. To find out more about wheelchair fencing, a good starting point is British Disability Fencing. Its website offers a huge amount of information, including how and where you can find a local fencing club. See britishdisabilityfencing.co.uk.

For blind or partially-sighted people, the following websites may be of interest, as they feature talking books: • Calibre Audio Library has audio books that bring the pleasure of reading to people who have sight problems, dyslexia or other disabilities that prevent them from reading a print book; this service is entirely free.

See calibreaudio.org.uk. • Listening Books is a UK charity providing a large collection of audio books to over 50,000 people nationwide who find it difficult or impossible to read due to illness or disability. Audio books are sent through the post on CD, or can be downloaded or streamed from listening-books.org.uk. • RNIB’s Talking Book Service offers over 26,000 audio books, paid for by annual subscription, and delivered direct to your door.

The RNIB’s library has books available in audio, digital, braille and giant print.

See rnib.org.uk.

Adapted extract from The Good Retirement Guide edited by Jonquil Lowe is ©2021 and reproduced with permission from Kogan Page Ltd

Record my life story

by Elliott Frisby

The human race has always had an interest in documenting the past for future generations. From cave drawings dating back 45,000 years, to scribbling in note books purchased at WH Smiths, we humans have many stories to share and a keen interest to learn about our past. Where did I come from? What were my grandparents like? What did my great great grandparents do for a living? Searching our family tree is a pervading interest around the world and people take pride in seeing their distant relatives' names in a book sitting on their shelf. But what if you could take it 1, or even 100, steps further?

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