Taking things slowly

Hi, it’s Dr. Denise, down in the wood, and I’m just taking things slowly. I’ve been here for a few hours. I’m just listening to the birds and it’s so nice and peaceful. And I know at home I could just sit quietly and read a book, but there are always demands, aren’t there? We […]

Why I wrote my latest book

At 61 I started my doctorate, researching how people find meaning in life after full time work, and what are the psychological factors that help. I hadn’t done any academic studies since 1998 when I completed my MBA. I didn’t think I’d be accepted as there is such high demand and would I be able […]

A letter from my 70-year-old self

Today I’m 66. This is the day I get my state pension. A year ago, I spent my birthday reflecting at my wood. Reading poems and notes sent by friends. Watch the video here. This year I’m going away for a few days with my partner, visiting Hawkstone Follies, which I last visited over 25 […]

Time for a review

What type of active ager are you?

Most of us are, or want to be active agers, but what do we mean by that? We can be active in different ways and whilst for some it could be training for a triathlon there are many others ways we could feel we meet with this title. Let’s start with the first one. I’ve […]

Thrive

 Hi, it’s Dr. Denise Taylor down at the Wood. And I want you to thrive, not just survive. I think there’s a book somewhere that I’ve read with a title around that. Anyway, I used to know somebody and his standard answer to: how are you getting on? How are you? was plodding on. I […]

BUCKET LIST

 I was asked recently, what was my bucket list, and it took me back a step, because it’s not something that I’ve thought about for a long time. A lot of people have bucket lists, which is, you know, all the things you want to do before you die. And it involves a lot of […]

Being visible

Hi, it’s Dr. Denise Taylor, and today I want to talk about being visible. There’s a lot written about people of around my age, mid- fifties upwards and about how we feel invisible, how we’re not seen, and we fade into the background. I don’t think I fade into the background, and I don’t think […]

The Valuable Time of Maturity

With age, comes, for me, a greater interest in and appreciation of poetry. I hope you enjoy reflecting on this by Mario de Andrade I counted my years and realized that I have less time to live by, than I have lived so far. I have more past than future. I feel like that boy […]

Have you thought about a sabbatical?

A time out to step off your busy life, contemplate a question, or consider your future. Some academics get a chance to do this every 7 years. This often takes them outside their lecturing and other work with students, it is often still work, but different, where they work on academic research and publishing. I […]