Anabel Marsh is a 60ish retired librarian from Glasgow in Scotland
Do you remember starting school? I do. Before then, I had spent my time playing with my friends and my little sister – now I was constrained. I remember feeling, though I couldn’t have expressed it, that I would never be free again. Well, I have news for my 5-year old self! That freedom comes back with retirement. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoyed my education and my career, and I’m still a responsible person who commits to whatever she takes on, but now I have far more choice over what I do.
I also have more time to blog, although I don’t consider myself a retirement blogger as such. The Glasgow Gallivanter started life in 2011, the year before I finished work, and was originally titled – very unimaginatively – Anabel’s Travel Blog. Essentially, it’s my way of keeping a diary of everywhere I visit, and some places I have visited in the past, lavishly illustrated by my husband John’s photographs. So I’m my own number one reader – I want to be able to look back when I’m 90 and enjoy all these places again – and at first I regarded it as a bonus if anyone else stumbled across my posts by accident. Now, although I still write for myself primarily, I find it’s so much more fun when you reach out to other people. I really feel you get to know people by commenting on each other’s blogs, and sometimes that can spill over into real, as opposed to virtual, life. I’ve met four blogging friends so far, and had a great time with each one.
So what will you find on The Glasgow Gallivanter? Foreign travels such as our trip to Budapest in the Spring, and our upcoming trip to the Canadian Rockies. We love to hike, so expect some great views! I haven’t done so well with retrospective posts lately, but last year, I wrote a series about our visit to Tibet in 2000. Not many people come home from vacation with snaps of road digging equipment, but we did – flooding trapped us between a landslide in one direction and a swept-away bridge in the other. That’s the only time I truly feared I would not get out of somewhere alive.
I also write a lot about Scotland, and Glasgow in particular. I’m very proud of my home country and city and I love to tell people about them. I always seem to get more readers for my Scottish posts than for my globetrotting ones and I’m very happy with that. This year, I instigated a monthly round-up post, Glasgow Gallivanting, in which I include smaller events that wouldn’t make it into a full post, and I usually like to end by teaching my readers a new Scottish word. In that spirit, I will now say that you have probably had enough of me blethering and it’s time to haud ma wheest.
I hope you’ve enjoyed this brief introduction to The Glasgow Gallivanter, and I invite you to gallivant with me.
Anabel
Glossary
Gallivant: to go about in search of pleasure; gad about
Blether: to chatter; gossip
Haud ma wheest: be quiet (roughly equivalent of holding my tongue)
From Retirement Reflections: Thank you to Anabel for introducing herself here and inviting us all to go gallivanting with her. I highly recommend that you take her up on this offer. I know that you won’t be disappointed. Want to live your life more fully, and follow a bold plan? Please, join us next Sunday when we welcome Guest Host, Joanne Sisco.
Retirement Reflections 
Retirement does come with a sense of freedom. There are still things you “must” do but the timing is so much more flexible. I love that you include “words.” I have been accused of blethering so I was familiar with that one! 🙂
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Thanks Kate! I’m glad you feel the same. And nothing wrong with a wee blether now and again….
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Freedom and flexibility are at the top of my list of what I love most about retirement…and it’s a very long list!
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So good to see you on Donna’s blog, Anabel! Although I’ve followed you for a while, it’s always nice to learn a bit more. I look forward to “joining” you on your trip to the Canadian Rockies!
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Hello, Janis, we meet again! First Canadian episode due out tomorrow.
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I’m looking forward to reading that episode, Anabel. Fingers crossed that I’ll be able to fine working wi-fi!
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Hi, Janis – Thank you so much for stopping by to read Anabel’s post here. I am not surprised that many bloggers on this Sunday Series are familiar to you…I met many of them through your blog!😎
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It’s great to meet you, Anabel. I hope one day I’ll enjoy the freedom of retirement. For now, since I can only get health care under my employer, it’s off to work I go each morning. Thanks for hosting Anabel, Donna!
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Hi Jill, I hope your day will come! I appreciate how lucky we are in Scotland with our National Health Service.
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Hi, Jill – It is my pleasure to host Anabel. I love her blog and traveling virtually with her!
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Oh wow, that was an excellent post, Anabel! I love that you try to teach a new Scottish word at the end of each post. I get to expand my horizons by galavanting with you and seeing your husband’s wonderful pictures while reading your blog AND expand my vocabulary to boot!
I really like your Glasgow centered posts too… our relatives used to live in Glasgow. My Aunt Kate just recently passed away – she lived in Glasgow for as many years as I can remember. Libraries are some of my favorite places. I could stay there for hours on end (just ask my husband who waits for me to pick out books, lol). I also used to be a librarian’s assistant in my sons’ schools as they were growing up. I am glad you are retired now and able to choose what you do with your time.
I enjoy your blog very much, Anabel. Thank you for sharing your adventures and your knowledge with us.
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Hi Susan, thanks for the kind comments – I’m glad you continue to enjoy the blog. It won’t surprise you to know that choosing what to do with my time still involves libraries a lot of the time!
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Hi, Susan – I too love following Anabel’s adventures…and learning a few new Scottish words! I look forward to reading her Canadian Rockies post soon!
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Hi Anabel,
It was great to read a bit more of your backstory. I appreciate you being transparent about your reasons for blogging. Your goal of keeping an online diary so you can look back at the details in a few decades makes great sense to me. And as a win-win, I get to read the details of one of my very favourite countries by a woman who knows and loves it well. Thank you.
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Thanks Karen – I’m glad you keep enjoying the blog. I suppose my categorisation is “hobby blogger” – I don’t get hung up on stats or worry too much about promotion, but I truly have found it so much more rewarding since I started to make connections with other people. Bloggers are such a lovely bunch!
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Hi, Karen – I fully agree with you that Anabel’s on-line diary is a win-win! I also agree with Anabel that bloggers (at least the ones in this little corner of the internet) are a ‘lovely bunch’!
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Im happy to “know” you, Anabel and to see you featured on Donna’s blog. I like all your posts and remember the Tibetan ones “fondly”; one of those adventures that are better to reflect on afterwards than during. 🙂 looking forward to your Canadian gallivanting.
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Ha ha, Tibet was much better to read about than experience I’m sure! Happy, as always, to be in touch with you too, Liesbet.
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Hi , Liesbet – Thank you for commenting. I’m looking forward to reading Anabel’s ‘Canadian Rockies’ post as well!
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Hello Anabel,
I enjoyed your blog entry. Your reasons for writing are similar to mine and I agree that it is interesting to get comments back.
Personally, I have been to Scotland only once but enjoyed it very much. I hope to read more about it in your blog.
Fran
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Thanks Fran! Glad you enjoyed the post – and of course, very glad that you enjoyed Scotland when you were here. I’m veering off into my Canadian vacation just now but have some more Scottish posts in the pipeline once I’ve got that off my chest!
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Hi, Fran – Thanks so much for stopping by. I’ve been to Scotland once before as well. In my memory, I spent much time saying “pardon me, could you repeat that?”. Good thing that Anabel is offering free ‘Scottish lessons’ in her blog!😎
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Ha ha, when we first moved here I spent an entire taxi ride smiling politely at the driver’s “jokes”. My “friend” didn’t tell me they were all filthy till the next day!
Thanks for hosting me, Donna.
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I love your comparison between retirement and the freedom of early childhood. As a new retiree who has had a long and busy career, I am just beginning to discover how wonderful it is to have few constraints on my time. I was worried that I would miss the structure but so far I just love it.
Jude
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Hi, Jude – Thank you for stopping by and reading Anabel’s post. I too like her comparison of life ‘before school’ and ‘after work’. I am so glad to hear that the start of your retirement is going so well!
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Glad to hear it! Hope you continue to enjoy life.
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Nice to meet you, Ananbel. Sounds to me as if you’ve been making the most of your retirement. I haven’t travelled as much as you have during my retirement, but I do enjoy the freedom you speak about. Every day, I wake up and think ‘a fresh new day of freedom.’ However, don’t know about you, but time seems to go very quickly.
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Hi, Hugh – Thanks for dropping by to read Anabel’s post. If I remember correctly from a previous comment, that should be “Yahoo, another day of freedom”! 😎
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Time flies by, doesn’t it? I think because almost everything I do is because I enjoy it – not that I didn’t enjoy working, I did, but I could never be enthused about days that contained budgets or statistics for example. I’m glad to be free of that!
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I Agree, Anabel. I also enjoyed my work, but having the freedom back is a bonus. A Friday afternoon doesn’t quite have the same feeling as it did when I was working, but then nor does a Monday morning. 😀
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It’s nice to have ‘met’ you through Donna’s guest post series.
There’s a joie de vivre in your writing that suggests you can find adventure just about anywhere 🙂
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Thank you, Joanne – the feeling is mutual!
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I am a huge fan of Anabel’s Glasgow Gallivanter blog and my inner 5-year-old is so happy to have met her inner 5-year-old in cyber space. Delighted to be introduced to your blog as well Donna!
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Hi, Lisa – Thank you so much for stopping by. I’ve loved getting to know more about my favourite bloggers. Like you, I was delighted with Anabel’s choice to introduce us to her five year old self. I am off to check out your blog now.
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Love what you are doing here and have just signed up for your blog!
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Just noticed that you had found your way here! Thanks Lisa.
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Hi, Anabel – I am so glad that Lisa found her way to my blog via your guest post. I can’t believe that I’ve missed her blog all this time. Her adventures, writing and photography are incredible!
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Hi Anabel – Retirement does bring freedom for sure. Glad you’re enjoying yours traveling and writing about it. Nice to “meet” you!
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Hi, Dee- I agree that retirement does bring new freedom. How we choose to use that freedom is always very fascinating to me — especially being a girl who loves options!
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