HAPPY RETIREMENT MICHAELMASDAISY!

Assuming Nathan has got his facts right.............
I echo his sentiments!! Have fun - enjoy!!! Get out in the garden even more,and on GC as much as possible! :D

 

Oh, you sweet, lovely people!! I always thought that the folk on GC were the best and you just proved it big time!! Yes, jjordie is right, of course, I was having a mega-sulk at being made to retire but this evening went to a meeting at the Minster about a group called Christian Solidarity Worldwide. It campaigns for prisoners of faith and the speaker was Deborah Xu who was placed under house arrest by the Chinese government for almost 2 years, yet the people gathered outside her home and would listen to her preach though her window and a line of soldiers!! CSW successfully campaigned to get her released.

At the end of the meeting her mentor and friend, an eighty year old Chinese man, told us all that he saw "a lot of halos in the church" - white hair - which meant that our lives were just coming into their own and when we retire it doesn't mean the end of our lives but the start of new ones!! How could I feel low after that?! So I signed on as a campaigner!!

Thank you all for adding to that precious gift of encouragement I got today!! Be blessed, all of you!

 

Yes, GC Members are the best aren't they.

Now - what is that saying?
"As one door closes another one opens"

Looks like it does happen to some!

 

I thought you would find something or something would find you. Good luck with your campaigns

 

MD as you have already heard, retirement is not an end but a new beginning - make the best use of it, its now time to get really involved in more important things than earning a salary.

I loved my job but took early retirement last year - and one year later, I don't regret a thing. freedom can be a heady elexir. Enjoy it and use it well.

 

Well! I have made a decision! Last Friday night I got to do flag worship in Sunderland Minster and it was so awesome that I have decided to do a kind of pilgrimage. I'm going to try and do flag worship in cathedrals in the North of England and I hope to start with Durham!! Naturally I shall be writing to the guys in charge to get special 'per' but it should be a wonderful experience. There's life in the old dog yet!

 

Sounds wonderful for you, MMD, but being somewhat ignorant on this subject could you please explain what flag worship is and what it is you actually do. Thank you.

 

Happy Retirement MMD - I have a funny feeling you won't be putting your feet up and watching daytime TV just yet!! :D

 

Daytime TV ... I do like Globe Trekker but that's at 4pm, but guess that's daytime TV!

 

Oh, just stuff like in the photo, LoL. Instead of staying in my seat during worship, I out waving flags in time with the band. It's gets to be a pretty good workout sometimes, bit like calisthenics. Sometimes I feel like I've done a half marathon! I know there'll be people here who aren't church people so I won't go into all the details except to say it enriches me in a lot of ways. I have a website (link on profile) and I sell flags on-line. I have also written a book on the subject.

I recently discovered that a person who likes flags is known as a vexillologist!!

Well, I never!!

Green Wizard - can you tell me where you get those neat images from? Please?

 

Thanks for that, MMD, and sorry if I offended you by asking if you were a Whirling Dervish! :eek:

When we lived in South Carolina, our apartments were across the street from a ????? church. It was one of these wonderful white wooden churches with a steeple, shame I never took a photo!

Anyway, once a week there was this particular service. We would be sitting by the pool of the apartments or on our balcony and both looked directly at this church. It was spooky anyway because there were huge trees with these draping Spanish Moss things hanging from the trees, like Gone with the Wind scenes and Porgy and Bess was filmed there. On these particular days the church would be filled .. it's a hot, humid place and there was no air conditioning in the late 60s in it so the windows were wide open, it was dark and you could see everything!

These people would pray, sing and then all jump up and run to the front flailing themselves around, jumping in the air and singing their heads off. It was totally mesmerising!!!

The only thing I can say, and you'll probably not like this, is that the movie The Blue Brothers has a wild scene similar to this performed by James Brown and Chaka Kahn (sp?) but I love watching it because it brings back such wonderful memories!

For what it's worth, I'm a non-practising Catholic!

Thanks for explaining and I'll look at the site!

 

Happy retirement MMD!!!!!!! I haven't come across ANYONE who says they are bored and have nothing to do in their retirement - my Dad's health improved big time, and both my parents can't believe they ever had time to work before!!!! My in-laws, who I thought would go to seed when they retired have proved me wrong - especially my FIL, he is sooooooooooooo much happier and content - in fact, they don't bicker like they used to, thinking about it.....

Anyway, make the most of it!! My Dad says the best bit is when you wake up on a cold and miserable winters morning and can just turn over and snuggle back down under the duvet!!!! :D