On Wednesday 25th July, the very first Post-Retirement Opportunities event was held at the Watershed in Bristol.
Attended by over 50 people, the event provided a space for individuals approaching retirement, or those who were recently retired, to gather information on the opportunities and advice available to them, to share and explore ideas, and hear from those with lived experience. The event also gave those who attended the opportunity to meet people at a similar stage in life – all whilst enjoying some fabulous drinks and nibbles from the Watershed kitchen.
Trevor Jones MBE, Chair of LinkAge Network, opened the event with a welcome to attendees and an introduction to the Post-Retirement Opportunities (PRO) project.
Attendees then enjoyed an honest, insightful and inspiring account of the transition to retirement by guest speaker Judith Kilsby, author of A Retirement Blog by Caree Risover, who travelled to Bristol all the way from Yorkshire especially for the event.
Representatives from a range of organisations were on hand to offer information and advice and to promote opportunities with in the areas of money, work, volunteering, learning, leisure and health & wellbeing. In attendance were the Money Advice Service, Prospects / National Careers Service, Stoke Lodge Adult Learning, Bristol Folk House, SS Great Britain, Life Cycle UK, ilop (Improving Lives for Older People in BS3) and the Macmillan Prevention and Re-enablement Project.
Attendees had the opportunity to explore retirement in more depth by taking part in two workshops – Hopes & Fears with Judith Kilsby and Goal Setting with Jo Davies and Laura Hancock of Prospects / National Careers Service. Both workshops took a practical approach to helping participants think about their future – identifying hopes, strengths and areas for self-improvement, setting (and achieving!) personal targets, and overcoming the obstacles and barriers getting in the way.
Similar events, featuring information stalls, guest speakers and workshops, will be held monthly from September – April, with plans already underway for the next PRO event in autumn. Details of upcoming events will be published in the LinkAge Network e-Newsletter and on our website.
If you would like to get involved in the project by having a stall, giving a talk, running a workshop, or hosting an event at your workplace, please get in touch with Sarah Parkes, PRO Events Coordinator on sarahparkes@linkagenetwork.org.uk or 0759 409 0115.
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