Steve and Annemarie Rawson in their special spot in the park next door to their London flat. "We were always there every warm summer evening that we were home!"
Steve and Annemarie Rawson in their special spot in the park next door to their London flat. "We were always there every warm summer evening that we were home!"
Annemarie Rawson can’t think of one negative thing about travelling later in life.
She says you do need to be reasonably healthy and fit, depending on how adventurous you are, but other than that, the only barriers are in your mind.
Her latest book, Late Life Adventures in London &Beyond, is the story of her and her husband Steve’s overseas journey, with “Europe right on our doorstep”.
Based in Teddington, southwest London, they found work that enabled them to tour and explore while earning some money.
Annemarie says the book describes their transition, at 60 and 61, to living and working in London and gives a month-by-month explanation of “our exciting discovery of that city, and as much of the UK and Europe as we could – while fit and healthy and living our best life”.
“There’s also a link at the end of each month to photos that relate to that particular month,” Annemarie said.
“After experiencing a relatively easy move to London at a much later stage in life, instead of in our 20s, I wanted to share it with others in the hope that they would not let life pass them by and be stimulated to do something similar at an older age.
“Also my need to ‘show’ friends and family, through my words, the landscape around me and the exciting new places we visited. They too, could then see and experience what we had. The positive feedback from my Facebook blogs was another inspiration to get it all down on paper.”
She says very little research was needed to write the book, as they were living life and seeing and experiencing everything she wrote about.
“It was just a matter of digging a little deeper to give the reader a snippet of the history of any one particular place and referring back to my photos.
Anemarie Rawson's books. Photo / Supplied
“Writing the book also enabled me to relive it all, while taking readers with me on our fabulous adventures.”
Annemarie, who lives in Havelock North when she’s not exploring the world, says there are many benefits to moving to London at a later stage in your life, including life experience.
“By 60, you’ve had a lot of life experience, and if you’re contemplating a move such as ours, you would have an appreciation of history and an interest in other ways of living. You’re also more likely to be open-minded and welcome new experiences and new people into your life. We most certainly did.
“Also, your financial situation is usually more stable when you’re just about retired, so [you] are able to afford the costs of moving and re-establishing yourself and it’s likely your children are grown and have left home.”
Her three favourite travel stories from the book are:
Journeying to the old Gorbals area of Glasgow to discover where Steve’s mother and grandmother were born and lived and research their story;
Discovering the Spanish Andalusian towns, cities and markets;
Christmas in London and Cornwall.
“I’m not one to go shopping when I travel. While we do visit tourist attractions, I love going off the beaten track where there are not hoards of people. I like to take the lesser-worn path where you come across wonderful markets — it’s always a visual feast for me.”
Her London travel tips include downloading the CityMapper app as soon as you arrive.
“You will never get lost! It gives all of your connections, timings and directions for walking and using every form of transport available.
“You are eligible for the 60-plus Osyter Card, which saves a fortune in travel within the nine London zones. You only need to prove you reside at the address given and upload a photo of yourself. You’ll have to read the book to find out more tips!”
Annemarie is not finished with her writing yet, as she is working on completing the second book in the Late Life Adventures in London & Beyond travel series.
She and Steve also looking forward to returning to the UK and Europe later this year to continue their adventures.
“I’d also like to find and inspire a multi-millionaire to create a Netflix or TV series of my other two books, My French Platter and My French Platter Replenished. These books describe our journey to southwest France to work as estate managers for a London couple. They tell all the drama that unfolds, the fabulous people we met, the food markets and delicious wine and our disastrous sacking at the first house. It then moves to our fabulous time at Combe de Merigot, a stunning domain near Gaillac. If you know anyone, let me know.”
Late Life Adventures in London is available at Wardini Books in Havelock North or online from Amazon Books.
