Rostand

A man is not old as long as he is seeking something. (Jean Rostand)

I love quotes such as the one above. I seek them out and for a while they steer my thinking and actions before I forget them again or another new one comes along.

It ties in neatly with my previous post about doldrums and I have been doing some serious thinking about that. I found yesterday's Guardian most helpful in this respect especially the Travel Supplement and its Gap Year Special. (As a completely random side issue, I love the fact that one of the key characters in "The Bourne Ultimatum" is a Guardian reporter played by Paddy Consindine - brilliant film heartily recommended)

The Gap Year Special deals with a number of age groups rather than wasting all its ideas on youth and the duration is not always a year or twelve months. My eye and mind was caught by a number of items. Best Beloved has said she can't contemplate some of the longer ones at the present time because of her commitments to her elderly mother. The latter has certainly becoming more demanding of Ingrid's time and effort but without any noticeable increase in gratitude it seems to me. The old lady did suggest getting a dog was not a good idea because the responsibility for one would be a "hindrance". I feel it is all a matter of scale really.

Idea #1 A three month stay with MondoChallenge (www.mondochallenge.org) costs £1200. One 66 year old participant spent her three months working as a volunteer English teacher in a primary school in a village just outside Darjeeling in India. She stayed with the headmaster. She is considering going back to do another project in India but may also head to Romania. "The best advice (she) could give is don't think about it, just do it. (She) didn't want to reach 75, look back and wish (she)'d done more with (her) life."

Don't think about it, just do it!

That sounds good advice to me as I regularly talk myself out of projects that my heart yearns to do because I listen to the good sense of other people or my protestant upbringing determine the idea is fanciful and self indulgent or I am daft enough to allow my gut reaction to be over ruled because others know "better" than I do.

Idea#2 (Best Beloved is keen on this idea as well as she thinks she can get away for the fortnight required) is Learn a Language. A two week course costs £321 (www.applelanguages.com). The example quoted is the company's Spanish language school in Malaga. A full programme of social and cultural activities is provided: Spanish cookery lessons, visits to the botanical gardens, the central market, and the Alcazaba fortress and lunch with teachers. Accommodation can be arranged with host families or on campus.

Idea#3 is similar to #2. You enjoy a weekend in the Spanish countryside while helping Spanish professionals to master conversational English. A deserted village is stocked with native English speakers who through games and activities help Spanish participants to speak English with confidence. Private rooms are provided free of charge in a four star hotel with views. Programmes run all year round (www.vaughntown.com) Make your own way to Madrid and all other costs are covered.

Idea#4 is Raleigh International (www.raleighinternational.org). I nearly joined Raleigh when I was at college in the late 60's but decided to apply for a teaching job in Hampshire instead (the rest is history as they say). However this project is to be a volunteer manager such as running a school in a remote village with a team of young people under my wing. There are other projects such as transforming a former prison island into a wildlife refuge, scuba diving or mountain climbing. The school idea would tie more neatly into the skills i have acquired - although those same skills might also work on prison island into wildlife refuge (only kidding!).

There are a couple of more ideas which could be possibles rather than probables. One is a two week panda conservation excursion (www.i-to-i.com) costing £1195 plus £300 for each additional week. The example quoted is of a 58 year old woman volunteer who worked in the Qinling Mountains about an hour from Xi'an. She worked with two pandas in a reserve there and also taught the keepers, their wives and children how to speak English. She was provided with a house shared with other volunteers in Xi'an. In her spare time she visited museums and pagodas. The second possible rather than probable idea is working on the island of San Cristobal in the Galapagos helping to preserve the natural habitat and introduce organic farming methods. You plant crops, assist with light building activities, or help to maintain trails around the island. Those who know my practical abilities or rather limitations may scoff at my ability to help with such activities. Local staff lead hikes to lagoons, forest, beaches and villages. Two to ten week placements are available from £1025 (www.i-to-i.com).

I love the idea of doing something practical and worthwhile instead of just being a tourist to these places.

Roses - cut back dead or fading flowers to prominent bud or new shoot; usually about four leaves down. This will stimulate more growth and provide flowers later in the year. Continue to check roses for the presence of suckers and cut or pull off from the point of origin on the rootstock.

The roses item and the following words of wisdom come from the "happy heart" newsletter from the Phase IV cardiac rehab programme run by Debbie Hobbs (newsletter editor is Liz Marriott).

Under no circumstances take a laxative and a sleeping pill on the same night.