Retired - What's that ?

I'm aware of how devastating Covid has been for so many people, losing family and friends and suffering much pain both physicaly and mentally and of course the huge amount of inconvenience caused when travelling and trying to visit family and friends.

Early on when the Covid problem started I decided to lay low, keep out of the way and just to try and get on with life as best as I could.

I knew that we would have to keep occupied and at first I thought no problem for me, I've got so many hobbies and my wife loves cooking and reading, so we will be OK.

Of course we didn't expect Covid to drag on for so long and after 6 months I decided that we must do something more positive, and that is when I decided to organise and open a Museum, easy I thought.

But my new lifestyle wouldn't have happened if we hadn't been shut down with the pandemic,so something does sometimes happen from otherwise bad situations, methinks ?

Well not as easy as expected, but I plodded on, often burning the 'midnight oil ', hard work however I was really enjoying myself and didn't let Covid stand in the way.

We went out most days ,early in the morning and late at night, long walks with virtually no contact with other humans, and we actually didn't leave our village for over 12 months.

17 years ago when we decided to move to a different part of Spain we were quite determined to find a place where we could walk out of the house and have shops, bars, medical centre etc all close by and the 'shut down' really proved how lucky we had been with our choice.

I know that we've been very lucky to avoid any real complications with Covid , but I'm constantly wondering how other people coped during this dire situation, not just the physical side , but the long term mental stress etc.

What does amaze me is how quickly Covid seemed to disappear from the news and how the focus suddenly switched to the war in Ukraine etc.

The situation of the past few years really does highlight how important it is to choose the right place to live and that's quite difficult when moving from another country, and how  to switch from holiday mode to permanent living in Spain mode.

Spain really is a wonderful place to live however it does require a lot of thought and planning about housing , location  and how to cope with extreme weather conditions etc. and  keeping occupied after the 'honeymoon' period which for most seems to last for about 12 months.

So many questions, which require so many thoughtful answers.

I do urge newcomers to really 'think outside the box ' when choosing their new home, very important to think ahead and remember that we don't know what is around the corner.

I'm sure that many long term residents in Spain could tell so many happy and sad stories

I send my Best Wishes to everyone..

Surely it's  time that you retired, my family and friends keep asking me.?

Well I decided a long time ago that retirement wasn't for me, I enjoy working, and I really do enjoy keeping busy.

So for more than 10 years I've kept involved working with various voluntary organisations and I've run English classes for local Spanish people who needed help with practising English.

But I really needed to do something different, a project that would use my experience and knowledge and keep me active.

So recently I opened a Museum,' Blimey'  I hear you say, that's not what I expected ' !

It took me about 12 months to sort and arrange my massive eclectic collection of vintage and antique items,lots of display cabinets and displays, most from my own personal collection started when I was age six, so more than 70 years of hoarding ,I'm told..

I'm lucky that we live in a fairly large modern town house, bags of space at ground floor level and we live comfortably above, so whenever I feel like working  I just 'pop' downstairs,'' keeps him out of mischief'' my lovely wife tells everyone.

Covid shut down gave me a perfect opportunity to really put my heart and soul into my latest project and it actually came together quickly during the final stages, no interruptions, and even our neighbours didn't have a clue what I was doing.

I really immersed myself in cleaning and preparing my exhibits and I spent many hours researching and refreshing my knowledge, and now my museum has over  1000 exhibits of Social History with a hugh time span from prehistory to the 1980's.

My exhibits range from coins to clothing, covering all types of social history , with quite a big section of Militaria and clothing from early Victorian to Mid Twentieth Century, something for everyone many visitors tell me..

I've tried to include exhibits which will interest all ages and gender, and I'm so pleased when I watch my visitors pointing at exhibits and stating ''my Mum, Dad, Grandad, Grandma etc., had one like that '', many memories reactivated and new memories started, and I hear laughter and have noted a few tears in eyes.

Since I  opened about 6 months ago I've had over 1000 visitors, individuals, couples, small parties and large parties, 75% non locals from all parts of Spain and the world, and I've really enjoyed every minute of it.!

Luckily  in our lovely large village / small town we have a recently discovered 'Villa Romana', a fantastic Roman Villa complex which still has many treasures to discover, only a fraction of the beautiful mosaics have been uncovered, but all really fabulous, well worth a visit.

So many of the Roman Villa visitors arrive at my museum, a little extra bonus for them and we also have in the village a Arab watch tower and a Palacio, at present under renovation, and I must also mention our beautiful church with so much history from sad and happy times.

I must mention that my museum really is only my hobby / pastime, I don't charge any entry fee but I do have a collection box for anyone to add a few coins to help with my other projects, such as helping our local dog and cat rescue group.

 May I suggest that if you are retired ( at whatever age ),  you could take up a little hobby, maybe not a museum, but you probably all have skills and knowledge that you could pass on, what about starting a little group ,so many subjects available, it really doesn't matter about your age, just do what you feel comfortable with..

Museo Gordon is situated at La Parata, no 1, Salar, Granada Province ,18310 and it's open by appointment ,most days and times  available.

Please contact by message or what's app on number 650 359 557, if you wish to visit.

Entrance is direct from the street , just one small step - for the museum...and mankind !.

Wheelchair friendly and plenty of seats for you to relax.

Toilet facilities available.

We look forward to meeting and greeting you...