Author: Follow Grandma

In 2020 the pandemic stopped the world as we knew it. It was the end of my travels to far flung destinations; no more zip-lining over rain forests or diving into underwater conservation projects. I was securely locked down in Scotland and I'm still here! This last year I've had time to look at old diaries and re-live some fascinating Scottish adventures. So, I'm sharing these in blogs and now podcasts. Follow Grandma and discover more about Hidden Scotland Previously I'd written blogs about what I called my ‘Gap experience' in my sixties. (I'd been too busy having babies to have a Gap year at nineteen). So, It all began when I went to India for a wedding. There I met so many people who, instead of opting for retirement, had taken up the challenge and were doing something new, which was sometimes quite mad or liberating. I decided I’d do the same. One of these was learning to scuba dive. Overnight a new world opened up; underwater landscapes, exotic fish, marine excitement and a bunch of new friends. In my early seventies I seized the chance to Zip Line over the Costa Rica Rain Forest and finished up with a breath-taking 'Tarzan rope swing'. What an opportunity to face up to real deep-seated fear. For five timeless minutes I experienced the exhilaration of swinging freely over the jungle canopy and, I let go of so many worries. Writing blogs was a way of sharing the adventures that made me feel ‘Alive'. Then, suddenly, my adventures were stopped by ill health and disability. What helped get me through dark days was my personal goal - I intended to travel again. At the time there was no certainty I would do it unaided or on two steady feet and In many ways that was more challenging than physical adventures. It took a couple of years but, after acceptance, perseverance, positivity and a lot of patience, I was finally able to set off again. Being 'stopped' in 2020 by the pandemic reminded me again that sometimes we need to take time for reflection and learn how to 'be'. These moments are very precious. As we consider how much of the 'old order' has disappeared we can see this as a chance to create a new world based on more equality and fairness, sharing of resources and one where we take more responsibility for ourselves, each other and the planet. It’s a huge opportunity. Recently I've met such care and concern in the community and Follow Grandma blogs and podcasts will reflect some of this new world order. The new and current challenge for me is the techno challenge - how to record my stories as podcasts and then launch them on to Spotify and Apple ready for you to listen. I gather that if you type in 'Follow Grandma' then the podcasts and blogs should appear. I intend to do a regular weekly one. Please bear with me as I experiment !! I'm going to enjoy sharing some of the fun of Hidden Scotland particularly since I know that people from all over the world follow grandma and know this is my home. This last year has been a time when many of us have have experienced stress, uncertainty or loneliness, so my intention in sharing these Scottish stories, interspersed with some of my original travel blogs and thoughts from the last year, is simply to brighten your day and encourage you to feel alive again.
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Grandma’s First Cayman Experience – more from my diary

I'm enjoying re-reading my diary and writing these blogs a few years later because the memories, in this case of that first trip, come flooding back literally in glorious technicolour As a wiser and older person I decided to make it easy on myself and we were staying at a small dedicated dive resort which …

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