One of my post-retirement objectives was to take every opportunity to indulge in my passion for long country walks - this has been made much easier by the unusually warm and sunny early spring, with temperatures in the high teens on many days. In addition to local strolls around the Pentland reservoirs and other locations, I have been able to travel further afield with Jan, visiting such places as Aberlady, Gullane, North Berwick, Callander, Loch Katrine, the Clyde coast and Dunfermline, to name but a few. At the beginning of April, the trees were still bare, and fields brown and newly-ploughed. A few short weeks on, and the landscape has been transformed - so many shades of green, as well as colourful splashes of spring flowers such as bluebells, cowslips and gorse. My new camera - another post-retirement treat - has been accompanying me on all my perambulations... a step up from the previous point-and-shoot model, there is a learning curve to challenge me, with numerous settings dials and menus to contend with. It was only a few days after I left work that I found myself wondering how on earth I was able to do a full-time job and have any time to pursue life's more important aspects - leisure, relationships and play.
