University at 54

So, it’s definitely a Master’s for me. Also got offered a Masters at York University. I received a 2:2 but still offers are coming in, I think that they were impressed that I got up at 3.30am in Mexico to do the interview and I also told them of a performance that I had in mind with refugees and I think that they were intrigued.

I met with Chi Chi today as she flies back to Kenya on Tuesday. She got a 1st but she was so clever academically. I was making notes with her today so I could get hints and tips in order to get a better grade in my Masters. We also discussed my next thesis and I would like to study the concept of returning to study later in life. Not everyone is fortunate enough to be emotionally ready for a degree in their 20’s or 30’s and life gives us barriers to prevent us from returning to study but as Chi Chi said, if I do a thesis about it then maybe it will inspire others to change or start a new direction in their lives. I think that their is a whole network of people out there not discovering or pushing their boundaries. And people that have a lot to say and could offer a great contribution to society.

You know something? Stay in Halls of Residence – there is then no worry then of fuel bills dropping through your letterbox – in fact you don’t even have your own letterbox.

I must admit challenging it has been, studying and living with people much younger than me, I can get on with anyone but during my 3 years I was the oldest by decades and I do feel at times, as I was pushed aside as that old woman who knew no better. Especially in Theatre/Drama – why is this lovely creative area of the Arts not encouraged more to be studied at all ages – it is in fact the seniors that would really benefit from the confidence boost that studying in this area can give you.

Enough said. I am now going to start my preparation for my next studies. Which I think after my experience of travelling and my personal growth – this next chapter, academically, will be the most valuable.

So, before I left Mexico the family took me to the Mangroves. Which is such a beautiful environmental ecosystem located on the southwest section of the Yucatan Peninsula, in Campeche. The below photo shows me jumping in the water with little Noah, the water was so clear that I drank it. I would highly recommend a trip here, if you’re visiting the area and you can’t miss Playa Bonita, where you get the real white sands and crystal clear waters and nearly every second a butterfly goes past you – which is proof of how well environmentally this area is flourishing.

I then head onto Chicago, USA as I have an Aunt who passed away and I want to support the family. It is a breath-taking city, with huge buildings with a beautiful river that runs amidst these concrete structures. And thanks to Ninth Wave Global I was able to go up 95 floors in the Hancock Tower and enjoy the view.

Chicago is a very friendly city – even despite the recent shootings – the customer service is excellent and people have been very warm to me.

The problem we have globally however is climate change – and although changes worked in Mexico at grassroots level – I feel because of the urgency there also needs to be more laws and regulations in higher populated areas to evoke change. I do feel it is a good move to make a charge on carrier bags – when you have seen videos of islands in the Pacific where birds have ingested the bags and it has terminated their lives – it makes you think- it was this video that prompted me to enquire about volunteering work for the environment- which led me to Mexico – an amazing experience.

I leave you with this, ‘Compassion’ definition – ‘A sensitivity to suffering in self and others. with a commitment to try and alleviate and prevent it.’ I ask you to show as much compassion as you can to the environment, each other and of course our animals.

So I have competed the Hudson from Albany to Beacon without even a canoe lesson – without Ninth Wave Global it would’ve been impossible. With constant encouragement and support. Talking to family they say I seem different with an inner peace and calm. To b taken away from the norm and only worry about survival , food and sleep and getting to your destination- it puts a different perspective on life. In my family I have a very troubled nephew who is really struggling so.”, after talking with Jon we are thinking about him doing the Amazon, with lots of support but we all feel it would be the making of him. My sister who is also struggling wants the above photo on her wall to inspire her through every day. This is exactly what I feel the organisation do – individual change that lead to a community progression- a ripple effect of inspiration and positivity.

We then head back to Mexico City and are treated to a comfortable bed and good food and as a surprise I am taken to Mexico City and shown the beautiful architecture and buildings that are never shown to us in Europe but really are Mexico’s hidden gem. Architecture is in abundance- such beautiful spaces, eateries and friendly people- not the Mexico we hear about in Europe. I am in awe of such a beautiful city and yet tourists miss this wonder and stay in cities such as Cancun and yet I encourage you to look around and see what this wonderful nation has to offer.

Just to let everyone know that I am having the experience of a lifetime never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d do something like this. We’ve crossed the desert in New Mexico- the lava stones and seen some wonderful sights and covered part of Route 66. The sense of community in this part of America and the environmental work that goes on is nothing short of amazing. The environmental work is all happening at grass-roots level and it is a change at this level that we can then evoke societal change. I have learned so much and gained immensely. Prior to this trip I had a fear of heights and flying – after flying in about 10 planes and spending a night camping at the top of a mountain without a tent – I feel almost fearless. All credit to the organisation Ninth Wave Global and the work that they do for the community and for individuals like myself- which then is having a knock- on effect on people around me – I can educate family and I think it is important to realise that to do something like this is not to be feared but to be embraced. I am now canoeing down the Hudson in New York from Albany to Beacon – I have never canoed in my life but fortunately I am a strong swimmer. We canoe during the night and sleep on floors and grass by the canoes. It is amazing what one can endure and achieve and I can’t thank Yvette and Jon enough from Ninth Wave Global for the experience. if I can do this at 55 please rethink what you can achieve and do for the environment and remember change needs to start at an individual and then community level. I have gained a wonderful appreciation of the Natural World and we as individuals need to look after it and each other and I feel societies could learn a lot from the work going on in Campeche and parts of New Mexico. I encourage you to trust and have compassion for the people and environment around you. Will bog again soon. Alison.

So here’s the thing – I do a 4 flight journey to Campeche, Mexico, one of them being long-long-haul for 10 hours. I arrive exhausted and very late at night. The girl organiser, Yvette, pulls up at the airport with her friend Charlotte, they have just been out. The car is old. We then drive far away from the airport into what seems like a remote area – it’s very late at night and I am jet-lagged and I start to get worried. Warnings that people have told me start to play on my mind. We then go down a winding dirt-track to the left are several Mexican men, we pull up at a house with huge iron fences around it, I am taken to the house and the gates are locked behind me – I didn’t realise that this is to keep the animals in. I am shown the house – there are lots of dogs – that actually are in the process of being rehomed. I start to panic. There are also goats and pigs. It was also very dark that made everything worse.

My bedroom is makes-shift out of crates and I felt uncomfortable. I ask the organisers to take me to a hotel – I also ask them if they are who they say they are – they then drive me through the run-down part of town to the Holiday Inn. They have no room so I have to go with a hotel that the organisers have recommended, so reluctantly I stay at the Casa Balche, which is actually lovely, fall on the bed and get some much needed sleep.

The next day I still worry. They have asked me to bring some items in – a riding helmet and presents for Jon’s children. Jon is the founder of Ninth Wave Global. But, as my brother pointed out if there was anything to worry about – they would be asking for me to take it out of Mexico – not bring it in! I start to relax. My brother emails the organisers, they talk and they come and see me – I realise that it is legitimate. And in fact my mind starts to open up at the amazing work that they do out here. Also, my suitcase got left at Paris because of a baggage handling strike.

Over the next few days I settle in, get over a bad stomach and talk with the company. They then propose to me – a trip down the Hudson via the Americas, which is actually starting tomorrow for 12 days, it will be canoeing and horseback. Meanwhile, meeting people from Universities, who are working environmentally on the Hudson – I shall be visiting indigenous families in remote areas. Now I will get a real feel for what Ninth Wave Global do. I know that they are very strong on Sustainable Development Goals and I look forward to my eyes being opened to the incredible work that they do. I shall keep a journal. My worries – that I will lose my HRT!

So, I have an offer. Masters at Derby University in Applied Theatre and Education, I’ve heard the course is amazing. Finally, an offer. My undergraduate degree finishes in 10 days and I can honestly say, the last three years – although at times – testing – they have been the most wonderful of my life and I wouldn’t swap it for the world.

So, I have a nice long summer and finally I get to go to Mexico. I shall travel solo and last week I did an “Experience flight” from Gatwick to get me used to travelling on a plane again. And now I can’t wait to get in the air. I intend to meet new people, make lots of new friends as well as appreciating a different culture. For 2 and a half months of conservation work, get a suntan and no assignments! Yay! Blue seas and white sands or watching “The Chase” with mom, easy choice I think. I’ll miss my kids, but zoom is good.

As Mark Twain said and I quoted in my last assignment and before I embark on my next adventure, I leave you with this: “Twenty years from now, you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than the things that you did do. So throw away the bow lines. Sail away from the safe harbour. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

Enough said. Enjoy life, whenever possible. Alison.

It was actually during my first summer off at university when my aunt in Kent had a stroke. I was the only one able in the family and as I was close to her I went to help. It was tragic as she had suffered a stroke, but because she had always suffered mental illness when they found her, she was treated for that and not a stroke, which I feel has given her longer term damage.

She was an artist and when clearing her house I found her work, she painted all of her life but never wanted to exhibit until now. The exhibition was a great success with some important people from the “art world” attending. It was magical – she was allowed out from the care home to attend, with difficulty but we managed it.

This project has been two years in the making, also coming to fruition is my degree another amazing experience both personally and academically and I would highly recommend the experience. I didn’t get into Toronto or Vancouver University to do my Masters but it is not meant to be and I am currently waiting to hear from universities in the U.K.

One of Victoria’s collection:

I was just talking to one of my flatmates, who is also a third year and we both don’t know where we will be next year. I feel like an undergraduate again, applying everywhere, but not knowing where we will be next year.

As a re-think I have also applied for post-graduate study into the concept of studying at a much later stage in your life. Study post-50 years is such a minority especially in my subject area and especially “Living-In,” it would be so interesting to study this, so I have applied and guess where, yes, Canada.

Also, one thing, that I would like to raise, is the use of the word “Old,” it is so demeaning. We live in a society where we are very conscious of how we word things, but age is over-looked. My sister was going to have a t-shirt done saying “Old, but not too old to party!” I said, why? Yes, mature but not old, c’mon let’s consider the post 50 group. We’ve all been on this planet a long time and some of us are definitely wiser!

Well, I had some news off Toronto – they have given me sign in details and instructions on how to apply for residence – they said it’s not an offer but it is going in the right direction. I spoke to my tutor I had on my exchange with Canada and she told me to also apply for some other universities in Canada for my MA, so I did and University of British Colombia in Vancouver have asked for examples of my work to accompany my application – I am pleased with what I have submitted so who knows what might happen?

I have also looked at finally doing my Mexico trip this Summer – after Covid and 3 years on my degree – what better way to end than 3 months in a hot and beautiful country and having the experience of a lifetime with their voluntary work. So, this Grandmother may be leaving the nest of what has been my home for the last 3 years in Halls of Residence and embarking on some really special experiences, adding to what has been an incredible journey already.

I would like to wish everyone who has read my blog a very Happy New Year for 2022, a lucky number I feel: keep the faith and remember – If you face the sunshine the shadows will always fall behind you.

Met with Chi Chi this week and she asked me to support her as she was talking at a Conference at the University. She did really well and it was great to see her – we always reminisce when we get together. We were laughing about the times that she used to put the heating up so high in the flat – she used to say everyday was Summer in the flat but as she explained she had just got here from Nigeria and she was freezing, meanwhile i’d be sweating buckets.

I’ve had some acting work – which is great to supplement my income – during Halloween I played a witch at a children’s attraction and then I was a ghost at a Museum and up until Christmas I am selling Dior perfume in a High Street chemist – it’s all been tiring but great fun and it’s good to do some work – it’s good for oneself.

Then tomorrow we are at University and we are pitching plays to perform for our final year. My chosen play is by the amazing African playwright Wole Soyinka, who I discovered on my remote exchange to Canada, who I would love to meet one day. He wrote an amazing play – The Kings Horseman – it’s based on a true story and about the Yoruba people in Africa – a great read – thought provoking.

Halls are comfortable, the rooms are sound-proofed – so I sleep well at night – as I have done since I came to University and I am quite proud of the fact that I have spent all of my 3 years living in Halls and I have gained the full “University Experience.”

Still awaiting news off Toronto University, I know they have had my references – I shall keep you posted – I check my Inbox everyday – waiting for that all important offer that could change my life.

Just to leave you with my favourite phrase……….

Follow Your Dreams …. They Know the Way.