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Encore Stories: Real Adventures in the Third Phase
Welcome to the blog — the beating heart of Encore Endeavours.
Here you’ll find real-life stories, practical guides, travel notes, creative adventures, wellness insights, gardening updates, and the occasional slightly chaotic moment from someone figuring out retirement as she goes.
These posts aren’t polished perfection. Browse around, share your thoughts, and feel free to contribute your own stories.
This isn’t just my journey — it’s yours.
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Encore Endeavours
Crafting for Christmas: A Mixed Bag of Magic, Mishaps & Merry Making
There’s something about Christmas that seems to bring out the crafter in all of us. Maybe it’s the glitter. Maybe it’s the mulled wine. Or maybe it’s simply that irresistible urge to make something—anything—that says, “Look! I tried.” This year, Christmas crafting rather crept up on me. One minute it was August and I was admiring my tomatoes; the next minute, it was November and suddenly everyone else seemed to be churning out felt gnomes and hand-rolled beeswax candles like
3rdphaseencore
Nov 29, 20253 min read
Garden Reflections: Resting, Resetting & Readying for a New Year
Encore Endeavours – Gardening, Growth & a Few Surprises If my last garden blog was all about healing through growing , then this one is about what happens next: slowing down, looking back, and quietly preparing for another year of green-fingered chaos. Because while the garden and I have both grown massively this year, now comes the moment where everything—plants, soil, gardener—takes a deep breath. And goodness, after this season, we’ve earned it. Looking Back on a Beautiful
3rdphaseencore
Nov 29, 20253 min read
My Accidental Love Affair With Golf
If you’d asked me a couple of years ago whether I’d ever pick up a golf club, the answer would’ve been a firm, confident, absolutely-not-in-this-lifetime. My previous attempts — all two of them — had ended before I’d even escaped the first hole. I’d swing heroically, miss disastrously, and walk away wondering why on earth anyone voluntarily did this for fun. And honestly? For years, golf felt like this slightly mysterious, slightly posh hobby that the lads (my sons) suddenly
3rdphaseencore
Nov 20, 20254 min read
My Volunteering Season in the Walled Garden
“My Volunteering Season in the Walled Garden- Almost a Year of Ups, Downs & Muddy Boots ” If last year taught me anything, it’s that gardens — much like life — don’t always follow the plan. And 2025 was a proper mixed bag: rewarding, challenging, unexpectedly hilarious, occasionally soggy, and full of things that made me grateful to be involved. We kicked off the year with dramatic weather swings: long dry spells where the soil cracked like old pottery, followed by downpours
3rdphaseencore
Nov 20, 20252 min read
Why I Started Volunteering
Why I Started Volunteering If you’d told me a few years ago that a pair of gardening gloves and a Victorian Walled Kitchen Garden would become one of the highlights of my week, I’m not sure I’d have believed you. Yet here we are — a few months into volunteering, and I’m genuinely wondering why I didn’t start sooner. After retiring, I found myself itching for something meaningful — something that wasn’t just “filling time” but actually added value, both to my life and the comm
3rdphaseencore
Nov 20, 20252 min read
Kyoto to Yokohama – The Great Taxi Tango
You know that feeling when you think you’ve planned everything perfectly? That was us leaving Kyoto. Bags packed, bullet train tickets in hand, Mount Fuji waving at us through the clouds — the whole day had that “smooth sailing ahead” vibe. Little did we know that the moment we stepped off the train in Yokohama, we were about to star in our very own travel sitcom. And the taxi driver? Well… he was the unexpected co-star. Lost in Translation: Our Yokohama Taxi Adventure After
3rdphaseencore
Nov 18, 20253 min read
A Thousand Gates and a Hundred Flavours: Kyoto’s Spirit and Street Food
“Enter the Fox Shrine — and Bring Your Appetite” Our final days in Kyoto brought together everything we’d come to love about Japan — beauty, order, mystery, and food we couldn’t quite identify. With sturdy shoes, curious minds, and slightly sore legs, we set off to conquer Fushimi Inari’s thousand gates and eat our way through Kyoto’s legendary market scene. Bright and early, we set off along the river toward Fushimi Inari-taisha, one of Japan’s most iconic sights. Even at br
3rdphaseencore
Nov 18, 20252 min read
Temples, Traditions, and a Shellfish Explosion: Kyoto Adventures Begin
“Culture, Chaos, and Coffee with Honey” There’s nothing quite like waking up in Kyoto — the soft creak of wooden floors, the morning light through paper screens, and the promise of history at every turn. Day two of our Encore Adventure was all about exploring the city’s ancient heart, from serene temples to seafood surprises (the kind that go bang! ). We began with French toast and honey at a local café/ hostel — a perfectly civilised breakfast before tackling the climb to Ki
3rdphaseencore
Nov 18, 20252 min read
Arrival in Japan: The Bullet Train to Kyoto
“Welcome to the Land of Politeness, Precision, and Perfection!” After months of anticipation, packing lists, and polite arguments about what to pack, and how to accommodate 3 weeks with the minimum amount of packing, our long-awaited Japanese adventure begins! With our back packs and one suitcase packed, and our enthusiasm intact (despite British Airways doing their best to separate us mid-air), we finally touched down in Tokyo — ready to explore, get lost, and probably bow f
3rdphaseencore
Nov 17, 20253 min read
Croatian Charms – Split, Hvar, and a Few Unexpected Bruises!
Croatian Charms – Split, Hvar, and a Few Unexpected Bruises! We were surprised with an extra week of travel and decided to take a punt on Croatia, it felt like only a matter of a couple of weeks before we finally touched down in Split, Croatia. It was late, dark, and we couldn’t see a thing on the drive from the airport—so the excitement was all in the imagination. Our hotel seemed lovely… until morning light revealed it sat right next to the maternity hospital. Although it h
3rdphaseencore
Oct 10, 20254 min read
Croissants, Cider, and Cliff Walks: Food & Fitness in France
One thing I haven’t really touched on yet in Encore Endeavours is health and wellbeing . Not in the finger-wagging, “no more puddings” sort of way, but in the everyday, keep-yourself-moving kind of way that makes retirement adventures all the more enjoyable. At home, I like to keep a fitness plan: a gym class, a swim, a walk, yoga, even a light run (though, full disclosure, I only ever recycle the first three or four Couch to 5K sessions). Nothing too dramatic, but enough to
3rdphaseencore
Oct 8, 20253 min read
Granite Coast Adventures in the Motorhome
Some people take a yoga mat on holiday and actually use it. I take a yoga mat, yoga blocks, and a pair of weights… and give them a very relaxing break in the back of the motorhome. But as it turns out, the Granite Coast of Brittany gave me all the movement I needed — swims at dawn, long cliff walks, the occasional run, and a sprint back to a restaurant when I left my rucksack (with the keys!) behind. We’d planned five nights away, but left home early and managed to stretch it
3rdphaseencore
Oct 8, 20254 min read
From Garden to Hive, Campervan to Storytime – A Catch-Up from Encore Endeavours
Some weeks are for new adventures, and some are for pulling up a chair, pouring a cuppa, and having a good old catch-up. This is one of those weeks. The garden has been generous, the bees have been dramatic (more on that in a minute), and family life has been as lively as ever. So, let’s wander through the highlights — a bit like flicking through a greatest hits album, only with more courgettes, more honey, and the occasional motorhome detour. Garden’s Greatest Hits – The Cou
3rdphaseencore
Aug 21, 20254 min read
Stung Into the Club – A New Chapter in My Bee Adventure
With training sessions buzzing along at the Bee Society site (and me not allowed to join in for the next four weeks!), I wasn’t ready to press pause on my bee learning journey — not during one of the busiest times of the year! So, rather than hang up my bee suit and twiddle my thumbs, I reached out to a lovely friend and fellow beekeeper to see if I could tag along with her for some bee time. Thankfully, she said yes. Bee people are good like that. Off we went to her second s
3rdphaseencore
Aug 14, 20253 min read
Buzz Off to a Good Start: How I Fell Into Beekeeping (And Got Stuck There)
I’m not entirely sure when the bee thing started. One minute I was pottering about in the garden, and the next I was signed up for an 8-week beekeeping course, dressed head-to-toe in a suit that made me look like I was either off to the moon or preparing for an aggressive paintball match. The course, run by the local Beekeeping Society, was a mix of theory (wax this, brood that — I nodded a lot), and hands-on time at the Society’s apiary, where the bees did their best to act
3rdphaseencore
Aug 8, 20253 min read
Return of the Monster Courgettes: Garden Surprises After a Summer Away
Monster! There’s something deeply comforting about returning home after a long trip. Three weeks away, campervanning around beautiful British Columbia with our grandchildren, left me with plenty of stories, a few mosquito bites, and a heart full of memories. But nothing quite prepared me for the garden surprise that greeted me on my return: the courgettes. Oh, the courgettes! In just three weeks, my neat rows of baby courgette plants had transformed into a jungle of green mon
3rdphaseencore
Aug 8, 20253 min read
Grandparenting on the Go: A Motorhome Adventure Through the Rockies
When your grandchildren live far away, it’s not always easy to maintain a close bond. Our granddaughter is six, our grandson nearly four, and while we visit when we can, we've had to get creative. Over time, I’ve tried everything from sending letters and painted cards to postcards from our travels. WhatsApp videos and FaceTime calls also help bridge the distance. But nothing beats time spent in person . So when the opportunity came for us to take the little ones on a week-lon
3rdphaseencore
Aug 8, 20254 min read
Sipping Through Retirement: Wine, Lakes, and Laughs in Kelowna, a family holiday treat.
There’s nothing quite like sipping a chilled glass of Pinot Gris while gazing out over a sparkling lake, framed by mountains that look like they've been painted by a Canadian version of Monet. That was me—living my best retired life in Kelowna , right in the heart of British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley . This wasn’t some grand, organised wine pilgrimage. It was a family visit , full of laughter, fresh air, and the kind of scenery that makes you stop mid-sentence just to say, “
3rdphaseencore
Aug 8, 20253 min read
A Healing Journey Through My Garden
I’ve always had a soft spot for gardening. As a child, I’d trail behind my grandfather as he pottered around his garden. He’d long since hung up his farming boots, but the soil still called to him. I didn’t know it then, but those quiet hours of planting, weeding, and digging left deep roots in me. For years, life took over—work, commitments, no garden to speak of. But I promised myself: one day. That “one day” arrived when I stepped away from the 9–5 and into retirement. I f
3rdphaseencore
Jul 11, 20254 min read
Sausage Stalls & State Rooms: One Woman’s Escape to Vienna
Vienna: A Dream Come True Vienna had always been on my list—but somehow, despite a few camping holidays to Austria over the years, we never quite made it there. So when a surprise birthday gift turned out to be a weekend away in the city I’d long wanted to visit, I was thrilled. A Rocky Start: The Hotel Experience Travelling light (hand luggage only) we flew to Vienna. The hotel was a bit of a trek, but with small bags and big curiosity, we walked through the city, soaking i
3rdphaseencore
Jun 16, 20253 min read
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