Being Seventy

Walesby Forest is situated just north of Nottingham. Encompassing 250 acres of woodlands, the site sits on the ancient edge of the historic Sherwood Forest, with a river and a cave said to be the hiding place of Robin Hood. Feeling a strong sense of moral duty to capture some of Walesby Forest’s history, Andrew Luczko was keen to mark this historic landmark with something that would benefit the site both now and for future generations. He wrote Seventy-Five Years of ‘Being Prepared’: A History of Walesby Forest, Nottinghamshire 1938-2013 in an effort to record key events, decisions, changes and personalities that have moulded this beautiful, unspoiled piece of North Nottinghamshire over the last 75 years. Luczko was captivated by Walesby Forest at the age of 10, when he visited the site for the first time, and he hopes that this book will go on to inspire many others who encounter the fantastic setting with its forest, meandering river and stunning lake. His book highlights the many challenges the area has faced over the years, including financial difficulties, WWII bombs, fires, flooding, closure due to the national Foot & Mouth epidemic and a Right to Roam challenge. Probaby the greatest surprise is an unexpected link to a potential source of Shakespeare’s work, in the form of Sir Francis Bacon. The book is also an opportunity to share what has been achieved under the 75-year ownership of the forest by the City of Nottingham Scouts. It has been no easy task and continues to create problems and challenges that you might expect from a 250-acre facility with a wide choice of accommodation, buildings and activities. Seventy-Five Years of ‘Being Prepared’ adopts a chronological order and gives an insight into the issues that have been faced since the site was sold as part of the sell-off by the Rufford Abbey Estate in 1938. It comes right up to date with the current projects of 2013 and hopes for the future. It makes a great read for any former visitor of the site, those interested in Robin Hood and local history and any skeptics of the origination of Shakespeare’s works.

Reprint of the original, first published in 1883.

The beloved author of Forever Fifty and Suddenly Sixty tackles the ins and outs of becoming a septuagenarian with wry good humor. Fans of Viorst’s funny, touching, and wise decades poems will love these verses filled with witty advice and reflections on marriage, milestones, and middle-aged children. Viorst explores, among the many other issues of this stage of life, the state of our sex lives and teeth, how we can stay married though thermostatically incompatible, and the joys of grandparenthood and shopping. Readers will nod with rueful recognition when she asks, “Am I required to think of myself as a basically shallow woman because I feel better when my hair looks good?,” when she presses a few helpful suggestions on her kids because “they may be middle aged, but they’re still my children,” and when she graciously—but not too graciously—selects her husband’s next mate in a poem deliciously subtitled “If I Should Die Before I Wake, Here’s the Wife You Next Should Take.” Though Viorst acknowledges she is definitely not a good sport about the fact that she is mortal, her poems are full of the pleasures of life right now, helping us come to terms with the passage of time, encouraging us to keep trying to fix the world, and inviting us to consider “drinking wine, making love, laughing hard, caring hard, and learning a new trick or two as part of our job description at seventy.” I'm Too Young to Be Seventy is a joy to read and makes a heartwarming gift for anyone who has reached or is soon to reach that—it’s not so bad after all—seventh decade.

Sod 70! Keep fit, keep the brain going, and with a spot of good fortune you can be living a fulfilling, active life into your nineties and beyond. This book – part exercise book, part manifesto for a happier, healthier life – tells you how. Many of us approach our seventies with an unhelpful stereotype lodged in our brains. The stooped figures on the road sign imply that ageing inevitably causes problems but many of these can be postponed or prevented because they are caused not by ageing, but by loss of fitness, preventable disease and the wrong attitude. Shake off the stereotypes and empower yourself. Embrace seventy, and make the most of it by following the simple resolutions created for you in this book, packed with ideas to help you get fit and healthy, in body and mind. This book tells you how to Sod Seventy! – and live life to the full! Keep fit, keep your brain active, and with a spot of good fortune you can be living a rewarding, active life into your eighties, nineties and beyond. Part exercise book, part manifesto for a happier, healthier life – this book will show you how. From the art of body maintenance to the importance of choosing healthcare wisely, Sod Seventy! is the practical and uplifting approach to living longer and better. The perfect gift for friends or relatives nearing seventy, or a present to yourself!