WHEN Malcolm Hargrave retired, pottering around in the garden and relaxing in his slippers were the last things on his mind.

Instead, he decided to set up "55 and Upwards" for newly retired professionals to help them acclimatise to life beyond a career.

Malcolm, 55, of Spring Vale Garden Village, Darwen, said getting involved in social and leisure activities during retirement was important for retaining mental and physical agility and a sense of achievement.

He said his new venture would allow professionals to gently ease themselves into retirement, by developing a life-style and a circle of friends who had also retired from their full-time careers.

Malcolm recently took voluntary redundancy from Bolton Institute, where he was a senior lecturer in Art and Design for 24 years.

He said: "People who retire find themselves in such a different environment after working all their lives. The idea of '55 and Upwards' is to bring retired professionals together so they can socialise at a similar sort of level."

Malcolm is offering six months free trial membership to anybody who is retired or still in employment but contemplating retirement. Each new member will have their photograph and introductory message printed out and circulated to other members.

They will also receive a newsletter on a regular basis, featuring holidays at specially reduced prices, letters from members, and an agony column.

Eventually, Malcolm hopes to set up a web site so that members can talk to other members with similar social and leisure interests.

He is also keen to develop the service across the UK, once it has been established locally.

He added: "I've always liked socialising and thought this would be a great way of bringing retired professionals together so they can meet new people and enjoy activities and social events. I'm also open to ideas."

Anyone interested in finding out more about "55 and Upwards" should contact Malcolm at 67 Spring Vale Garden Village, Darwen BB3 2HS, or telephone/fax 01254 703686.

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