Dreams that have passed you by?

My dream has always been to travel through Africa, I am a great fan of Wilbur Smith and love the picture he paints in his novels. The idea has never appealed to my husband.
Several of you in the same boat as me. My husband won't fly any more, even though we have a son in Australia, and groans at the idea of driving through Europe, although we often did until 2016.
Neither of us fancy a cruise or coach trips.
We are looking in to train journeys around the UK and extending that to Europe if we enjoy it.
I'll keep my African dream alive and hope for an opportunity one day, ideally a change of heart from the old meany.

Africa is a wonderful place to visit and even live for a while Peardrop. Do go. You don't have to take a husband with you?
I am a bit nonplussed by the number of people who say they would love to do something but can't because their husband doesn't want to.....

I would love to go on the orient express so expensive but hey ho you never know!!!

Peardrop50 I went to Kenya on my own a few years ago as my husband won't fly. Like you I blamed Wilbur Smith! I had an amazing time although a bit of a scary night in Nairobi on my own after my flight was cancelled...! I would also like to see Table Mountain in South Africa (Wilbur again!) but not sure I'm brave enough to go on my own now.

Go with a group Grannybags! Don't miss it! It's all so beautiful. It's the one place that I stood and looked into the distance and thought You know, there just might be a God and a place called heaven.....

I would love to live on a narrow boat too.but it’s not a possibility at the moment.

You've brought tears to my eyes now Eglantine just imagining standing there!

Oh this is so sad, there are all you ladies with similar dreams held back by unwilling husbands!

Talk to each other, join up and go together, you only have one chance at life? It is only too late if you let yourself think it is.

I reckon now is the time to start filling the memory banks. Travel really does broaden the mind, and who knows, you might be missed so much while away that the reluctant b****r comes with you next time!

At this moment i am working hard to persuade husband that a small caravan will enable us to tour Europe with freedom and flexibility ... i lifestyle i think we will enjoy... so hopefully this little dream will not pass us by....

I desperately wanted to learn to skate when I was about 10, but my parents would not hear of it. I never have learned and now I don't dare try. If it had been more important to me, I am sure I would have tried it sometime!

My mother promised me after I changed schools that she would drive me to visit a friend from my old school, but she never did, and I still regret that. Silly really

B9exchange.... brilliant post ... I got rid of both my husbands and now that I am flying solo I fly higher than ever and the worlds my oyster.... with no one dragging me down !! We only live once so must be true to ourselves, no one has the right to scupper others dreams.... follow your partner or set them free, just for a couple of weeks maybe !

When my dad took me to the park as a child, I always looked enviously at the children and their dads playing with remote control toy speed boats (I was a tomboy). I always wanted one but they were too expensive for my parents to buy but I don't know why I never bought one for my own daughters and granddaughters. Probably because there aren't actually any suitable ponds/lakes locally to use it.
However, now I have a grandson on the way perhaps I will make the effort to get one and try to find a suitable sailing place and 'share' it with him. I was never interested in remote control cars (which my granddaughters wanted) or aircraft, just a boat. Don't know why as I hate being on water!!!

Eglantine and Grannybags you have inspired me, I’m looking on line at the possibilities, would love to share the experience with the man I love but if he doesn’t love me enough to come too I’ll do it alone, watch this space.

Travel seems to be an unfulfilled dream of many, perhaps the powers at Gransnet could put all us gransnet-wanttogos in touch with each other and we could all travel solo together

Go girl! I'm currently looking Atari walking holiday in Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. I blame The Shipping News for this one!

'at a' Honestly the things this pad does....

We were going to emigrate, all papers in place, practically off and just at the last minute my husband said he couldn't leave his parents, although they never bothered with us or their GC. I couldn't go alone, couldn't take or leave the kids, so stayed. His parents still never bothered. I have no idea if life would have been better but it couldn't have been any worse. His dad is dead but mother is still alive and never phones, visits, or bothers unless she wants something. I so wish we had gone. Now I'm cross with my husband again!!!!!!

B9exchange I was going to write the same. You 3 who fancy NZ Aus trip, get together and go. NZ is a fabulous country

When I was young I so much wanted to be a doctor. I had a place at medical school, but Dad wouldn’t hear of it - he didn’t believe in women doctors, and as we were under our parent’s control until 21 in those days I had to obey.
He allowed me to become a nurse, which I loved, but I still hankered after becoming a surgeon. When I reached my majority, I again had the chance to go to medical school, but by this time I had married, and DH wasn’t going to support me through university- he wanted my wage packet each month!
So there you are, ladies - never let men dictate to you. I have only myself to blame - I could have rebelled and followed my dreams, but I hadn’t the guts to defy the ‘men in charge’.
Thank goodness things have changed for girls nowadays, but now they have terrible financial constraints which may deny them a professional education. It’s a shame when we have such a need of good doctors.

I'm still dreaming of the two-wheeler bike I was promised by my Godmother when I was 6 years old - it never materialised and my parents were not able to afford one themselves. So I never learnt to ride a "grown-up" bike" !
Now though my main dream which remains unfulfilled is that we had considered moving to Austria many years ago (before they joined the EU). It was so difficult then, that we shelved the idea. We have enjoyed over 40 holidays in Austria, but I often wonder what might have been - sigh!!

Always wanted to spend a couple of spring months travelling round the Greek islands. I'm very fit and capable- but obviously too lazy to do anything about my dream holiday. Sad or what...

For all those who want to travel but whose husbands don't, please consider joining Women Welcome Women Worldwide (5W).
www.womenwelcomewomen.uk
I had a fabulous holiday in Finland staying with some lovely people and have also welcomed women travellers from Oz and Brazil to stay with me. It's a great organisation!

When I was a child I so wanted to go to ballet classes. There was a series of books I used to read about a family of girls who went to classes and I longed to be one of them! However, it was during the War (giving my age away now - 83 actually!) and I don't even know if there were any classes in the Glasgow area, plus we probably couldn't have afforded it anyway.

It probably would have meant that I would have a nice straight back now - but maybe not! I still wish I had been able to have the opportunity.

My dream was to be an Olympic figure skater some day!

I first skated on ice at the age of six. My parents took me to the skating rink at New York city's Rockefeller Center on a Thanksgiving Day. I wanted to join the skaters so they rented skates for me and I was hooked. I hated the black rental skates (heels painted green) however, and demanded my own pair of 'proper' girl skates. I got my first pair of (white) figure skates for Christmas that same year.

Alas, I never had the required stamina or athleticism, albeit I did take it quite seriously growing up, lessons, coaches and all. At age fourteen I even managed to eke out my first and otherwise elusive axle. By then, I was in High School however and my main interests had switched from skating to boys, parties and grades, in that order.

Over the years, I never really stopped skating regularly, until I got married. By then my dream had morphed. One of the children would be my ice skating champion/ Olympic contender. No, that didn't happen either.... The girls preferred Gymnastics, Ballet and Cheerleading and the boy played Soccer.

Today, I suffer from vertigo, so skating of any sort is probably not a good idea. I skated last about five years ago, at age 67!

I hoped to practice medicine. Probably psychiatry which requires long training but my parents refused to pay for my o levels even though I passed the mocks. They insisted women gave up work at 18 to have children. I had my son at 37 at my husband's request and in my late sixties am considering continuing my psychotherapy studies.