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10am-5pm, 17-18 july 2009, London Olympia, Grand Hall
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The Retirement Show at London’s Olympia on 17 and 18 July is set to demonstrate how to make the most of your retirement. The Retirement Show - sponsored by Prudential - will take place 10am-5pm on Friday 17 and Saturday 18 July at London Olympia's Grand Hall. Pre-registration is free via www.the-retirement-show.com.


The show director Dr Robert McCaffrey says that the show has been set up to make retirement fun: “The Retirement Show – now in its third year in London – is a showcase for all the activities that you always wanted to try and never got around to doing. As well as being a great day out, the show will give visitors many ideas on how to make the most of their retirement, not just for hobbies and pass-times, but also real practical advice on tax-saving tips, pensions and inheritance advice, energy efficiency in the home and even sex and relationship advice for the mature visitor.”


“Our visitors have previously told us that they like to be active, so that this year we have a wide range of activities for them to try, including all-day dancing sessions, have-a-go t'ai chi and yoga, an Art Zone where the experts will show visitors how to paint in watercolour (and then the visitors can take their paintings home), have-a-go needlework and stitching, indoor bowls and even a Laughter Healing Workshop.”


“The entertainment at the show includes live music and choral singing, live cookery demonstrations with simultaneous TV broadcast and the ever-popular fashion shows. In addition to all that, we have a gardening question time session when visitors can put their questions to reknowned horticulturalist Sir Roddy Llewellyn and his expert gardening panel; a session on computers for beginners with Valerie Singleton; and an inspirational talk from Rosie Swale-Pope, who ran around the world starting at the age of 57 after her husband died of prostate cancer.”


The Health Zone at the Retirement Show is offering free health checks and is very popular with visitors, while the show also features a full-size park home that visitors can walk around in.


Dr McCaffrey says that the Retirement Show exhibition is also of great interest to visitors: “People coming to the show – who range mainly from their mid-40s upwards – find that the exhibition allows them to find out about so many products in a very relaxed way. There’s no hard sell at these shows – after all, if you are not interested, you can just walk away. Visitors often say how much they have enjoyed the politeness and openness of the exhibitors.” The show manages to cater for a wide variety of needs, since the diversity of visitors is extremely wide: “We are expecting around 140 exhibitors – the same as in 2008 despite the Credit Crunch – covering every imaginable area of interest, from charities like Wood Green Animal Shelter, the Stroke Association and the RNID and educational organisations like the University of the Third Age (U3A), to companies like SAGA, Viking River Cruises, The Lady, Cadbury World, Girlings and Tingdene that offer products that appeal directly to discerning mature buyers. The range of exhibitors is really mind-boggling, and you would be hard-pressed to see everything in a single day. In fact, there’s so much to see and do that many of our visitors come for both days of the show.”


The organisers have a few final tips on how to make the most of a visit to the Retirement Show: “Friday is usually the busier of the two days of the show, so you might want to come on Saturday for added space and enjoyment. It’s great to visit the show with a friend or in a group, and last but not least, wear comfortable shoes!”

There will be plenty to do all day - come and see for yourself!

Free registration is now open. We'll see you there!

Dr Robert McCaffrey
Show Director

See Valerie Singleton on 'Discount Age' promoting the Retirement Show in London.