Pauline Waters

I was born in Sunderland and I have lived in other parts of the UK, but I am very happy now to live in my hometown .  I live near the beach in Sunderland and my grandchildren and great grandchildren do spend  a great deal of time obviously at the beach. After finishing work and raising my family I had adventures with my husband. We enjoyed retirement very much. When he passed I looked. for other activities as I wanted to be useful, stay active and keep my good health as well as being a mother, a grandma and a great grandma. 

About three years ago, while at my house the children were drawing and writing about the beach and I decided to put their drawings and writing together into a little booklet for them. One booklet turned into a few booklets which I had printed for them . Following from that, I decided to turn their little stories into a published book. I found a publisher to self publish my book and an illustrator to transform their drawings into illustrations for the book.We had such fun with the first book that we then decided to put together a book about Sunderland football club and where the team in the past.The story is about the children following the trail of where the Sunderland team played football before they eventually moved to the stadium of light . In the story, the seagull follows the children, and he has memories of what he did at the various Sites where Sunderland played football.

I wanted these six children to know that they could be authors. Any money made from the books is donated to our local St Benedicts Hospice. I posted the books to Prince William and each child received a letter from him .He said he had read both stories to his children who had enjoyed them very much. The children were delighted to have a letter from the Prince at Buckingham Palace.

I enjoy reading the story to various schools in the area and I always get a good reaction because the children love Stanley. When reading the story in schools, I always emphasise that anyone can be an author, no matter how young or how old.

The third book is aimed at a slightly older reader. I employed a local artist to produce the illustrations for the book and we worked together over the months to to achieve what we both wanted. The book is now ready for sale and will be advertised and sold in various shops in Sunderland as well as in Craft fairs.

I joined the U3 and I love the social interaction at groups meetings and various organised trips. I enjoy the lectures and social events at Donnison school. 

I Sea Swim with a group of ladies at Roker, and still enjoy cycling along the seafront. Two years ago, I decided to be a volunteer for Daft As A Brush which I find most rewarding. 

My philosophy for happy retirement is to keep as active and healthy as possible and enjoy the company of others. I try not to see age as  a barrier to enjoying life.